News Orphan Black spin-off starring Krysten Ritter

[The Nightmare Doctor]

We finally have a trailer!

Definitely looks promising despite not getting much beyond a basic amnesia mystery and hints of a grand conspiracy. Plus, the show is seemingly set much further in the future from the original show, but I still hope for some kind of role for Tatiana Maslay after the show finds its footing.

We still don't have a release date but we do know we have to wait at least a few more months.

 

[tomalak301]

Nice trailer. Is the whole season going to be on BBC America or just the first episode. I think subscribing to AMC+ might be worth it because I was a fan of Orphan Black (Might need to rewatch that series, which I bought digitally, next year) but if it's all on BBC America I won't need to.

 

[tomalak301]

New Trailer for Echoes just dropped. I saw people being luke warm on this series but I think I'm still interested, mainly because I like Ritter and I liked Orphan Black. Comes out June 23rd.

 

[JD]

Looks good to me.

 

[Credit Check]

I mean, at this point, it sounds like a redux of the original. But I'm all in. I loved the original OB, I'm a fan of Ritter's from Jessica Jones, and there isn't anything here to make not want to tune in. I love the location shots already.

 

[The Nightmare Doctor]

Great trailer and I already was all in with just Krysten Ritter and Keeley Hawes, but this helps seal it. Plus...

OG family cameo, if only in photograph form!



I looked at the Wikipedia article and apparently we already know who Hawes is playing. I'm going to spoiler code it because I hadn't seen this news but it still took me off guard. Should be apparent from this screen grab but...

Spoiler: Who?

She's grown up Kira!

On top of that, I saw in the Wikipedia article that two original characters are set to return:

Spoiler: Just playing it safe for y'all

Jordan Gavaris as Felix and Evelyne Brochu as Delphine!

The Wikipedia article says the show is set in 2052, 37 years after the original show, so both of them are going to be pretty old at this point.

Lastly, great casting of Amanda Fix because she looks like a young Krysten Ritter, nose and all.

Edit: Just noticed in the Wikipedia article that the whole season already aired in Australia...last November! Which means...

Spoiler

Unless the editors are being super vigilant (doubtful), no Tatiana Maslany in the first season.

 

[CaptainWacky]

The season was released on ITV X in the UK last week. I've watched the first three episodes and found it pretty disappointing so far. It has almost none of the humour or spark of the original show. The story is fine but it's being told in a really dull, straightforward way. I like Krysten Ritter from several different things I've seen her in and she's doing her best here, but Lucy has not been a good lead character so far (and was barely in the third episode.) Amanda Fix as Jules IS really well cast though and I've found her a more compelling lead character. But I just can't get over how they've taken out everything that made the original special and replaced it with blandness.

Spoiler

Very disappointed that Ritter is only playing one character (so far.) Jordan Garvaris as a sixty year old Felix was not very convincing.

 

[tomalak301]

One thing that is distracting me so far on the first episode is this show takes place in 2052, yet it feels like it takes place in present day. Why are they still using cars and cell phones? Couldn't they make things a bit more futuristic?

 

[The Nightmare Doctor]

Finally got a chance to watch the first episode. While the overall mystery is somewhat interesting and Krysten Ritter is fantastic as always, the overall execution of the story feels a bit sloppy, with Lucy doing some very questionable actions (but I guess the same could be said of Sarah, especially in the first season).

I find it a bit weird how the story begins with Lucy somehow escaping (or just let go?), before jumping two years with her on the lam (but apparently not that far away from the city, which is particularly weird). I get that we don't need to have everything filled in at the start but I feel like that's a really awkward start before then jumping to the cliché "coming out of hiding to confront the big baddie directly to tell them to back off (but of course that never works)."

I also hate how Charlie easily killed Lucy's attacker. I'm so very tired of "the untrained kid is able to kill someone with a headshot" cliché. That was completely unnecessary as a means to get Lucy to go on the run.

I'm sure we'll get more explanations later but I find it rather upsetting that Kira would be involved with anything like this considering her family history. I imagine it'll be a case of "being slowly lured in by the science before she got in over her head" kind of situation but it still feels inexplicable. I do wish I hadn't been spoiled by that reveal at the end of the episode (Aunt Cosima!) but at least it was within the first episode.

I remember initially not liking the original series during the first season. I slowly watched it for a month (after all of the episodes had aired) and the show didn't really click together for me until towards the end of that season. Maybe that'll happen again here, but I feel a lot more skeptical about the set-up this time around, especially regarding Kira.

One thing that is distracting me so far on the first episode is this show takes place in 2052, yet it feels like it takes place in present day. Why are they still using cars and cell phones? Couldn't they make things a bit more futuristic?

That doesn't bother me. It's only 30 years into the future so it's a little tricky imagining what kind of advances we would have. Yeah, we get the classic "look at all of the aerial holograms, self-operating farming equipment, and fancy tech at the big corporation" to make it feel somewhat futuristic, but honestly I don't need anything more. The focus should be on the story and characters and not the futuristic gadgets (aside from cloning tech).

 

[tomalak301]

I'm more intrigued by the Jules character than I am with the Lucy character. While I like Ritter, I do wonder if she was miscast in this role. She doesn't really have the spunk that Maslany had. Overall it was a decent episode, but this series might become a struggle to get through. It's a lot more slow going, and the most interesting storyline was the Jules storyline. Everything else is now dragging it's heels.

 

[tomalak301]

It's been hard to talk about this series with people. Part of it is it already aired last year and most people have seen it. However, we are 2 episodes left and all this criticism of the series I've seen I don't entirely understand. Maybe I've been avoiding it for fear of spoilers, but there are things I do like about this series, namely, Amanda Fix as Jules and now we have the three of them together. I don't think it's as good as Orphan Black, but I'm not angry watching this series yet, and if it gets a season 2 I might stick around.

I do understand Kira's motivations for doing what she did, but it has spiraled out of control, and one distraction I do have is the thought of Project Leda hanging overhead and this series is trying to go out of it's way to not mention it. Also, I really do not like the theme song. It's something I hope they change if they do have a season 2.

 

[the G-man]

Naming Ritter as the lead makes me very interested. She was great in Jessica Jones of course, but having just watched Breaking Bad last year, she was awesome if that as well.

If you haven't seen it, check out her short lived ABC sitcom.

 

[Commander Troi]

I'm enjoying the series, even if it's not as good as the original. Amanda Fix is definitely a stand-out. I can't wait to find out why Jules was created.

 

[tomalak301]

If you haven't seen it, check out her short lived ABC sitcom.

I've heard good things about it. I'm assuming it was an ABC show so it's probably on Hulu.

 

[tomalak301]

I can't believe Orphan Black ended 7 years ago, almost to the day. It feels like yesterday we were watching the final episode and seeing Helana give birth. I say that because watching episode 9 of Echoes and seeing Delphine, the older make up is throwing me off. Not only that, but she initially seemed drunk or something.

 

[Commander Troi]

She didn't seem drunk to me, but the makeup definitely threw me too.

Xander is just a bundle of trauma, ain't he? WTF is Derros doing???

 

[tomalak301]

She didn't seem drunk to me, but the makeup definitely threw me too.

Xander is just a bundle of trauma, ain't he? WTF is Derros doing???

Maybe it was the accent, which seemed thicker in this episode than the original series. It did improve as the episode went on, but that first scene gave me a bit of whiplash.

 

[tomalak301]

I have mixed feelings about Killing Jules. While she did carry the season for the most part, having that kind of an ending is shocking and makes me want to come back for Season 2. It's the series basically saying that no one is safe, and considering she was a print out and a test case and a corruption, I can understand why it happened.

I really hope Season 2 (If we get there) does center around the ethical consequences of what Darros was doing. His motivations are more worldly, while Kira just wanted her Wife back. Both are unethical, and I think this show has a theme to base around, much like the old show based on the ethical consequences of cloning and cults.

I remember reading some of the reviews before I started the series saying this was kind of middle of the road, and while I don't think it's as great as Orphan Black, I did come back each week and made it to the end of the season. I feel like people didn't like it because Maslany didn't show up, yet this is a spin off series that tried to be it's own thing. Now that I've seen the season, I think it succeeded to a certain extent and could get better. I did like the chemistry between Eleanor and Kira and Amanda Fix as the "bad girl" next season could be fun. Heck, she could be the new Tatiana Maslany of the series, which wouldn't be a bad thing. If it comes back, great. If not, I enjoyed myself these last 10 weeks and I'm glad I gave it a chance.

 

[Commander Troi]

Killing Jules really shocked me!

I enjoyed the show and hope it gets another season to really dig into the ethical issues. I mean, we're literally talking about "resurrecting" people without their consent!

Plus, did Derros create his braintrust to save/change the world or is there something more personal?

 

[tomalak301]

Plus, did Derros create his braintrust to save/change the world or is there something more personal?

I had to rewatch the scene, but Derros got pretty emotional when Kira brought up the Sister. He says he's looking toward the future, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Sister comes back into play next season.