The second season of Orphan Black hit DVD and Blu-ray on July 15, and we got our hands on a review copy. Is it worth it? Of course.
Here’s how BBC Worldwide describes the set:
The new season hits the ground running with Sarah (Golden Globe® nominee Tatiana Maslany, Parks and Recreation), in a desperate race to find her missing daughter Kira (Skyler Wexler, Carrie) – a wild pursuit that brings her head-to-head with ruthless pro-clone, Rachel (Maslany). This season also rejoins Sarah’s clone sisters Alison (Maslany) and Cosima (Maslany) as they struggle to keep their clone world a secret and pick up the pieces of their broken lives – all while dealing with the harsh reality that no one around them can be trusted. The series premiered on BBC AMERICA April 19, 2014 and found an exlclusive home on Amazon Prime Instant Video.
Maslany’s breakout performance, playing seven clones and counting, earned her Golden Globe® and People’s Choice nominations, and won her multiple Awards including a TCA Award for Individual Achievement, a Critics’ Choice Best Dramatic Actress Award, the Young Hollywood Award for breakthrough performance and a Canadian Screen Actor Award for Best Performance in a Dramatic Role.
Reprising their roles are Matt Frewer (Falling Skies) as Dr. Aldous Leekie, the scientist who oversees the Dyad Institute’s clone experiment, Evelyne Brochu (Tom at the Farm) as Dr. Delphine Cormier, a beautiful colleague sent to monitor her eventual lover Cosima, Kristian Bruun (Life) as Donnie, Alison’s lump of a husband who is also secretly her monitor and Kevin Hanchard (Suits) as Detective Arthur ‘Art’ Bell, former partner to dead clone, Beth, who gets sucked into the secret clone world. Joining this season are Michiel Huisman (Nashville) as Cal, a rugged and resourceful outdoorsman with a sixth sense about people and situations, Peter Outerbridge (Nikita) as Johanssen, a mercurial modern-day cowboy and leader of a new breed of religious extremists and Ari Millen (Nikita) as Mark, a loyal follower of Johannsen and his religious teachings. Guest starring are Patrick J. Adams (Suits) as Jesse, a down to earth guy with guts to match his good nature, and Michelle Forbes (True Blood) as Marion Bowles, a powerful new player at the Dyad Institute with a birds-eye view of the war between Sarah and Rachel.
Honestly, Orphan Black is a series that’s better binge-watched in a format like DVD or Blu-ray. I caught Season One after BBC America sent out a set prior to last winter’s TCA Cable press tour… I consumed all ten episodes within three days. Season Two, while not as 100% perfect as the first season was (characters like Delphine annoy me), is just as addictive. At under $20, though, the set is definitely worth it.
A million praises have been written about the series’ lead, Tatiana Maslany, and now you’re going to have to read #1,000,001. She plays so many different characters – including one I never expected to see again, as well as some new faces – and they’re all so vastly altered from one another you forget it is the same person. Doing a show like this must be taxing for an actress, but Maslany pulls it off excellently. Each clone has different traits and beats – Alison’s tics for example, or the crazy music whenever Helena lurks. This season, we even get some singing and dancing… though yes, this is still a high-stakes drama.
I’d be remiss not to praise Jordan Gavaris at this time, either. He plays Felix, a fairly self-absorbed, easily put out, over-the-top gay man, and having met the actor who plays him, they’re nothing alike. Characters like Felix and Mrs. S. really keep things ticking in the 5% of the show where Maslany is not on the screen.
Also great about this set – and for fans – is that it is full of bonus content. Some of these bonuses had aired on TV before or had been released online; either way, they fully immerse the “Clone Club” into the world of Orphan Black.
The picture and sound on the DVD are great and I’d assume it’s even better on Blu-ray.
You can order the Season 2 set from Amazon.com and support KSiteTV… but we’d also recommend you pick up Season 1 while you’re at it. The awesome starts there and it just keeps getting better. Highly Recommended. It is truly a pity that the big awards shows overlook this one, because it is truly one of the best shows currently on television, and Tatiana Maslany is a big reason for that.
