Highly Recommended: Orphan Black by T. S. Jones

Imagine walking around downtown on your way to a subway platform ready to go home and the craziest thing you could ever think of happens. Being half a foot away from the mirror image of yourself who proceeds to jump in front of a moving train.

That happened to Sarah Manning…

This is how the BBC Original Series begins the journey we take with the con artist who only wanted to return to her daughter’s life and start fresh. What she would soon find out is her world is much bigger than she thought. Noticing that this mystery woman left her belongings on the platform, Sarah takes it upon herself to assume her identity. On the surface what harm could it be right? Not really, if there was an identity NOT to steal; it would be this woman’s.

It turns out that the woman who chose to take the train in a more unconventional way, is a woman named Beth Childs who was a cop for the for the city of East York in Toronto, Canada. She came upon a discovery that she wasn’t the person she grew to become. One could imagine that Beth felt overwhelmed with the information she obtained and didn’t want to process it any longer. Sarah, through the contents in Beth’s purse, learns about her doppelganger’s life; including a fabulous home & a hot boyfriend. Sarah on the other hand, comes from a life of being a foster child to Siobhan along with her foster brother/best friend Felix who she lovingly nicknamed Fe (or Fee, depending on the how the viewer interprets this).

Felix is an artist who is beyond comfortable with this sexuality. Ever the expressive, he has no filters and makes sure everyone around him is aware of it. That’s a part of his charm, not to mention the big heart he has for those he cares about the most. Thankfully for Sarah, he has no problem in helping her get Kira back and start a new life as well as finding out more about this newfound, yet strangely unique, extended circle of friends. Despite this being a shock to her system, Sarah seems rather well adjusted in processing the fact that there may be others who look like her. While working on assuming the identity of Beth Childs, Sarah & Fe would learn that Beth is the beginning of one of the craziest webs of deception brought upon in the name of science.

I present to you…The Clone Club!

Allison Hendrix

Allison is a suburban soccer mom, Allison can be considered the mother hen of the doppelgangers. She’s a strong type A person – a place for everything and everything in it’s place. Allison is more wound up than a pocket watch. As much as she hated to process the fact that she was a clone, Allison would become the resourceful one in the group. While it wasn’t expressed as much, it would be easy to say that she was more relatable to Beth; the closest to a real sister she could possibly have. Beth may have also taken Allison more seriously than Cosima did. And yet, she has a wild side that not only humanizes her; her husband Donnie seems to rock with it.

Finest Moment: During her campaign speech for school trustee, Allison lets her guard down and truly speaks from her heart & won over the audience in the end. It seems that the growing bond within the sister circle has been an empowering influence on her personality.

Cosima Nichaus

The super geek of Clone Club, Cosima has a scientific mind that would impress Stephen Hawkins & Nikola Tesla. Despite her quick intellectual thinking, she does know how to have fun and let loose. She crosses paths with a fellow intellect name Delphine who she became very drawn to. They connect while going to a speaking engagement featuring a popular scientist Dr. Aldous Leekie – there’s an interesting subplot with that one. Sensing a possible opening to becoming more than friends, Cosima gives a surprising kiss to Delphine. To put it plainly, Cosima is out and proud of her sexuality. Her best friend is Scott, another student who later became her right hand; he had her back no matter what.

Finest Moment: Getting her grove on at Felix’s art show dancing on a portrait of Rachel Duncan, the Queen Bitch of the Dyad Institute. She brought up a couple of drag queens & Scott to join in. It really exudes the beautiful spirit she has. Besides, who wouldn’t want to party with Cosima, yeah?

Helena

Having grown up at a church orphanage in the Ukraine, Helena is not actually a clone; she’s Sarah’s biological twin sister. Their initial meeting is not one to tell friends at dinner parties that’s for sure. She has the mannerisms of a highly skilled assassin and a heart full of love. She, it would come as a surprise to her other “sestras”, is excellent with children; they really do take to her. She had quite a terrible upbringing in the orphanage; primarily due to catching a nun in the act of loving herself. She was put in solitude and this same nun bleached her hair with actual bleach. Hence the blonde hair and the frigid look that continued when an opposition of science named Tomas took her under his wing. That’s something to check out for sure.

Finest Moment: While impersonating Donnie’s wife Allison, Helena wasn’t too pleased to hear drug supplier Pouchy’s niece threaten the Hendrix’s children; not to mention holding the cannister with her harvested eggs as collateral. The result, Helena took matters in her own hands ensuring they wouldn’t be bothered by him or his people again. It was an epic moment.

And then there’s…

Rachel Duncan

While not a member of the Clone Club, Rachel was presented as a cold calculating bitch; that’s putting it lightly to be honest. She would eat, sleep and breathe the Dyad Institute from when she was a young girl having been raised primarily by Dr. Aldous Leekie. She began to take much interest in the clones upon finding out that Sarah had Kira naturally. Rachel may come across as someone who runs the entire ship at Dyad but that’s not entirely accurate. She does conduct much business for the organization, but she has her limits and there are people behind the curtain to make sure she doesn’t forget that. She protected her heart so much that she failed to understand real understanding. She wanted order and nothing else; unless it were to raise her arousing level behind closed doors.

Finest Moment: All I can say about Rachel’s finest moment is that it’s one where it was out of pure empathy. A chance to do a good deed if you will. Unfortunately, it was too little too late.

There were some other clones in Canada that Beth either reached out to or were found by Cosima with the help of Scott. I like to call them Honorary Clone Members. The following is a brief description of said members:

Krystal Goderitch

A self-proclaimed fashionista with a large following on her YouTube channel, Krystal is not just a pretty face. She, along with her friend Brie, use their YouTube platform to tell their subscribers some of the dangers in various cosmetic products. While she is made aware of the cloning situation, Krystal can still be on the oblivious side that shows her as someone who is loving her life while masking her intelligence with the self-confident beauty; her attitude has bite as well.

Tony Sawicki

Formally known as Antoinette, Tony is a transgender male who is a career thief and was one of the first people Beth reached out to after discovering she was one of the clones. He didn’t stick around after meeting Felix and Sarah; they insisted that he moves out of the city for his safety.

MK

Perceived to be a hardcore conspiracy theorist, MK had her finger on the pulse of this madness that became their lives. She was careful with whom to trust when it came to the girls. Sarah was someone since Beth that she felt comfortable enough to talk with…eventually. MK helped to piece a lot of things together for the girls; giving them a broader understanding of Dyad Institute as well as the Leda and Prometheus clones.

Along with the clones from around the world, there were some other great and yet interesting supporting characters. For instance, Detective Arthur “Art” Bell who was Beth’s partner that was woven into the Clone Club and discovered he gained an extended family. Siobhan aka Mrs. S wasn’t just a foster mother to Sarah & Felix as stated earlier, she was a resistance fighter in her day and stayed in contact with some who were still active while under the radar so to speak. Donnie, Allison’s very supportive husband whose genuine love for his wife extended to her growing family. And Delphine, who started out at as a mole for Neolution who eventually fell for Cosima while in grad school at the University of Minnesota.

And we cannot forget Vic….

Known properly as Victor Schmidt, Vic is Sarah’s annoying ex and former con partner who was beyond the borderline of being obsessed with her. So much so that he was willing to go against some of the most dangerous people who on the surface wouldn’t seem like much of a challenge. Case in point – Vic thought he could take on Paul and get Sarah back; think again Vic. There are a lot of comical moments in this series and Vic had many of them.

These clones (Project Leda) were impressively played by Tatiana Maslany and has presented what could be called one of the greatest jobs to have as an actor. In saying that I mean that in one show she has shown she can play various personalities. So, should the question of whether she can play a certain part or not, the answer is found in this show. She rightfully won a Leading Actress Emmy in 2016 for her work on this hit Sci-fi/Drama that I found to be not only entertaining; innovating as well.

This show has developed a strong following that’s very comparable to that of The Walking Dead. So much so, it spanned a limited comic book series published by IDW Publishing as part of their "Deviations" series. Meaning they put a spin on the detailed back stories on the clones as well as the events at Helsinki; you’ll have to check out the show to find out more on that.

Orphan Black is a who’s-who’s show for Sci-fi fans as there are many familiar faces from other shows seen over the years in this long-standing genre. You can find the series on Amazon Prime (Seasons 1-4 are available with a Prime Membership – Season 5 is available for purchase), Google Play, iTunes, other streaming providers for purchase or you can add the complete series to your DVD/Blu-Ray library. If you consider yourself a true Sci-fi fan and love seeing a visual story being told in a way that it leaves a lasting impression worthy to be part of a nerdom conversations, I highly recommend the BBC Original Series Orphan Black.

That’s my opinion and everyone is entitled to one.

DC Brings Justice to the Big Screen by T. S. Jones

*SPOILER ALERT* – If you haven’t seen the Justice League film yet, you may want to wait until you have before reading this article. Should you choose to proceed, understand there are some telling details from the feature.

Just in time for the holiday season, DCEU brings together some of their legendary heroes together from the page of the iconic comic to the movie theaters in Justice League. Gal Gadot & Ben Affleck & Henry Cavill reprises their roles as Wonder Woman, Batman & Superman respectively. The film takes place after Superman dies and how everyone has moved on with their lives. Bruce Wayne is still defending the city of Gotham, Diana continues her work at the museum in Paris and Lois Lane is doing puff pieces at the Daily Planet.

They go up against a foe that to me, is more menacing than Ares was in Wonder Woman. He is a deadly alien named Steppenwolf who is hellbent on dominating the universe by obtaining the Mother Boxes that have been hidden and protected throughout the world. When Bruce & Diana start to notice different signs of the common problem, they join forces and he decides to venture out and gather together a few more extraordinary people to join the cause which is saving the world of someone who claims to bring death to all mankind.

The newest movie from DC Films brought about a great mix of action, drama and comedy; the latter coming mostly from Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash. Speaking of The Flash, there is some mention of his back story regarding his father Henry being in prison for the murder of his wife; a crime Barry knows he didn’t commit. He has devoted his life to proving Henry’s innocence and refuses to give up despite his father’s wishes to do so.

Jason Momoa comes on the screen basically larger than life as Arthur Curry aka Aquaman when Bruce Wayne makes a pilgrimage to Iceland in the search for the underwater King who Bruce claims “can talk to fish”. While the aquatic royal isn’t convinced to join the cause lead by a man who “dresses like a bat”, a catastrophic event in his underwater kingdom changes his mind and is, like Barry, taken by the beauty of the leading lady of the league. For those who loved his look as King Drogo on Game of Thrones, they will certainly love his look in this film. It would be safe to say there are moments meant for the ladies.

There are some familiar faces throughout the film. Diane Lane returns as Martha Kent, mother of Clark Kent/Superman and Amy Adams appears in the film as Lois Lane, the love of the Kyptonian’s life. Connie Nielsen reprises her role as well, portraying Diana’s mother Queen Hippolyta; she’s also a protector of one of the Mother Boxes. Her Amazonian army naturally had her back when Steppenwolf invaded their homeland; a definite sight to see on the big screen.

Another standout actor is the one and only Joe Morton, who despite his role as Olivia Pope’s father Rowan, can be perceived as the go-to actor to portray a scientific genius with his caliber of talent (can’t forget Terminator 2 & Syfy’s Eureka). He is Dr. Slias Stone, father of the college football star Victor Stone now known as Cyborg. We find out how he came to be the cybernetic hero with a passion to do the right thing and protect his father from evil as well as the world.

No stranger to the comic book film genre, J. K. Simmons joins the DCEU as Gotham City Police Department’s Commissioner James Gordon, a role that’s a bit calmer than J. Jonah Jameson in the Spider-Man films. It’s minimal at best but with Simmons being the 4th actor to take on the part, he’s made it memorable. Can’t forget the iconic actor Jeremey Irons as Bruce’s right-hand Alfred Pennyworth being as the protective father figure with the voice of reason. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that this version of Alfred lives a little vicariously through the cape crusader he raised after Bruce’s parents were murdered.

As stated earlier there are some lighthearted and comedic moments in Justice League, several came from Barry Allen and there was one that stood out for me. Barry may have the speed force and proved to be a great asset to the group of superfriends, he was also like how Ant-Man was when he met Captain America in The Avengers; you couldn’t help but to laugh. The big laugh however came from the King of Atlantis aboard one of Bruce’s many aircraft toys. Apparently, it seems that he was compelled to express himself to the group and was quite open. Bruce noticed Diana holding in the laughter and in turned lets Arthur know that it wasn’t his choice; he was on Diana’s lasso of truth – classic.

Award-winning composer Danny Elfman (The Simpsons, Spider-Man, Fifty Shades Darker) utilized his skills with the film score. During a couple of scenes where we saw Henry Cavill was featured, Elfman used some of John Williams’ iconic composition from the Superman films Christopher Reeve starred in. No offense but unless you were a true fan of the Reeve films and had the score embedded in your head, you just didn’t get it. It was even used in the first episode of Smallville he guest starred in.

For some reason, when it came to this movie, critics had nothing on social media…nothing. There was so much negativity towards this film you would think that rotten tomatoes had a negative scale; it unfortunately got 41% on the popular site. It could be due to the notion that Marvel films are presented like halftime shows at the Super Bowl; they expect DC to bring it in the same way. Therein lies the beauty of individual creativeness; you can’t please everyone with it.

Zack Snyder directed some great live action comic book films such as Watchmen, 300 and Man of Steel. He directed this film and did a wonderful job at it. It would be safe to say that his track record in this genre is incredible. I see him as one of those filmmakers that will take the good with the bad, the positive with the negative and come back hard with something that will draw the masses to the theater seats knowing he will not disappoint.

This is another great step for the DC Extended Universe and some will agree, some will disagree. There is always going to be opinions on both ends of the spectrum and that is going to make for some great promotion for the film. As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. To be honest, I wasn’t too convinced that Ben Affleck could pull off being Batman only to see that he’s been pretty good at it; I can admit when I’m wrong.

At the end of the day, Justice League has shown that despite some of it’s previous films (except for Wonder Woman of course), they understand the phrase room for improvement. This is putting them in that direction, it can only get better from here. I for one look forward to seeing it. Up next – Aquaman in 2018!

That’s my opinion and everyone is entitled to one.

Runaways will be Marvel-ous for Hulu By T. S. Jones

Aside from having Marvel’s Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. on their roster of shows (it’s an ABC Network show), Hulu has officially joined the Marvel family with its original series – Marvel’s Runaways. Based on the comic book series created by Brian K. Vaughan & Adrian Alphona, Runaways tells the story of a group of childhood friends reuniting after the passing of one at the request of Alex Wilder. While this would come across as an opportunity to reconnect with the ones who made you happy, accepted you for who you are – this isn’t one of those times. Don’t misunderstand, there is joy in Alex’s face when he sees his friends at his front door, but the moment is short lived when they discover there’s more to their parents lives than they ever wanted to know.

From what is seen in the promotional trailer (5.4 million views on YouTube so far) the group of teenagers find a secret room in Alex’s home where they find their parents wearing monk-like robes and performing a ceremony where a young woman is being sacrificed. This is the beginning of change in the relationship between child and parent where breaking curfew is nowhere near the equation.

Over time, we’ll find out more about the parents who are a collectively secret organized group called PRIDE. This group is comprised of power couples – emphasis on the word power – who basically own all of Malibu, California. They each has a set of skills that when coming together is one that is literally out of this world. This will be presented in a broader sense on the show for sure. It’s not going to be some subplot; especially considering that they are now formidable foes to their children.

For some, this is an exciting moment to see yet another comic book series in live-action form; not so much for others. This would bring about strong opposing opinions, including my own. I recently purchased the first volume of Runaways (the original Vaughan/Alphona creation) which consists of the first six issues and I must say it was a great page turner and makes for an interesting story. In comparison with the trailer that is currently promoting the show, it is honoring the look of the characters that is the teenage supergroup; taken right from the pages of the book. Not to mention it sets a foundation on what to possibly expect in the series. I say possibly because like most everything involving live-action comic book films and television shows, there’s always opportunity to spin the story in one way shape or form.

Kevin Melrose of Comic Book Resources raved about the new series saying the show is “Smartly written and tightly paced” and feels the “it very well may be the most faithful television adaptations of a comic book yet – in spirit, in any case.” That’s is fitting for the high regard department. On the other end of the spectrum is Matt Goldberg of collider.com, he seems to have a very displeasing opinion about how the characters are being portrayed. For example, he doesn’t seem open to how show creators Josh Schwartz & Stephanie Savage are putting their spin on the newest live-action Marvel project – “Arguably the biggest change from the comics is that Schwartz and Savage decide to make the parents a much bigger part of the story. Rather than malevolent antagonists who have the city on lockdown, the show very slowly tries to tease out their end game…despite trying to give us the perspective of the parents, it ends up depriving the show of a strong central viewpoint.”

What I find intriguing is how some people who are hardcore comic books heads – maybe more than I – who it seems have no room for something called creative licensing. This is a broader interpretation of telling a story. What needs to be understood is that Schwartz & Savage are bringing this story to another medium which is television. This format allows the creators, including the cast & crew, to tell the broad story as it’s meant to be told. This can also be taken as a testament to the series bringing inspiration to the creators of the show who like many of us who have picked up a comic book and wondered what if there was more to the story than what’s being told; that’s what this series will provide.

It should also be understood that the first season of any show is the foundation of the series. These characters are being introduced to viewers who may not have read the comics and reintroduced to those who did. As expressed earlier, the casting was made very well by the casting department and I do believe that those who have read the books will agree they paid attention to detail when it came to bringing these young superheroes to life.

Runaways

Alex Wilder – Rhenzy Feliz (Casual, Teen Wolf)

Alex is the resident nerd of the group who longs for the days where he was part of a group of kids – teenagers – that despite the different personalities, there was some common ground. It’s his discovery that starts the adventure that they can’t walk away from even if they wanted to.

Nico Minoru/Sister Grimm – Lyrica Okano (The Affair, Ikenhisu: To Kill with One Blow)

Nico is perceived as an outsider at her school primarily due to her gothic look. She comes from a line of Wiccans who discovers her abilities in quite surprising way. For the most part she hasn’t been the same since her sister passed away. Maybe reuniting with her friends will bring her out of her shell.

Karolina Dean/Lucy in the Sky – Virginia Gardner (Zoo, Project Almanac)

The daughter of Hollywood actors, Karolina is a young model who wants to break free and have a more conventional life and be a normal teenager. She discovers not only more about herself but her parents as well. It is something truly not of this world.

Gert Yokes/Arsenic – Ariela Barer (Atypical, One Day at a Time)

Gert is just as much of a nerd as Alex is; she has a more of a logistical angle to it. She is described as the riot grrrl with an empathetic heart. Her abilities are associated with something in the animalistic sense. Except the animal is quite historic.

Chase Stein/Talkback – Gregg Sulkin (Don’t Hang Up, Anti-Social)

Chase is the cliché athletic high school student. He has arrogance and a rollercoaster relationship with his father who is an engineer genius. He may have a tongue in cheek sense of humor, but he will come to learn that his friends are the truest people in his life.

Molly Hernandez/Princess Powerful – Allegra Acosta (One Halloween, American Girl)

Molly is the youngest of the super friends circle who is trying to process how powerful she could be as well as how her parents can be part of The Pride. The group tries to protect her but ultimately, they accept that she needs to know as much as they already do. Side Note: Molly’s last name in the comics is Hayes

There has always been the fight between good and evil. When it comes to being in that battle with your parents, the people you saw as your strongest ally in life, it makes for a harder fight to participate in. Especially when your parents are part of a menacing group such as…

The Pride

The Pride is described as a sinister group of people consisting of mob bosses, time-travelers, dark wizards, mad scientists, alien invaders and telepathic mutants. For years, they have been known as pillars in their city for such things as their charitable contributions and property developments; this was all their children knew as well. When they find out the truth it’s like a can of worms they wished they never opened.

This group has a few familiar faces that should strike more interests in the show. To name a few, James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, New Life), Ever Carradine (Major Crimes, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Adolescence) and Kip Pardue (Agent X, Ray Donovan, NCIS: Los Angeles) are a part of this evil parental syndicate. They have a firm belief that what they do is for the greater good for their children and the world; maybe even the universe. That remains the be seen and as far as their children are concerned – they must be brought down. They will receive some help from another member of the Marvel Cinematic family – Julian McMahon. The actor known as portraying Dr. Doom in the Fantastic Four films (2005 & 2007 respectively) will be making a guest appearance as Jonah; he aids the teenagers in fighting against their parents.

Keep in mind, the reviews that you may have seen during the promotion of Runaways is based on the first four episodes that were viewed by them. This one on the other hand is based on seeing the trailer and reading the comics. At the end of the day the appreciation that this new series will bring is on the individual who views it. I for one am looking forward to seeing the premiere and how this story unfolds over time. I highly recommend giving this series a try and seeing the imagination of other comic book aficionados come to the small screen.

As part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity with both the television shows & films, Marvel’s Runaways premieres on November 21st with the first three episodes with new episodes to follow every Tuesday.

That’s my opinion and everyone is entitled to one.