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Featured, Orphan Black

Review: Orphan Black – All Together Now

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SPOILER ALERT: Please do not read on unless you’ve seen the Season 3, Episode 10 of Orphan Black, titled “History Yet to Be Written.”

What a happy ending. Unlike other TV series that ended recently with mass deaths and gruesome, tough-to-bear sequences (ahem, Game of Thrones), Orphan Black draws the curtain on Season 3 with smiles, family, reunions and tight endings. Sure, we’re left with a few questions, but most of the stray threads are tied up nicely.

That doesn’t mean the season was a success overall; in fact, the plotlines felt rushed to conclusion. In particular, the Topside and Castor plots, often muddled and needlessly confusing as the season went on, seemed to be quickly resolved with cryptic explanation. Yes, Kendall Malone graciously offered up her blood after fussing, and she kinda-sorta made up with Mrs. S., but she switched gears so rapidly after being such an old codger, it all felt very convenient.

Aside from Ferdinand, the extraneous faceless corporate men are always hard for me to remember, so when another one of those guys threatened anyone—Delphine, Mrs. S., whoever—I didn’t always get what was going on. Whose side were they on, and what were their motivations? Maybe that’s the point, that we as the audience were supposed to be confused about what was happening, who was on which team, and who we could trust. But I’m a bit skeptical. It felt like Castor didn’t quite work out, plot-wise, so it was a mess towards the end (which is also why we didn’t see the Castors in two episodes out of 10, or one-fifth of the season).

But there were things I loved about this finale—don’t despair. As ridiculous as the idea is of Donnie bringing Jesse back to Helena, I loved it despite myself. Knowing that someone in the Orphan Black universe can be in love with my girl warms my heart. Their reunion was the most enjoyable one of the episode. Delphine’s not-so-subtle final goodbye to Cosima was also touching. Too bad Delphine had to die, since she was finally becoming a badass, using her Frenchness as an asset and threatening people. Her death is a guarantee that we’ll be getting more of Shay in Season 4. I say bring it on.

As brief as they were, I loved the scenes with Rachel. Her nightmare, which opened the episode, was psychedelic and potent. The first time we see her new bionic eye is also quite something. Just when we thought Rachel couldn’t get any cooler! And that last bit when she reunites with Charlotte was poignant (so well-acted by Maslany), and then we see Rachel’s mother, who up until this point was presumed dead. A friend of mine actually predicted that it would be Rachel’s mom as the new enemy—since she’s pretty much the only one left.

For Season 4, it looks like the Neolutionists will be the big baddie. I got a refresher on what, exactly, a Neolutionist is from Orphan Black’s Tumblr:

“Neolutionism is a fictional term, a sort of philosophical composite, designed to tribute several contemporary and historic perspectives on ‘directed evolution.’ At its root, it represents the belief that scientific advancements can and do improve the human condition, so anything we can invent or develop scientifically to do that should be applauded. Even if those discoveries and inventions can refine the terms of the species’ survival.”

I’m not sure why a worm came out of that guy’s mouth, or what that has to do with the clones, but we can rest assured that whatever happiness and closure they’ve found will be disrupted soon enough.

Despite it all, the dinner scene was a pleasure—this season’s answer to the big dance in Felix’s apartment from Season 2. It’s always nice to give Maslany a proper send-off with most of her characters in the same frame (sorta). Sarah reuniting with Kira and Cal in the snow at the end was less heartstring-tugging (after all, we said goodbye Kira and Cal like two months ago).

Next season we’ll have Alison as school board trustee, a pregnant Helena with Jesse, Cosima with Shay and presumably not sick, Sarah with Cal and Kira (probably not for long), and Rachel on the hunt for all of them. And the clone story continues.

Clone of the Week: You know who I’m going to pick. It has to be Helena; every scene with her is a pleasure, impossible to look away from. She really breathed more life into this season—without her, it would have suffered immeasurably.

Random Thoughts:

  • Rudy vs. Helena: That. Was. Awesome. It was really the only way Rudy could go out, facing off against his just-as-unhinged sister in a knife battle. I wouldn’t have been bored of that if it had gone on for 20 minutes.
  • Alison is now the school board trustee. I never started caring about that election throughout the entire season. Sounds harsh, but it’s true. It always felt so tacked on.
  • Helena is still pregnant? Doesn’t it feel like she’s been pregnant for years? And in that garage fight scene, she wasn’t showing at all.
  • When Felix kicked down that door, I actually jumped back on the couch.
  • Helena: “Much moly.”
  • I tried really hard to care about Mrs. S. and her mother, but there’s just no charisma there. Mrs. S. works best on the periphery and not in the thick of things. There’s a reason why Art only makes an appearance now and then.
  • Lastly, thank you to everyone for following along with my recaps every week! Normally, I don’t miss multiple episodes a season, but life interfered. My apologies for that. Otherwise it’s been fun, and I appreciate each and every one of you who takes the time to read these. Until next season!

What did you think of the season finale, and the season overall? Comment below!

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Dark Matter, Featured

Review: Dark Matter takes mysterious, intriguing next steps

Because I’ve been covering television for years, I have a bit of a suspicious streak when it comes to storylines. I’m always looking for the red herring, the twist, the other shoe to drop. Because of that, watching Episode 2 of Dark Matter turned into an exercise in conspiracy theories and experiments.

I watched the six aboard the Raza, interacting and weighing the knowledge they had their memories wiped and informed by the Android that they are all hardened criminals. One/Jace is the most sensitive of the guys and is all about redemption; no surprise he wanted to help the miners fight back against the corporation. Three/Boone, Four/Ryo and Six/Griffin were more in agreement by acknowledging their violent pasts while trying to move forward, but ended up joining One in his cause and taking up arms against a seemingly unbeatable foe.

Two/Portia quickly emerged as the most level-headed of the bunch, able to take a moment and think things through (unlike the testosterone-fuelled fellows), which paid off when she made a deal with a rival company and successfully scuppered Ferrous Corp’s devious plans. Five/Das spent much of the episode feeling like an outsider; ironic considering she’s the key to the big mystery of who wiped her compatriot’s memories and why. Sure, Five told Two she knows who did it but wouldn’t reveal their identity, leaving us wondering for at least one more week.

But getting back to my suspicious mind, I can’t help but wonder if this whole thing is one big social experiment. Just because the computer told these five that they’re criminals doesn’t mean they are. Maybe they’re just regular folks who have been told they’re bad people. How they react to that—and the decisions they make moving forward—are all part of a grand plan. Will a group of strangers with different personalities and social beliefs band together and form a cohesive team or tear themselves apart?

We already know corporations are in control of everything, so why wouldn’t/couldn’t they do the same with people? As for the Android’s role in all this, she could be recording everything that happens during the test as well as manipulating situations, offering up spare information to the six and then watching what happens.

I know, I know, we’re just two episodes in to Dark Matter. There’s lots more story to go before we get to the answer promised in the season finale. But it will be fun to find out if I’m on the right track … or way off base.

Notes and quotes

  • “We’re better than that … we’re also pirates and smugglers and thieves. That’s a very diversified portfolio.” — Three
  • “No computer program is going to tell me who I am.” — Two
  • Using terms like “baditude,” “Slashy Stabberson” and “It’s Bubba Time,” only makes Three all the more awesome.
  • Listen, I know David Richmond-Peck has played many roles, including Commander Neiman on Dark Matter, but he’ll always be “the guy with the tail on Orphan Black” to me.
  • The opening credits are super-cool.

Dark Matter airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on Space.

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Featured

Comments and queries for the week of June 19

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What Canadian TV shows should be saved by Netflix?

Slings & Arrows, Almost Heroes, Rent-a-Goalie, Men with Brooms, Wild Roses, MVP. —Roger

If we wish hard enough for Netflix to fund a Fargo/True Detective-style limited series I’m sure we could convince them to come north for a season. Now I just need to get some leverage over Netflix other than my $8.99/month.

If they kept it a soap I think it would work well, however I think something in a slightly more serious tone about a Canadian investment bank/hedge fund trying to navigate being a big deal on Bay Street yet barely a minnow in the larger world could be interesting. Plus there seems to be a greater overall awareness of the high finance world, ready-made villains (let us all boo a billionaire and the dude bro traders) and continue the Traders tradition of making ethically dubious choices for money. —Gardner

I would also include: This Is Wonderland, ReGenesis and Shattered. Great shows. —Nancy

Martin Sheen to star in new Anne of Green Gables TV-movie

Compare Gilbert’s first proposal to Anne to Laurie’s proposal to Jo in Little Women. The part where Anne says that they would fight? Not in the book; in Little Women. And there’s a scene where Gilbert catches Anne coming from the post office with a rejected manuscript, and teases her about it as a secret. That scene doesn’t exist in the book either (Anne freely discusses her story mainly with Diana, and tells Gilbert she will let him read it if it’s published), but there’s an almost identical one in the Little Women movie (at least the June Allyson version; not sure how it goes for Winona Ryder) and it’s the bicycle that seems to clinch the copying.

Kevin Sullivan’s shameless copying from Little Women aside, I also resented the way he magnified out of all proportion the idea that Anne was romantically jealous of Gilbert spending time with Josie Pye (to the point of having Gilbert present at the ridgepole incident), and the occasions where Gilbert deliberately humiliated Anne (refusing to acknowledge her at a dance).

Maybe it’s too much to hope that the new version will come closer to my vision of the book, but for now I can at least hope. —Xaipe

 

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg@tv-eh.com or via @tv_eh.

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Featured, Killjoys

Killjoys stars live the dream playing intergalactic bounty hunters

Luke Macfarlane and Aaron Ashmore are living the dream. The pair, along with Hannah John-Kamen, play a trio of bounty hunters in Space’s newest series Killjoys, zipping around a small star system grabbing those wanted by the law and claiming the monetary spoils. To star in a sci-fi series is cool enough, but one thing took it over the top: carrying intergalactic weaponry.

“At the beginning, the crew would take my gun after a take, but after awhile I was like, ‘No, this is my gun!’ It’s part of my tool kit as a Killjoy,” Ashmore says with a laugh.

Debuting Friday on Space, Killjoys is a rollicking thrill ride, full of fist fights, gun battles and an overall feeling of the not-so-serious. Dutch (John-Kamen) is a tough-as-nails Reclamation Agent—nicknamed Killjoy—with Johnny Jacobis (Ashmore) as her long-time partner. The first instalment, “Bangarang,” introduces a third member to the team: Johnny’s brother D’avin (Macfarlane), an expert at hand-to-hand combat thanks to time in the military. The trio uses Lucy (Tamsen McDonough) as their mode of transport, a space ship with its own voice and distinct personality. Created by Michelle Lovretta (Lost Girl), Killjoys looks and feels a little 1970s cheese, hearkening back to Star Wars in the fact some settings look dusty and dirty, and outfits look worn. There’s a nostalgia to Killjoys that longtime fans of the genre will recognize and embrace.

But beside the fisticuffs and phasers, Killjoys is also about family. Johnny and D’avin are estranged, and Friday’s early peek into Dutch’s backstory reveals a mysterious man whose influence reaches back to her childhood.

“As the season goes on, we learn more about Johnny and D’avin’s childhood,” Macfarlane hints. “We learn how you can address something in two totally different ways and as a result become very different people. These two brothers could not be more different even though they both grew up with the same crappy dad.” Questions about what family is and what it means to be in a family are addressed too.

“These characters are so out there in the world and what draws them together is that they don’t have anything else,” Ashmore says. “This world and this lifestyle that they are is incredibly unstable and they’re drawn together—and sometimes torn apart—by that.”

Killjoys_ep

Killjoys primer
Here’s a quick peek into the world viewers step into on Friday night.

Reclamation Agents: A.k.a. Killjoys, these folks a licensed by the Reclamation Apprehension Coalition (RAC) to pursue warrants throughout the galaxy.

Warrants: There are five levels—Reclamation (recovering lost of stolen goods), Transfer (someone is being transported somewhere and needs protection), Live (a warrant must be captured still breathing), Living or Dead (breathing isn’t necessary) and Death (assassinations).

The Quad: The four-worlds the Killjoys inhabit, made up by a planet called Qresh and its three moons.

Qresh: On the brink of destroying its ecosystem, politicians and companies looked to its moons to get rid of trash and mine more resources. Qresh is home to The Quad’s elite and most powerful.

Westerley: Dutch and Johnny have lived on Westerley for the last two years. The moon is owned by The Company.

Arkyn: No one goes to this mysterious world.

Leith: The farmers and blue collar folks live on Leith, a lush moon where prostitution, drug use are illegal and guns are frowned upon.

Killjoys airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on Space.

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Featured, Rookie Blue

Review: Traci takes top spot on Rookie Blue

I was out of town last week, so I was unable to review “Letting Go,” which gave fans a peek into Nick’s backstory. It was a pretty emotional ride, with Nick coming close to meting out the justice he’s waited so long for, an introduction to his older brother (Peter Stebbings in a beard!) and Dov and Marlo continuing the bombing investigation on their own.

This week saw closure in the case of the man stalking Traci. Or should I say “men” as the duo of Adrian Locke (J. Adam Brown) and Corey Sleeman (Will Bowes) were working in tandem to capture women and rape them. Eagle-eyed viewers will note Corey Sleeman is the guy who was pulled into the station and questioned by Swarek in Episode 1 and aimed the investigation away from himself.

“A Real Gentleman,” written by Karen Moore, may very well have been named that because Corey felt he hadn’t done anything wrong by nabbing ladies like Traci. After all, he wasn’t the one sexually assaulting them; that was Adrian and Corey was just watching and making sure his partner was being gentle. The whole storyline was pretty terrifying simply because the suspects were so blasé as they recounted what they’d done. Most TV shows go the route of a hardened, veteran criminal committing the crimes, but Thursday’s storyline proposed the quiet kid next door or the barista in the coffee shop could be stalking and plotting harm. It was a dark route to go, and kudos to Bowes and Enuka Okuma for saying the lines with the appropriate gravitas. Okuma’s Traci hasn’t had a heck of a lot to do this season, but she more than made up for it on Thursday. (And can we talk about the serious butt-kicking Traci delivered to Corey in that basement? Wow.)

Rookie Blue isn’t the first cop drama to throw a red herring into the mix but the latest was offering up gun smuggler Thom Kozik (Daniel Kash) as the possible reason Traci had gone missing just minutes before the raid. Kash plays bad guys to a tee and was in his element as the sleazy Kozik, hinting to Swarek and Steve that perhaps he was behind Traci’s disappearance. He wasn’t, of course, but I have to wonder if Kozik will be back in a future episode. Kash is a little too high profile an actor for a one-off and the case against him seemed to be far from closed.

Gail’s ongoing adoption storyline made a little step forward this week, as she and Dov were tasked with keeping Leo company while the force searched for his mom. There was a nice moment in the squad car where Gail and Leo bonded and he showed his trust in her by putting his head on her shoulder. Awwww.

Notes and quotes

  • The look Gail gave Dov when he suggested she might be iron deficient? Priceless.
  • Track grabbed a bike lock to defend herself from Corey, but I would have used the canoe paddle by the door.
  • Diaz needs to run away from Jamie as fast as he can. But is he in too far to escape her if he decides to break it off?

Rookie Blue airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Global.

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