SS-GB

England, 1941. Germany, having successfully invaded in 1940, is now in control of the UK. The SS now run the country but for general law and order they rely on the British Police. One such policeman is Superintendent Douglas Archer (Sam Riley), a famed Scotland Yard detective. Archer walks a thin line, as his job requires him to work closely with the despised SS, the vanguard of Nazi fascism. To some this makes him a traitor. An English resistance movement exists but Archer believes that resistance is futile and will only lead to further bloodshed. Then a murder case draws him into the struggle, and into a plot of international proportions.

A decent whodunnit, alternate history and espionage drama, all rolled into one. Based on a novel by Len Deighton, there is a fair amount of intrigue and the whole "What if?"" scenario of Germany conquering the UK is interesting too.

Not entirely compelling though. Not everything makes sense, some things feel contrived, there are inaccuracies and inconsistencies which make the script and direction feel a bit loose and the ending (of Season 1) is a bit of a let-down.

Overall: intriguing enough, but feels a bit flat in the end. Hopefully there is a second season, as Season 1 feels a bit up-in- the-air. I was under the impression that this is a mini series though, which doesn't bode well for us that want some sort of closure to the story.

I liked man in the Man in the High Castle, although a lot of the time you are spoon fed the concepts and told what's going on more by pointless dialog and not by a simple matter of deduction. SS-GB is nothing like the Man in The High Castle, as far as I'm concerned, that's Sci-Fi and SS-GB is fiction. And I admit that I was put off thinking its UK version of the above and some pretty bad reviews. I should have ignored them, because after watching the first episode I had to binge on the next 2. SS-GB is dark and gritty, it's what I would expect of a UK based crime thriller. No fast car chases .. well there might be later, no 1000 bullet magazines or bar brawls. I could smell the "Big Smoke's", War Time atmosphere because the sets where so convincing. The pace was fine the tension build up was perfect, the dynamics between the characters great. The story and concept are an excellent piece of "What if", so I'm astounded by so much negativity about this series. What I have found is that all my friends over the age of 30 really enjoyed it and it's become a talking point during socialising. However below that age, it seems to need a lot of explanation, as in "Were the SS the German police?" etc., although Sam Riley's character made a good attempt of trying to explain the differences. And all this "Douglas Archer", mumbled a lot, total tosh! Stop watching it on your phone on the tube and appreciate the surround sound and glorious HD on a decent TV.

I enjoyed this much more than The Man in The High Castle.

Maybe it's the way the characters are developed, or it could be the location, but it is smart and stylish and purely enjoyable to watch.

There is definitely a huge potential into creating a thrilling and complex series set in a fantastically well imagined alternative history setting.

Hope it gets momentum!

I did not experience any sound problems but did not watch it live.

A lot of reviews seem to have this series decided from the first episode. Well I enjoyed the first episode and the second seems to have improved the quality of the series.

The premise is hardly new and despite the book being out in the 70s it seems like it has similarities to "The man in the high castle" but, other than the premise that Germany won the war, it's not.

I think it's closer to 40s film noir where the hero/Nazi Sympathiser(?) is constantly lied to and friends become enemies and visa versa. I'm going to give it a go and see where it goes. I'm hopeful.

Incredible TV show! I watched all the episodes and I really enjoyed them all. Sam Riley is incredible as Douglas Archer. Smart dialogues, the characters are great and is a great drama. So stylish! SS-GB deserves to have more success. And this final?! What happened with Douglas? I hope it will have a second season. Please BBC give us five more episodes!