Spy City

August 6, 2022 - Spy City really made it worthwhile for me continuing to subscribe to the service I viewed it on. I didn't know anything about the series but gave it a try and was extremely pleased with it. What I liked about the series - 1) The acting is very good,2) good directing, 3) the production values are very good, including extremely short video clips of street scenes and News footage from the 1960's. Which is the time period the plot takes place. 4) Very good and involving plot. 5) None of the usual tropes and memes that are seen in most drama series currently being produced. 6) While the actors making up the main cast are apparently well known. I didn't recognize any of them. This made the series more interesting to me, because there were no actors that seemed to be in every other film and TV series. I was stationed in Germany during the time that the events in the series took place, and I think the production company did a great job of recreating the time period.

Spy city tells the story of the secret services in Berlin shortly before the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961. The story is entertaining and is broadly consistent with the historical facts.

But the realisation was a bit sloppy. Suits, clothes and cars that are a bit too new for the early summer of 1961, a phone box and a record cover from the 1980s and a film that only had primiere months later. Not accurate enough to satisfy the history-minded viewer.

The setting is Berlin, 1961, when the city is partitioned and one can argue at the time it had most spies per sq mile.

While it's not perfect, it's definitely above average cold war thriller. It starts a bit slow, and takes 2 episodes to get into it, but once you do, I think you will enjoy it.

A love story, a revenge story, spy, lies, betrayals. All are abound. Music is not too bad, but could be better. I would have preferred to have a narrator to clarify a few things early on, but it wasn't too bad or too confusing.

Stick with it, as it's only 6 episodes long and you'll find yourself in a very interesting story.

I'll give it 8/10. I think for it to be 9 or 10, I would probably preferred a bit different ending and perhaps s few more details about certain characters.

Overall, I enjoyed it.

Another reviewer has said in a negative way, everyone's a critic. Isn't that the point of allowing comments? If someone doesn't like what they saw, their opinion is perfectly valid and if they take the time to explain why, probably even more so.

I have watched two episodes, the second was slightly better that the first.

Not convinced that Dominic Cooper makes the most convincing spy, especially in the first episode fight scene, the choreography was appalling.

I also feel that there is something odd going on, continuity is somewhat questionable, some costume choices strange both for the period and the setting, and I have yet to feel any empathy for any of the characters.

As I said the second episode was a little better and it's probably worth waiting for the next. If there's no improvement I won't care about it enough to carry on.

An intelligent series, to enjoy without absurd frights, is not for those who are looking for a JAMES BOND, nor for those who want bombs, explosions, wrecked cars, absurd and endless pursuits without sense, it is intelligent action, the real one ..., a very good spy series, and wonderful Berlin setting "Spy City is really good. Go in with pure excitement, leave the dread behind. The best compliment I can pay the show, before we get into specifics, is that it feels like 10 episodes of TV jammed into six. If that sounds like a weak compliment, it's not; it means the people who created the show really, really cared about plot, have a lot of ground to cover, and are not going to futz around in telling their story. This is a welcome change from shows that can't be bothered to have more than four really critical dramatic beats, but take 15 episodes to get there and fill the empty space with ridiculous, intelligence-insulting twists. So that's the other very good compliment I should give: The writers of Spy City trust that you're smart, they write to your level, and if you're not smart and you fall behind or drop off? Too bad.