Deutschland 83

I was skeptic when I seen the trailer it doesn't portray the series in the right way I feel. Started watching it and was captivated very fast by the story. At first I was mostly interested in the time line as it is a time in history that we don't talk much about anymore in school and my generation didn't live it (I was born two years after). From what I can see and read of the internet it is quite accurate and is played very well keeps me waiting to see what is going to happen next.

This series is new and refreshing and I really enjoy it. So far from what I watched it is looking to be the best series that I have enjoyed this year.

Refreshing to watch the beginning of this series on Sundance Channel, a foreign language entry that catches a moment in recent German history without the usual quintessential archetypes and funny accents of any random American production involving Germans. The tables are turned in fact because it is the American characters speaking German who seem a bit less than convincing. English subtitles are no major distraction, because the script is terse and direct.

As in most German cinema, nothing is left to the imagination. If a character is destined to be a hero or a saint (or something in between) that element is telegraphed in advance by the director's emphasis on a frown, an arched eyebrow, a look of confusion, or a surreptitious stage movement. We know where the series is going by the end of the first episode, yet we identify with the young man at the center of the story irrespective of his opening attitude. There is none of the ambivalence or inchoate suspense found in one of John Le Carré's filmed spy novels.

I am looking forward immensely to viewing the remainder of the series in spite of not believing, really, that many of the easy coincidences, arch villains, clandestine meetings in the woods, and other stereotypical story devices could have actually happened.

1980ies was a really critical decade in the post-WWII period, tensions were the highest since the 1960ies, as the economical gaps between the East and West started to enhance faster. The split Germany encountered apparently the biggest tensions as the nation/language was the same, NATO bases were close, and GDR intelligence was considered among the best in the world...

Although I was quite young at that time, Deutschland 83 seems very realistic to me, brings forth some memories and attitudes East Germans were known in the Warsav Pact block... True, some topics were apparently "bedighted" and intensified for the sake of feature series and providing meatiness and additional warmth and humour, this mini-series is no US-type of action mockery, with constant chases and blasts. For younger generations accustomed to search engines etc., some events may seems odd and questionable, but back then all checking was much more complicated and slower.

The cast is evenly strong, I found Jonas Nay as Martin Rauch / Moritz Stamm, Maria Schrader as Lenora Rauch, and Ludwig Trepte as Alex Edel most elaborated characters/performances. But still, it is good that all speak their native language (or broken German), and being made on German soil and cities, you can feel the real European/German life and background throughout the whole series.

The ending could have been more twisty, but still, a good series. Special mention to those who selected songs and soundtrack - one can hardly find more suitable melodies and texts for specific events and general atmosphere.

Like most fiction, there are several logical, factual and dramatic flaws but that does not detract in any significant way from this series.

If you like history, are interested in Germany or specifically Germany in the 80s and most of all, if you need your TV drama to be smart and complex, you will love this series.

Yes it is extremely unlikely that a border guard with a fake identity would be accepted as an assistant to a West German general, but the characters and dramatic themes are extremely compelling. The attention to detail in terms of East v West Germany and early 80s vibe are outstanding.

I only wish that a "season" was more than a mere 8 episodes!

I was in that business around that same time, in West Germany. The details in this production are amazing, right down to two Trabis on the same street in the East, and no Mercedes in the Stasi parking garage. I love the fact that Americans speak with a slight American accent, and use English words -- though not necessarily the ones a German would use. This takes me back, to the uniforms, buildings, concerns of a different time. One I sincerely hope will disappear forever.

The problems of sending an East German to the West reflect the problems we had sending a Westerner east. The 1,001 ways to be tripped up brings back memories of complex plans that felt good, but you knew had huge holes in them no one had noticed. The risk to the actual agent cannot be downplayed, and this series (after only seeing #1) seem to lock in tight on that vital element of spy games.