Berlin Station

Berlin Station is a very John Le Carre type of spy story, but centered around the American CIA rather than the Brits. The story has requisite twists and turns, a complex plot centered around the War on Terror and a Julian Assange style leaker who wrecks havoc with the American spy agency and it's relationship with it's counterparts from other countries.

There are a number of good performances in this show. The European setting gives the show a different feel from most American TV fare, and that in itself is very effective in making the show unique. Even Homeland, which is similar in setting, seems very American, where this show just looks and feels different. The weakest part of the show may be the somewhat contrived and clichéd nature of one or two of the backstories that are supposed to add depth to the characters. Oh..she's in an interracial relationship, and he's having an affair with his secretary, and he's disgruntled and uses hookers because his kid back in the USA is disgruntled...etc. Some of that is too 1,2,3 check off the box plot devices that just aren't adding anything to the story.

The main spy story weaves its way through enough twists and turns to keep one interested, like a Le Carre spy novel, the angst and motivations of the main characters, and their regrets at past mistakes gives them the beat-down feeling of Smiley. There is no James Bond or Jason Bourne here, just people doing routine spy work and trying to cope with moral ramifications and amoral counterparts.

Superficially anti-CIA, I think the story is more about moral relativism, and the evil that men do. There are more bad-guys than good guys in this one.

If you like a complex plot executed well by talented actors, then you will enjoy this show.

Season 1 is worth an 8 rating, with suspense, unpredictability and interesting characters. Season 2 is somewhat interesting if weak overall, but it all falls apart in Season 3, where a weak main story line is supplemented with some utterly useless side-stories. The whole Diver plot is of no relevance and the 'twist' ending is utterly underwhelming. the April Lewis love affair only detracted from the overall story, and one gets the feeling that her inclusion in the overall plot is just political correctness.

After 9 episodes, I'm anxious for the final episode and hoping this isn't a single season series. The writing is excellent and leaves me thinking about the questions that linger between episodes. I love the fact that the writers are totally faking me out time and again. Nothing predictable here.

The cast has been giving an all-out performance. The character Hector is a very convincing "dark" character. Very believable and probably the best performance of the entire cast.

The first episode lays the ground work leaving some questions not being answered until the last episode. Character development is top notch.

While this may be seen as a somewhat anti-American in the way that it vilifies the CIA, it's a great story line.

Very impressive production.

Excellent show but it is on the slower side. It's not perfect, there are a lot of cliches and some poorly written characters but it's still a great watch. As the series progresses it gets more intricate and the characters improve.

They don't really delve into politics but they do clearly have a bias. It's not an issue in the show, you can just ignore it for the most part. Some of the story's are painfully cliche but the stories usually become so complex that they become more interesting.

EPIX has not renewed Berlin Station. The series is left unresolved. The fan base deserves better. An abbreviated fourth season, at the very least, is necessary to give closure to an outstanding spy series.