“Orphan Black”: Season Three might not be as strong as its first two seasons (which I would give an “A” grade) yet there’s still some good storylines and once again Tatiana Manslany gives several great performances with the different clone personas.
“Orphan Black”: Season Three
(2015)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Science Fiction, Drama
Warner Home Video | NR – 450 min. – $39.98 | August 4, 2015
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Various Writer(s): John Fawcett, Graeme Manson, Chris Roberts (created by) Cast: Tatiana Maslany, Jordan Gavaris, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Dylan Bruce, Kristian Bruun, Kevin Hanchard DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1) |
** Click Here to Purchase “Orphan Black”: Season 3 on Blu-ray from Amazon.com **
THE SEASON – 3.75/5
After the shocking discovery of Project Castor, Sarah and her sister clones (TATIANA MASLANY) are left to battle the top-secret military project producing these lethal male clones. At the same time, Sarah tries to track down her missing twin Helena and an ailing Cosima searches for the key to the synthetic sequences that may keep them all alive. But how far are they willing to go to protect each other and their families, and who can they really trust?
Quick Hit Review: The first two seasons of “Orphan Black” were fantastic, nothing like what was seen on television especially with a lead actress like Tatiana Maslany who to this day I have no idea why she continues to get snubbed come Golden Globe and Emmy awards season. However, this third season, while good, isn’t all that memorable by comparison. Yeah, Maslany still turns in amazing performances for several distinct characters, there’s not much that stands out especially in the villain department. Sure, you have the male clones, played by Ari Millen, which drive the season storyline and the investigation into who created them as well as Sarah’s mission to find Helena, but otherwise it’s not quite as compelling or driven as the first two seasons, the former especially.
All that said, the third season of “Orphan Black” is still a lot of fun and fairly entertaining and still better than a fair number of other series on television today. I do have hope that the fourth season will improve things and extend the storyline much further while still keeping the mystery element fresh and engaging.
Episodes:
- The Weight of This Combination
- Transitory Sacrifices of Crisis
- Formalized, Complex and Costly
- Newer Elements of Our Defense
- Scarred by Many Past Frustrations
- Certain Agony of the Battlefield
- Community of Dreadful Fear and Hate
- Ruthless in Purpose, and Insidious in Method
- Insolvent Phantom of Tomorrow
- History Yet to Be Written
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.5/5
This 2-disc release is housed in a standard Blu-ray case and comes with a semi-glossy and reflective slip cover.
The Look of “Orphan Black” (9:15; HD) covers the cinematography and overall appearance of the show and a way for it stand out from the others.
Creating the Castor Clones (8:10; HD) – Ari Millen and others among the cast and crew talk about these antagonists against Sarah, et al.
The Rendition Camp: Behind the Walls (8:42; HD) breaks down the set design of the camp inside a soundstage and lighting it just right to make it appear to be outside.
Team Hendrix: Rockin’ the Suburbs (6:17; HD) is about the Allison clone and the domestic side including the dangerous side.
Dissecting the Scenes (11:30; HD) – Here we get the various members of the cast and crew, including Tatiana’s clone double, breaking down certain scenes from the season and how they were shot.
At Home with the Hendrixes (1:53; HD) is a mini-music video of Mr. and Mrs. Hendrix twerking on the bed in money.
Blooper Reel (5:35; HD)
VIDEO – 4.5/5
“Orphan Black”: Season Three clones itself onto Blu-ray (just go with it) presented in its originally televised 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and has a 1080p high-definition transfer. Detail levels are quite good throughout while colors appear to be finely balanced while the darker scenes are fairly stark and show no signs of artifacts or aliasing. It’s a nice transfer that has a certain pop and more or less matches what was seen on the BBC and BBC America.
AUDIO – 4.25/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 channel track provides for great and clear dialogue levels while also maintaining good depth for the occasional action/suspense-oriented sequences. The bulk of the audio is through the center and front channels while the rears are mostly used to push out the standard score and soundtrack.
OVERALL – 4.0/5
Overall, “Orphan Black”: Season Three might not be as strong as its first two seasons (which I would give an “A” grade) yet there’s still some good storylines and once again Tatiana Manslany gives several great performances with the different clone personas. The Blu-ray released by Warner Home Video offers good video/audio transfers and a decent selection of bonus material.
Published: 08/21/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.