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Question: After finishing Saturday's season finale of Orphan Black, many thoughts come to mind, but the most obvious is that if Tatiana Maslany doesn't walk away with the Emmy for best actress — or is it five nominations in the best supporting actress category? — then the people who vote just aren't watching TV. Every character she plays has such varied distinction from hair, voice, even walks, and other minor mannerisms and played them all with a determination like it was her only character. It might have been easy to phone one or two in and at times you could forget it all one person. Matt, I know you enjoy the show, but I was curious: Did you ever at any time find yourself picking a favorite? I think mine came to be Alison, because while they all have a dark side, the one who seemed to be the most sunshine and light was probably the darkest of all with a heavy dose of comedy thrown in. Can the show sustain excellence in Season 2? — Jeffrey
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Does Annie need to watch her back?
Bionic Woman star Michelle Ryan will recur on Covert Affairs next season as a new CIA operative, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively.
Ryan will play ...
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"You're just not for everybody," comedic curmudgeon Marc Maron is told — by the more popular TV clown (at least among a comic-store backroom of Twitter nerds) Dave Foley, who plays a rather unflattering version of his real self, as does Maron, in IFC's new dark-side-of-laughter comedy series Maron (Friday, 10/9c). Sunnier than FX's Louie if only by virtue of being filmed in California, the sardonically squirm-inducing Maron alternates between slice-of-rant sitcom and self-obsessed podcast from the comedian's garage, where he vents on his unhappy personal life, his diarrhea-prone cats and his unruly, taunting Twitter following: "Who are these people? Don't they have lives?" You might well ask the same about Maron, although if he was happy (shades of Louie) there'd be no show.
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The BBC series Merlin, which airs on Syfy in the United States, will come to an end after its fifth season, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The final episode will air on Christmas on BBC One.
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The battle to reclaim Camelot highlights Friday's season finale of Merlin (10/9c, Syfy). The episode features daring rescues, a rekindled romance and at least one valiant death. But perhaps the most significant moment is the introduction of an iconic element of the Camelot mythos — the legendary sword Excalibur.
Following last week's loss of the castle to Morgana (Katie McGrath), Arthur (Bradley James) doubts his worthiness as the king of Camelot. To help get him back on track, Merlin (Colin Morgan) introduces him to the legend of Excalibur, explaining that only the true king of Camelot will have the strength to pull the fabled sword out of the stone where it was embedded years ago by Bruta, the first king.
Check out this exclusive clip from Friday's season finale, "The Sword in the Stone, Part 2."
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