Let’s face it, it’s been an awesome year for TV! Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Walking Dead…The Killing. And that’s just AMC!

Consumer viewing habits are shifting (have arguably already shifted) to more of an “I’ll watch my shows when I’m damn good and ready” model, and as we all know, the way shows are made is quickly being adapted to accommodate the new On Demand audience. Who knew 10 years ago that Amazon.com would be in the TV and Movie making business? It’s overwhelming and exciting and it just means that I need to get more organized and maximize my available viewing hours. People who say “oh, I just can’t take on any more shows” clearly don’t have their priorities in check. Amateurs!

Among the bigger-budget, higher-visibility shows you’ve probs heard about on Facebook, including House of Cards (Netflix 2012) and Orange is the new Black (Netflix, 2013), are a few sleepers that remain under the radar as “Must Tweet TV.” The breakaway fave at chez Mcarthur-Parks is Orphan Black (BBC America, 2013), starring Tatiana Maslany as, at present, seven characters belonging to the increasingly less-exclusive #CloneClub.

I was skeptical. I don’t like anything to do with Vampires, Elves, Nymphs, Wizards and usually any show with a character who sports both a human head and a tail. I mean, I like to keep it real, right (that’s why no “reality” TV for me)? My urges, however, can’t aways be controlled, and my “Dark Passenger” will take me to places I would otherwise never visit alone. Or in this case, the damp gray city streets of “Generica” (filmed in Toronto, but deliberately left as an ambiguous any-town-north-america setting).

For me, the story sucked me in, but it was the ten characters (seven played adorably and expertly by Maslany) that kept me from feeding my kids (not to worry, they’re very resourceful).

		Sarah Manning Sarah is a natural chameleon, a born outsider living on the fringes and surviving by her wits.
		Beth Childs Meet Beth – Sarah’s entry point into the mystery.
		Alison Hendrix Alison is an uptight suburban soccer mom and conservative control freak.
		Cosima Niehaus Cosima is an eccentric, tattooed geek girl with a scientific mind verging on genius.
		Helena A murderous, self-abusing fundamentalist who believes she is the ‘original.’
		Katja Obinger A mysterious, panicked German with health issues and a tragic end.
		Rachel Duncan Rachel Duncan, dubbed by Felix as ‘Proclone,’ is a self-aware clone, raised to believe in the principles of Neolution.
		Felix Dawkins Felix is Sarah’s thorny foster brother and her one true confidante.
		Paul Dierden Paul is Beth’s boyfriend – a decent guy who’s more than just a pretty face.
		Mrs. S Mrs. S is Sarah’s hard-nosed working class foster mother from across the pond.

If you decide to adopt Orphan Black, and I hope you do, it shouldn’t take more than 3 minutes to get onboard. There are only ten episodes, so I know you can do it! Watch it on your phone, tablet, pc, and there’s always the TV for those “Stay-in-bed Moms.”

If for nothing else, stay until Paul takes his shirt off.  Holy Mother of Christ! (Woof)

XO,

Scott