Eavesdropping on the Cloneversation

Last Saturday, the fabulously hilarious Wil Wheaton sat down with the cast, creators, and fans of Orphan Black as a pre-game to the season premiere next week. The hour-long special was filled with laughs, in-depth character discussion, and amazing contributions from the truest OB fans.

Celebrity lovers of the show, Orlando Jones and Patton Oswalt, chatted about their favorite moments of the first season and expressed their anticipation for season two. Like many of us in the Clone Club, Oswalt and Jones cited the scene of Beth’s suicide by train in the pilot episode as one of the moments that got them hooked onto the show. They both said, in so many words, that what kept them interested was the innately flawed nature of the characters, especially the protagonist, Sarah Manning. She draws people in because there are so many layers to her character. Oswalt described it as there being this new technology connected to a major conspiracy, and the last person anyone wanted to find out about it, just found out about it. When asked what character he would like to play, if he could write himself into the show, Oswalt answered that he’d be Olivier Duval, or another one of the body augmentation enthusiasts, who went to the extreme with this new technology and gave themselves tails and other…parts.

At first, I wanted more fans to be able to directly speak to the actors of OB. I didn’t really understand why there was mostly interaction between the celebrity guests and the cast, but I especially enjoyed Oswalt’s contribution. I suppose they wanted a different format than Comic Con or…the Love and Hip Hop reunion. It still would’ve been nice to have more of that though. I think only one person got to ask a question. -_-

Watching this really made realize that the cast of OB is very small. Almost everyone from season one was there, except maybe three people, and there was still only four actors and the two creators. I guess that just adds to their awesomeness. They pulled off an amazing,  suspenseful sci-fi drama with only a handful of actors. Imagine how cheap their traveling costs are. Imagine if they all went on vacation somewhere. Everyone could fit in an SUV, and drive into America. They’re like a large family. Anyway, present on the white couch were actors Dylan Bruce, Jordan Gavaris, Tatiana Maslany, and Evelyne Brochu, as well as creators Graeme Manson and John Fawcett.

Tatiana’s questions had to do a lot with how she juggled so many different characters. Can you believe she has a soundtrack for each clone to help her get into their mindset? Where can I download it?! You know how much money they could make if they would put that as a playlist on iTunes or something?

Evelyne Brochu touched on the fact that her interactions with Tatiana when she was playing Cosima were completely opposite of what it was like when Tatiana was being Alison. It was like Tatiana honestly became another person. I could see how that would be extremely confusing on set, but GAAAAHHHHHHHHH, HOW CAN ONE PERSON BE SO TALENTED?! What was also interesting was that Tatiana said everyone treated her differently in a scene, depending on who she was playing, so that helped her stay in character. For instance, she said Jordan would be a bit meaner to her when she was playing Alison than when she was playing Sarah.

It makes sense that much of the conversation centered on the characters. Wheaton mentioned that many times in the sci-fi genre, characters have a hard time becoming relatable people. They just stay archetypes or broad generalizations of what a certain person should be. One of the many reasons people love OB is because each character has a story. They’re the people that aren’t commonly represented in media. Tatiana said it showed outsiders as leaders, instead of in the background.

Another part I found intriguing was the glimpse into the technical stuff that allowed Tatiana to be various clones in one scene. She acts each clone’s part with doubles standing in, then Tatiana is placed over the doubles in the scene. I don’t know about you, but to me that sounds insane and time-consuming! Seeing that makes me really appreciate a scene where Sarah and Alison are touching because it looks so difficult to execute and think about how hard everyone involved in the project must be working for it to look so seamless on screen. It’s one of those moments where you have to nod your head to technological development.

I noticed something else, too. Was it just me, or did everyone look a bit nervous, especially Jordan Gavaris? I haven’t watched any cast interviews, so I don’t know how they usually are, but everyone seemed a bit shy. It might be the live audience, but they’ve done Cons before. Maslany mentioned she had just gotten off of a plane, but she was a bit more lively than the rest of her castmates, except Dylan Bruce. It seemed like Dylan wanted to talk more, but he didn’t get a lot of questions. You know what? It was too short. I just wanted more. How much would you have enjoyed a two hour special? Marinate on that BBC!

Overall, the Cloneversation was a success! Everyone looked amazing, especially Tatiana, who donned a short haircut I hadn’t seen and a cute top. I need more. I’m going to YouTube cast interviews after I write this! Only a few more days until the season two premiere, Clone Club!

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