Orphan Black

You know a show is binge-worthy when you simply have to watch the next episode, and the next, and the next.  Orphan Black met that bar and exceeded it.  I stayed up late and watched all five seasons in less than a week.  It was an emotional roller-coaster which had me on the edge of my seat.  Reminiscent of Frankenstein, La Femme Nikita, Breaking Bad, anything from Michael Crichton and a book called "The House of the Scorpion" the show is in no way derivative.  It is engaging, surprising and not nearly as bleak as I expected.  We begin the tale with Sarah, a punk street kid and con woman, who sees a woman who looks just like her in a train station, only to see that same woman step in front of a train moment later.  Sarah, being the practical sort, takes the woman's purse and plunges into a life far different from her own, discovering along the way a network of clones who are identical to her in looks but completely different in lives and personalities.  There are, of course, the big evil corporations, the ethically bankrupt scientists, etc., but the bigger questions of the series focus around nurture and nature, what makes a family and how to find the strength to survive.  It's kind of brilliant and the major kudos go to Tatiana Maslany, the lead actor who is responsible for portraying some dozen clones.  As many have noted her work is incredibly impressive.  It's not just that the characters are very distinct, you quickly forget that this is the same actor portraying all of them.  At times the women have to impersonate one another.  Even this is specific -- the impersonations are slightly imperfect, and are clearly the original character "playing" the woman she is pretending to be.  The CGI is also terrific and in scenes where there are multiple clones it is easy to slip into the storyline without a single thought that this is the same person playing multiple roles.  The show isn't perfect.  Not every clone is fully realized.  The needed humor in one storyline sometimes becomes too much.  Characters seem to change gears quickly and extending the show through five seasons meant an unending list of bad guys trying to do in the women.  Season four, in particular, became hugely dark and fairly gross.  In the midst of it all, however, is a growing bond of sisterhood and of redemption for those whose circumstances made them into monsters.  It's a compelling tale and a show worthy of the many awards heaped upon it.  Go ahead, binge it.  You know you want to.

Good Trouble

I loved "The Fosters" so I wasn't sure where they would go with this spin-off which focuses on "new adults" Callie and Mariana Adams Foster.  The girls have graduated college and are living in Los Angeles.  Callie, fresh out of law school, is clerking with a conservative judge, and Mariana, who went to MIT, is navigating minefields at an innovative tech company.  SPOILERS AHEAD.  The news is mostly good.  Creators have found the core realities to existence for 20 somethings.  Callie and Mariana struggle with money, with work, with relationships.  Like the members of the co-op they live in, issues of identity and their roles in the world are paramount.  Like "The Fosters", most of the events are realistic and well-portrayed.  Guest stars from the original family are frequent and provide a nice grounding to that sense of being a little lost which is so constant with the girls.  The new cast deeply enriches the narrative, particularly Zuri Adele as a rebel with a real cause, Alice Kwan who plays a lesbian in search of herself and a real partner, Emma Hunton as a body positive blogger who paradoxically doesn't always value herself and Josh Pence as the adult in the room who struggles with unimaginable loss.  Rounding out the cast are many solid actors who go far beyond the stereotypes -- a hot bisexual artist who wants to be known for his work, a judge who often surprises, a gay lover who wants to be first on his boyfriend's list.  One challenging thing to navigate is structure of the show.  Most episodes begin with a "now" moment and most of what you see after that is a lead up to the final moment you saw at the beginning.  This isn't made clear from any kind of titling and you just have to get used to it.  Aside from that and the girls having a LOT of "the sex" (what is this, "Sex in the Other City"?) as well as Maia Mitchell and Sherri Saum having become shockingly thin, the show is engaging and compelling.  I binge-watched the first season (thank you Freeform) and look forward to season two.

"What Alice Forgot" by Liane Moriarty

A delightful surprise.  Having torn through a book I took on vacation my cousin offered this treasure, which I managed to read in four days despite the heavy page count.  Australian author Liane Moriarty (sister to Jaclyn Moriarty, a YA author whose "A Corner of White" I really loved) apparently writes a lot about suburban wives and mothers.  This book, where a power soccer mom loses her memory of the past 10 years, brings up great questions about identity, relationships and family.  Intriguing in its slow reveal of Alice's past, it brings in different perspectives including that of Alice's sister and her surrogate mother figure.  These outside voices aren't critical to the narrative but they round out a tale which is accessible and yet not black and white.  They help to make the point that relationships around us, be they family or lovers, are often unexpected and complex.  I really liked the idea that life simply doesn't go where you point it, which is something I have said for years.  The bigger questions -- who stays with you on the ride and whether you can roll with the curves, is one left to the reader to decide.  I liked the concept here and a book which had me thinking a lot about how we move forward.

Blood & Treasure

I tried, I really did.  Four weeks of predictable, massively derivative episodes which had the energy of a slow Sunday afternoon (imagine Indiana Jones mixed with a soap opera, or, you know, the 2nd Indiana Jones film).  Too skinny actors who seemed to be either bored or embarrassed to be working on the project. As each episode progressed I became restless, checking email or news on my phone.  This show made me ache for the recently cancelled Whiskey Cavalier, which had some charm and humor that didn't fall flat.  Don't.  Just.  Don't.