Orphan Black - Season 3 - DVD

Content: Sarah Manning (Tatiana Maslany), the result of a top-secret cloning experiment, along with her clone sisters, is finally a big step closer to unraveling the mystery of the mysterious Dyad Institute when a new, dangerous mystery also gets in their way: There are other, male clones who could become a deadly threat to Sarah and the others. They are the result of a military experiment that has gone off the rails. The Castor clones (Ari Millen) have very special abilities that could be extremely dangerous to the Leda clones. They are tasked with obtaining a sample of the original DNA material used to clone Sarah and her sisters for the devious matriarch Dr. Coady (Kyra Harper). But what are her goals with the DNA material? And can the Leda clones stop this conspiracy. Moreover, can Sarah and the others rescue the pregnant Helena (Tatiana Maslany), who has been kidnapped by the military? And can Cosima (Tatiana Maslany) conquer her mysterious illness?

Orphan Black is truly an exceptional series. For as it did from season 1 to 2, the series has evolved significantly from season 2 to 3, reinventing itself in places without losing its underlying tone. So it still seems extremely fresh and original, but at the same time pleasantly familiar for fans. There was definitely a fear that the fact that lead actress (and producer) Tatiana Maslany can give each of the clones she plays a distinct personality would eventually wear thin and be exposed as a gimmick without the series working half as well. That's not the case, though. Sure, the many facets Maslany gets to show while playing, say, the heroine Sarah or the ice-cold Rachel are absolutely impressive from an acting standpoint in season three, but they're not quite as surprising as they were in the first year, when that sort of thing was simply new. But it's also becoming increasingly clear that the series doesn't live on that alone, but primarily on the extremely exciting story that this multifaceted game is woven into.

And that story takes on whole new dimensions in season 3. It gets bigger and bigger, more mysterious and more exciting. There are series that eventually broke down because the conspiracy stories got too big and sprawling, so that as a viewer you just lost track of what was going on. Of course, there's theoretically that danger here, too. But so far, the whole thing is so well thought out that every single piece of the puzzle you're served fits coherently into the ever-changing big picture. Thus the series gains tremendously in tension, which is underlined by the gripping atmosphere, the atmospheric imagery and of course the good actors.

Orphan Black may never become the quite big audience success that the series actually deserved. But that says nothing about the quality. Because also season 3 belongs at present to the best and most original, which flickers in the genre of the Mystery series over the television screens. If you already liked the first two seasons, you won't miss this box set. And if you don't know the series yet, you should catch up as soon as possible! Absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: Also in the third season, the series can convince not only in terms of content, but also in terms of image and sound quality. The picture is absolutely clean and pleasantly sharp, especially in the brighter moments. But even in darker scenes, there are only minimal point deductions in the detail representation and contrast tuning. The audio is in a lively Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, which especially transports the dialogue powerfully and well tuned to music, ambient sounds as well as sound effects from the speakers. Good!

Extras: For season 3, the bonus material has once again been slimmed down considerably. This time there is only a review of the first two seasons and a mini-featurette (approx. 2 min.), as well as some program tips from the provider.

Conclusion: Orphan Black offers again many surprises in the third year and strikes again a new direction with the emergence of new clones. Greatly acted and atmospherically tightly staged, this mystery series is one of the best the series landscape currently has to offer. The audiovisual quality of the ten new episodes is on the usual high level. Only the bonus material is a bit poor. Nevertheless, it is still enough for a clear bottom line: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp