Orphan Black: Echoes

I'm another lover of the original Orphan Black - it had a fast pace, good character development, and some phenomenal acting. This sequel has none of those.

At best it could be said to be providing detail regarding the creation of the clones, but even that didn't make much sense or even spark some interest. It's just used as a platform for more tiresome melodrama.

While the lead is an experienced actress I've enjoyed seeing in other roles, she simply lacks the range to carry this show. And with such a weak script, that otherwise passable flaw becomes a major failing point.

After 6 episodes of boredom, I finally gave up after another soap opera rendition of attempted dialogue between several characters I simply couldn't care about.

There might be a coherent story in there somewhere but you will never find it because the editing is so bad it's beyond comical and moves back into just bad it makes the whole show confusing because you're like what just happened?, did my internet blip out? Did it accidentally skip ahead 40 seconds? I love Kristen Ritter and I thought I could make it through even if it was bad like a lot of the reviews have said but it's just unwatchable. Maybe by some miracle they figure this out in the future but the lack of attention they put into the pilot episode kind of sets the stage for the rest of the series.

I loved the original Orphan Black. It's one of my favourite series. I was quite excited to see where this new one was going to take the story. Unfortunately I was so let down.

There is no grit. There is no real mystery to uncover or bad guy to take out. There are no deep onion layers to dig through. Or cool exciting characters to find. It's so fluffy and boring compared to the original series.

The writing is so bad. The show could have been summoned up in one episode and yet somehow they manage to drag it out for 10 by adding in too many empty filler scenes that it gets boring fast. They had a great cast, but no real story to act out. What's even more disappointing is that this is supposed to be the future. And yet there is no future tech. No cool costumes. Everything is the same, except everyone has an electric car, and there's less violence. Where is the creativity? Where is the cool tech? To make it even worse they have Kira looking like a sixty year old. Which means Sarah and the other clones would be in their eighties. And yet they talk like they are young and spry and out saving the world. To top it all off, they didn't do one episode with Tatinan Maslany.

In the original Orphan black, cloning was bad. You got people playing god and making armies of clones. Everyone wanted power... it's understandable. But in this new series, remind me again what is so bad about printing a dead loved one? No one is making clone armies here. No one is selling prints for money or personal gain. The answer that they give you in the series is that, it's heartless to bring a teenager into the world that has no past memory of who they are. We need to stop this and rescue them so that they aren't confused about who they are... what is so evil about this?

Another thing that makes no sense is why the richest man on earth only has three body guards to do his biding. These three people better bring down the bad scary prints and if they can't do it... no one can.

To top it all off, I made it through all ten episodes hoping the end would end with a bang of some riddled plot that makes you finally feel like you've found out a secret and uncovered evil. It's a let down.

The writing and editing is so bad, it is distracting.

My "favourite" scene is where a doctor is helping a character with regaining her memories, literally having her repeat information about her life. And when the person asks whether she can now go live with somebody, the doctor scolds her that she can't: "I thought you knew that!". You literally explained TO HER that she lost *all* her memories! YOU would have had to give her that information!

The choices are so perplexing!

Having it set in the future, with everything basically looking the same, minimal differences in technology and clothes (oooh, self driving cars, how "futuristic"). Adults walking into a night club in office clothes (and getting IN!). The weird cheap wigs. Having a 33-year old playing a 70-year-old. Having a Canadian doing a weird over-the-top 1940s British accent, while the British actress does an American Accent (I get why. But it's very distracting). Having characters explain and explain after we just saw what they are explaining (two kids talking about their parents and their strained relationship). It is all quite tedious and boring.

Which is sad. Because we know these actors are capable.

I started watching OBEs and was a little meh, it's not grabbing me the first episode. I was almost ready to ditch it. But the story starts to pick up speed and well it was an intruiging twist on the original OB.

Second half of the season I felt the story telling and actng was really starting to be on par at times with OB. OBE, I think it needed to find it's groove, but every now and then it doesn't quite hit it and that's okay because overall it's an enjoyable, exciting watch and the premise is a good one and stands alone in it's own right.

Great to see the OB universe expanded.

The really low reviews on here are a shame as I think a number of the reviewers have given up too early. But great to see it tempered with people seeing this show for it's own worth.