Berlin Station

It's not Jason Bourne, it's not James Bond and perhaps that's why a lot of people seem to think it is dull. The real world of espionage is probably more dull than any of us will ever know. I have seen it being accused of being pro CIA, I don't think so personally, of course the characters in the show are going to think they are the proverbial "good guys" everyone thinks they are the good guys.But we are already starting to see that they aren't always the good guys.Some were already bashing it after just one episode.I think it's one of the better things I've seen just lately. Well worth a watch if you are actually looking for something half decent.

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.

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.

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.

/refers to Season 1/

This decade has produced a number of spy series dealing with the post Cold War period, mostly from UK or US, with new technology elements both facilitating and complicating intelligence activities in the foreign soil. Unlike in most series, in Berlin Station, we saw troubles and rivalry between the agencies of otherwise friendly NATO allies - US and Germany - with disclosure of state secrets in the background. Although the run of events is uneven and the guilty parties and their motives are revealed too soon, there is enough thrill, some unexpected turns, and logical development of characters operating in a nice metropolis called Berlin (as I spent there almost a week a couple of years ago, I had a lot of joy of recognition).

As for performances, they were good at least, with several pleasant US/UK character actors, e.g. Richard Jenkins, Leland Orser, or Rhys Ivans; well, the latter's "exterior" has become very similar to that of Peter Stormare :) As often in espionage productions, male characters/performers are more interesting here as well.

I had my doubts where to rate the series with 8 or 7 points - and yet, 7 as the ending was trivial plus I have been "spoilt" by more intriguing and sophisticated series, e.g The Americans. But still, I am eager to watch Season 2 when it comes to light.