Intrigued by the promos, I watched the premiere episode of Orphan Black, the new series on BBC America. The show captured my interest, so I watched the second episode. The second was as good as the first, so I am ready for the third episode.
The underlying premise, if you are not familiar with the show, is that a woman, named Sarah, witnesses another woman commit suicide by throwing herself in front of an oncoming train... but not before Sarah realizes that the suicidal woman looks exactly like her... a twin.
Because the suicidal woman left her purse on the platform before stepping in front of the train, Sarah, being somewhat ethically challenged, picks up the purse and makes off with it. She later concludes that the suicidal woman’s life was better than hers, and arranges to have the dead woman identified as herself and to assume the identity of the dead woman.
Complications ensue. With twists and turns that hold my attention despite a couple of lapses in plausibility.
Among the complications – and key to the show’s ongoing plot – is that additional women begin to appear who look exactly like Sarah. In a tour de force acting opportunity for the show’s star, Tatiana Maslany, these women may look the same but are vastly different characters, distinguished by their backgrounds, mannerisms, and speaking voices.
But there is a problem... and it is me. For years, I’ve joked that criminals would like to have me as a witness to their crimes, because I have great difficulty discerning the visual differences in people and things. If I were to meet you for the first time today, I could not later describe what you looked like or what you were wearing. If you returned tomorrow, I would likely not recognize you. If asked to describe someone... I can’t. It takes me a long time to learn new friends and associates.
People often say they are no good with names. I’m fine with names, it’s faces I can’t remember.
The problem, then, for my enjoyment of Orphan Black is that I do not recognize the various roles that Ms Maslany is playing. Because she is wearing different clothes and makeup, and because she is speaking in different dialects, I see only distinct characters. I don’t recognize Sarah’s twins.
This is not a fatal flaw, I still very much enjoy the show and I catch on relatively quickly to what’s what and who’s who. But I do so through context and dialog more than through visuals.
And I’ll be watching this week.