Enemy at the Door

This is not a new production, with all the bells and whistles we expect of modern productions, but it is a very fine British drama, well written scripts and the best of performances (with episode actors who went on to be substantial TV and Stage personalities). The stories it tells are well researched chronicling a period of history not widely told, and therefore a valuable record of WW II war time struggles. For those who have enjoyed the 2018 movie THE GUERNSEY POTATO PEEL PIE LITERARY SOCIETY, this tells more of those stories (within the TV production capabilities of 1978). I give this series an 8 (very fine) out of 10. {Occupation Drama}

This is not a new production, with all the bells and whistles we expect of modern productions, but it is a very fine British drama, well written scripts and the best of performances (with episode actors who went on to be substantial TV and Stage personalities). The stories it tells are well researched, chronicling a period of history not widely told, and therefore a valuable record of WW II war time struggles. For those who have enjoyed the 2018 movie THE GUERNSEY POTATO PEEL PIE LITERARY SOCIETY, this tells more of those stories (within the TV production capabilities of 1978). This second series was even more substantial than the first, and I give the whole series an 9 (superb) out of 10. {Occupation War Drama}

I bought the dvd 10 years ago but watched it only a few weeks ago,and i am glad i did,anyone expecting an action packed ww2 series like 'x company' or even 'bomb girls' look elsewhere,this series is about the daily life of guernsey islanders under the german occupation dealing with food shortages,fuel shortages,medicine shortages,black market,relationships between guernsey girls and german soldiers and more. most of the actors and actresses manage to convey an air of quiet desperation throughout the entire series barring season 2 episode 7 which is completely different in tone and mood,i was highly impressed with 3 standout performers, alfred burke(colonel richter),bernard horsfall(dr. martel) and helen shingler as helen porteous,there's also the awful emily richard(clare martel),she's an absolute stinker here. on a scale from 1-10 i rate this series a very strong 8.highly recommended.

I came across this drama some months ago two-thirds of the way through its showing on the "Yesterday" channel here in the UK. Now it's being repeated again, and I've seen perhaps half the episodes. Hopefully I'll get around to seeing them all when/if it's repeated again! It's well worth watching and explores some interesting situations between the occupiers and residents. But it never ran to a third series, which would have had to deal with a worsening situation as the war progressed, supplies dried up and Jewish citizens deported.

I'm not one for characterising all, or indeed many, Germans in the war as Nazi thugs, but those most frequently featured in the series do come across as particularly humane, in fact benign - with the exception, of course, of Reinicke. I assume that all the characters are fictitious. With the series being first screened 35 years after the Occupation there would have been plenty of Guernsey people alive to have commented on the authenticity.

Perhaps now and then things get a bit stagey, that is, as it's a stage play, with some quite wordy dialogue. But I am looking forward to viewing the episodes I haven't seen yet.

I am always interested in WWII shows that tell about the experience that civilians had during this time. Especially British citizens because they were fighting much longer and pretty much alone for over 3 years. This show did not disappoint in telling a story that not many people knew or thought about probably. But this show has an added story/surprise that from my point of view has rarely been shown. The show not only tries to tell the story of the people on the island who had to live under the German occupation but it also tries to show what it was like for some of the members of the occupying force who tried to follow their conscience as they did their duty.

I have to say the writing and the acting from the actors were excellent in portraying this dilemma that some of them faced. I felt the struggle while watching the Germans soldiers tried to be fair in situations that maybe they didn't agree with but wanting to honor why the Germans were fighting. It was difficult for them to separate this from the Nazi beliefs and Hitler's fanaticism.

In many ways I saw the struggles that both side faced. And it was all due to how well the actors portrayed their characters. I will repeat excellent acting.

For anyone who hasn't watched this or maybe started and then quit - you are missing out. Watch it and let yourself be drawn in by each episode as it goes deeper into what people experienced as the war progresses and as both sides become more familiar with each other, as both good and bad emerges in the people involved I agree with what other reviewers has said - I wish it would have had more than 2 seasons. I want to know who survived and what happened to the Germans who tried to be fair and faithful?