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Dark, or, Neflix Goes German
Dec. 20th, 2017 04:44 pmStarting to feel the Yuletide ants of the "what will my recipients say, and will anyone else read it" type. Which means it's time for the "you're writing in rare fandoms, don't expect too much" mantra. :)
In other news, I watched the new Netflix show Dark not least since it's the first German Netflix production and I feel a bit of an urge to support the hometeam, so to speak. Alas, I have mixed feelings about the show. Not, I hasten to add, because it's badly made. Nor is it simply a "a German Stranger Things" which is a description I've read more than once; it has "odd things going on in and around small town" and "young characters in key roles" as a factor in common, but if anything, I was occasionally reminded of Twin Peaks. Mostly, though, it's its own thing, and laudably enough, it doesn't import US stereotypes where they don't fit. Which is to say: no jocks, nerds and cheerleaders in high school. And if there's an 80s theme going on strongly, it's the fear of nuclear energy, which I don't think any of the US shows and movies currently pitched at invoking said time are thematizing. (Honestly, I have no idea how strong or weak the anti-nuclear energy (not just anti atom bombs, but anti nuclear energy) movement was in the US in the 80s. When I visited for the first time, it was in the middle of Reagan's reelection campaign, and I don't recall it being a subject at all. Whereas in Germany this was the era where the Greens got traction and started to emerge as the new political party.) The nuclear power plant whom most of the small town of Winden depends on for their work is a major thematic factor in the story the show ends up telling, from its beginning to it being put ouf commission, though not in chronological order.
While we're at general themes, I was also impressed when it turned out what I thought at first was over the top - the terrible weather in the 2019 era of the show, where it seems to be raining all the time - actually had a plot point. (The weather gets better in 1986, not coincidentally the aftermath of Chernobyl time, and it's downright sunny in 1953. This isn't used to signal an idyllic past, btw. But it has a point.) Also, while the show has a huge ensemble, meaning one spends the first episodes learning who is who and trying not to confuse especially the various male teenagers (the female teenagers and all the adults of both genders look sufficiently unlike each other), there aren't any superfluous characters. And I like how it handles its look at several different eras in terms of characterisation. People change,while maintaining some traits. For example: Regina might be a high strung business woman in 2019, but in 1986 she was a bullied teenager. And not just people but wealth changes; the Doppler family is wealthy in 1953, but by 2019 is anything but, while a 1986 penniless young man is in 2019 the manager of the (closing) nuclear power plant, and so forth. (That the audience meets characters at different stages of their lives really shows up that you should never make quick judgments about someone.) Some things might be the same in Winden through the decades, but it's not a static community.
On the other hand, here's why I couldn't love the show: for starters, the dialogue occasionally sounds incredibly stilted and pretentious. (Arguably I might notice this more when it's said in my own language?) Secondly, none of the romances strikes me as remotely convincing and/or interesting. Thirdly, my favourite character, Charlotte the police chief, while being shown as a dogged investigator, is constantly denied finding out the big truths. Instead, these are given to two men, once of whom is her suspended sidekick (erranously referred to as chief of police in at least one professional review I've seen), Ulrich, whom I not only disliked but loathed. It's been a while since I have so thoroughly disliked a character whom I don't think the show meant me to despise to that degree (I think the last one was later season Bill Adama in BSG). Basically I quickly came to boo and hiss as soon as Ulrich showed up on screen, which unfortunately he does pretty often. The other man who finds out most truths along with the audience is young Jonas whom I don't have negative feelings about, and again, if we spend a lot of time at the start on his angst it turns out this is plot relevant later on, but unfortunately the young actor only seems to have that one brooding, angsty expression. And lastly, while we do find out some of what's been going on, there are still a lot of loose ends by the time the show wraps up and one big cliffhanger, and given I have no idea whether there will be a second season, I find that frustrating.
Trivia: was amused by the "Raider" thing, as I'm old enough to know that was what Twix was called in Germany in the 80s. And wow, early 1950s police uniforms still looked a lot like the ones from the, err, previous era.
In conclusion: can't rec this wholeheartedly, but there's enough interesting stuff in it that I would watch a second season. I can always hope Ulrich will be killed in the first five minutes of same.
In other news, I watched the new Netflix show Dark not least since it's the first German Netflix production and I feel a bit of an urge to support the hometeam, so to speak. Alas, I have mixed feelings about the show. Not, I hasten to add, because it's badly made. Nor is it simply a "a German Stranger Things" which is a description I've read more than once; it has "odd things going on in and around small town" and "young characters in key roles" as a factor in common, but if anything, I was occasionally reminded of Twin Peaks. Mostly, though, it's its own thing, and laudably enough, it doesn't import US stereotypes where they don't fit. Which is to say: no jocks, nerds and cheerleaders in high school. And if there's an 80s theme going on strongly, it's the fear of nuclear energy, which I don't think any of the US shows and movies currently pitched at invoking said time are thematizing. (Honestly, I have no idea how strong or weak the anti-nuclear energy (not just anti atom bombs, but anti nuclear energy) movement was in the US in the 80s. When I visited for the first time, it was in the middle of Reagan's reelection campaign, and I don't recall it being a subject at all. Whereas in Germany this was the era where the Greens got traction and started to emerge as the new political party.) The nuclear power plant whom most of the small town of Winden depends on for their work is a major thematic factor in the story the show ends up telling, from its beginning to it being put ouf commission, though not in chronological order.
While we're at general themes, I was also impressed when it turned out what I thought at first was over the top - the terrible weather in the 2019 era of the show, where it seems to be raining all the time - actually had a plot point. (The weather gets better in 1986, not coincidentally the aftermath of Chernobyl time, and it's downright sunny in 1953. This isn't used to signal an idyllic past, btw. But it has a point.) Also, while the show has a huge ensemble, meaning one spends the first episodes learning who is who and trying not to confuse especially the various male teenagers (the female teenagers and all the adults of both genders look sufficiently unlike each other), there aren't any superfluous characters. And I like how it handles its look at several different eras in terms of characterisation. People change,while maintaining some traits. For example: Regina might be a high strung business woman in 2019, but in 1986 she was a bullied teenager. And not just people but wealth changes; the Doppler family is wealthy in 1953, but by 2019 is anything but, while a 1986 penniless young man is in 2019 the manager of the (closing) nuclear power plant, and so forth. (That the audience meets characters at different stages of their lives really shows up that you should never make quick judgments about someone.) Some things might be the same in Winden through the decades, but it's not a static community.
On the other hand, here's why I couldn't love the show: for starters, the dialogue occasionally sounds incredibly stilted and pretentious. (Arguably I might notice this more when it's said in my own language?) Secondly, none of the romances strikes me as remotely convincing and/or interesting. Thirdly, my favourite character, Charlotte the police chief, while being shown as a dogged investigator, is constantly denied finding out the big truths. Instead, these are given to two men, once of whom is her suspended sidekick (erranously referred to as chief of police in at least one professional review I've seen), Ulrich, whom I not only disliked but loathed. It's been a while since I have so thoroughly disliked a character whom I don't think the show meant me to despise to that degree (I think the last one was later season Bill Adama in BSG). Basically I quickly came to boo and hiss as soon as Ulrich showed up on screen, which unfortunately he does pretty often. The other man who finds out most truths along with the audience is young Jonas whom I don't have negative feelings about, and again, if we spend a lot of time at the start on his angst it turns out this is plot relevant later on, but unfortunately the young actor only seems to have that one brooding, angsty expression. And lastly, while we do find out some of what's been going on, there are still a lot of loose ends by the time the show wraps up and one big cliffhanger, and given I have no idea whether there will be a second season, I find that frustrating.
Trivia: was amused by the "Raider" thing, as I'm old enough to know that was what Twix was called in Germany in the 80s. And wow, early 1950s police uniforms still looked a lot like the ones from the, err, previous era.
In conclusion: can't rec this wholeheartedly, but there's enough interesting stuff in it that I would watch a second season. I can always hope Ulrich will be killed in the first five minutes of same.
