If You Don’t Love Tatiana Maslany, It’s Because You Don’t Know Who She Is (Yet)

I somehow lucked into the best possible way of stumbling onto the show Orphan Black. I had been watching some other show on BBC America and kept seeing previews for it, but never paid attention to what the show was actually about. When it did debut, I happened to be home on a Saturday night and turned it on because the name “Orphan Black” intrigued me. I had no idea that the show was about clones or that the lead actress would play multiple roles, but what was evident after one episode is that I instantly became a Tatiana Maslany fan. After two episodes, I was putting it as a priority in the DVR (even though I was planning on watching it live) and was telling my wife that she needed to add another TV show to her must watch list. The first season went through lots of twists and turns, mostly adding another character for Maslany to play. The first season sees the clone club (Sarah, Alison and Cosima) try to avoid another clone assassin (Helena) while being pursued by the corporation that’s been secretly monitoring them, headed by a self aware clone (Rachel). Also, ever character I just named is played by Maslany. And while playing that many characters is daunting enough, giving them their own distinctive quirks and mannerisms is completely another.

Sure, there’s distinctive writing between the characters and visual cues that have become trademarks of the characters (Sarah’s slacker motif, Cosima with the glasses and dreadlocks, etc), but it’s the personality that Maslany give…