Orphan Black is easily amongst the most underrated shows airing on television right now. It probably doesn't help that it's on BBC America, a channel that's otherwise home to Doctor Who and Top Gear re-runs (although the latter probably not for much longer), and most audiences aren't aware of its original programming but they absolutely should be, since there's a whole world of bananas clone sci-fi thriller shenanigans to be found. Launching off the back of a high concept opening a con woman called Sarah Manning sees a woman she's never seen before, but looks identical to her, commit suicide and then steals her identity and since then diving into a batsh*t insane soup of semi-realistic cloning techniques and clandestine genetic engineering, it's a brilliantly written, perfectly pitched series. A lot of that is thanks to the remarkable lead performance by relative unknown Tatiana Maslany or should that be performances? Maslany totally nails not just one, but a good dozen or so different clones; each with their own personalities, tics, and idiosyncrasies. And accents, don't forget about accents. As with any good sci-fi series worth its salt the show has a rabid fan following, eager to fill in all the gaps as yet unexplored and positing theories for mysteries that remain unsolved. But even the most obsessive of viewers might have missed some cool Easter eggs, merchandise, and rumours here are twenty mind-blowing facts you didn't know about Orphan Black.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
