1001 Nights

There is a lot to love about this- even for guys. I have only seen the first series- as that is all I can see on Netfix at the moment - I hope that they do put the rest of it on. Generally I love Turkish series, I did not think I would, but they are gripping, human and there are strong moral themes running through them, without them being preachy about it or moralistic. They have a beauty, sweep and realism about them that is so lacking in the Hollywood machine. I am pleased Netflix gives me the opportunity to see these and the leads are excellent.

I agree with the person who posted the other comment. If I knew that Turk tv shows were called soap operas I wouldn't have watched just because in my world, a soap opera was a long drawn out adult themed story line that goes on endlessly (like Yemin with a continuous open narrative).

The first show I watched was Behzat C, and its story arc was so complex and intricate that I knew that the screenwriters were writing to an audience who could hold a mystery in their thoughts for many episodes and that it had resolution and wasn't open ended. Then someone from Turkiye called it a dizi, and said they didn't watch soap operas. I was shocked..how could this be a soap opera.

I have come to accept that the word has a different meaning. I looked it up. It said: "Turkish television series (Turkish: Türk dizileri)". I now believe that the dizi is simply a tv series unlike a movie, and has "soap" elements of sentimentality and emotion, and melodrama because a story has to have peaks and conflict and resolution but of course a good tv series will have that. It is true some people don't watch tv shows period. That is what they meant when the Turk friend said that to me, using what they thought was a universally understood concept of what a soap opera was. It threw me.

Also, I was told that the US story arc has less complexity than other countries. I talked to a Malaysian screenwriter teacher. She said the US writing style is in the 101 class, and the Turk style is in a more complex writing class.

Simply said, the word dizi does not have the same connotation as our English soap opera. ("The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers". ~wiki description) 1001 Nights was a great show, call it a dizi or a tv show, it was well worth the time to watch it. And the music...wow!

This show is a complete waste of time. It's like those Argentinian or Brazilian soap operas that make you feel like you're constipated. Or the characters are, for this matter.

The scenario is based on exaggerated dramas and meaningless misunderstandings. Something happens, someone gets bad news and boom, you have to look at that person's facial expression for the next 5 to 10 minutes. They never talk to each other and nobody ever finds out what is really going on, which is always something minor and very simple to get through.

All this goes on and on for about an hour and a half which is way too long for a prime time soap opera.

I only gave it a 4/10 because the elderly actors Metin Cekmez and Tomris Incer are amazing as the grandparents and some of the other actors (Halit Ergenc and Tardu Flordun for instance) have backgrounds in theater and are also good at their jobs.

The thing is... i've seen at first just an episode to understand why everybody thinks it's such a good s.o.. After that i just started watching episode with episode and getting mad when missing one of them.

The story is very good...nice emotional problems and normal financial and social issues.The characters are well enough chosen and their acting is very good.

The bad things are : kind of strange personality of characters and if you don't understand turkey ,

you really need subtitles.

If you just feel the need to see a soap opera , this is a very interesting and reality-type of soap opera. Top of it's genre.

I have to admit that I was kind of prejudiced about this TV series as I don't like soap operas in general and that is why I haven't watched it when everybody was going crazy about 1001 NIGHTS in Turkey. How wrong I could be? When finally I watched the first episode 3 years later, I was instantly hooked,that was not soap opera at all, it was more of a drama, the story starts with a moral dilemma and turns into a modern fairy tale,but it is not your average mushy love story, there are many little stories around the main plot, all the characters are very realistic,you instantly root for Sehrazat, a single mum who does everything to support her little boy who is terminally ill and finally when she finds a donor, here comes the big decision...I won't give away anything, you just have to watch it :)

The storyline was very interesting, clean decent acting,I really liked the Sehrazat character, she stands up against all the difficulty of life alone, very principled, very tough lady, I would say it was a treat to see such a independent and proud character. Besides Berguzar Korel's brilliant performance as Sehrazat, I also liked Ceyda Duvenci and Tardu Flordun in the main cast, Tardu is definitely a rare gem, you love him in one episode and totally hate him the next, only a good actor could pull emotions so high, the elderly couple Evliyaogulları must be dream grandparents, they fit each other like gloves as Burhan Bey and Nadide Hanım,watching them really warmed up my heart.

My other favorite character is Mihriban, it was so nice hearing Azerbaijani Turkish, really liked her cute accent, and Halit Ergenc as ONUR really shines on the screen, I guess he is the perfect mixture of infamous jealousy and over-protectiveness of Turkish men and impossible romantic who never takes 'no' for answer.

Besides the great characterization and interesting storyline, you see the best of Istanbul in 1001 NIGHTS, beautiful Bosphorus with its boats and historic villas, seagulls and KizKulesi(Maiden Tower),that was quite refreshing for those of us who always watches either NYC or LA on screen, 1001 NIGHTS definitely brought the warmth of Istanbul to our homes. After watching 90 episodes of this powerful drama, when it finally finished I felt like I lost my best buddy, I will definitely miss 1001 NIGHTS, I hope one day the same cast does another TV series. 1001 NIGHTS was also full of important social messages, they raised the awareness for leukemia and importance of donating blood to save lives,encouraged people to stop domestic violence, showed some of the realities of the country poverty, land mafia, politics of power and that's why in my opinion a lot of people found 1001 NIGHTS so near and dear to their hearts.I also hope they had the DVD and the soundtrack of the series, because KIRAC has done a great job,the opening theme kind of stuck in my mind...