it might be partly an enthusiasm born of binge, but i find myself wanting to say that orphan black (bbc america; it came from canada) is about the best television series i have ever seen. it has a great, gritty look and great pace (down to the directing and editing, i suppose). it combines extreme seriousness and dense plotting with completely delightful comical passages, which i would say is a very hard thing to do well. tatiana maslany in the lead role and also as ten-or-so supporting characters (ok, ok, they're clones) is frigging unbelievable. you find yourself not primarily believing that she's playing the roles well, but that it can't possibly be the same actress: fully distinct personalities defined in every way the body moves, every expression. she plays many scenes with herself in multiple roles, and they are completely convincing. perhaps they have indeed cloned tatiana. but the supporting cast - like the dude who plays the waygay foster bro felix - is also outstanding. i'm bereft that i've exhausted existing episodes.
one way they use the clone theme is to explore gender in various ways, perhaps more interestingly than has ever been done on television. all maslany's personae are constructed by contrast with one another, and though they are palpable individuals, they are also flavors of femaleness from soccer mom to transsexual. and it's not only her characters. amazingly, orphan black does all that without didacticism or some painful pc jive.
