Helgoland 513

When I read the other reviews I was a bit put off, but I wanted to find out for myself and so I watched the series. Honestly, it's great. Some viewers seemed to have a strong expectation of what they might see in it, but completely without expectation I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it. It's great storytelling, great acting, the world is superbly constructed, and for a german production it's also very bold and uniquely created. Which is often rarely the case.

What others discribed as becoming absurd is only an imagination of where pandemics like the one we had could lead to. It felt very natural and the turn this sory took I can only describe as positive, because contrary to the often straightforward and easy to understand german series, you are surprised here and that makes it all the more interesting. I would highly recommend to watch it and be open to unique ways of storytelling.

No idea why 2 of the current 3 reviews are so low. They nearly put me off watching this brilliant german show.

The last 2 episodes which are mostly flashback scenes to how it all began are the best of the series and explain everything. Dark humour seeps within the dark politics of this island haven. Excellent characters abound from the power mad Beatrice who runs the island, the obsessed doctor Marek who is trying to find a cure. Fiona the rebellious teenager who was born on the island who wants to burn the entire system to the ground. Even her mother , Lola, who is the island propaganda chief , becomes more interesting after a slightly annoying start.

Ignore the hate, if you are after a great story and some dark humour this is the show for you. Fingers crossed for season 2.

Someone was wandering why the low ratings. "Probably the German language?" he says. Actually isn't the German language. Is the German acting. And more than that the German acting in a dystopian environment. They simply don't know how to do it. Even the higher rated shows like Dark have the same problem. The whole German society is too correct and rules obedient to produce good actors. That's why their best actors thrived only in Hollywood productions.

This show makes no exception. Starts as a good idea, in fact, another variation of the same old ideea "groups of people dealing with tough shit in a hostile environment" but gets lost in German technicalities, neglecting exactly what a disaster/dystopian show needs to emphasize: human relationships.

What a pleasant surprise ....didn't expect that much from this show but it's so good.

Excellent , believable story which starts off slow and gets more gripping with every episode.

First class acting too with characters you can relate too.

Surprised that someone gave it a 5 but maybe it's just too different for them ?

Not for me and I have just three episodes to go so I'm intrigued to see where this German thriller ends up.

I've seen a few of these futuristic , dystopian dramas which just fade out after a couple of episodes but this one certainly doesn't so as I say it's highly recommended.

It's an intriguing story about the potential end of the world, but rather than zombies and post-apocalyptic sci-fi, it takes a much deeper look at human nature and what's required to form a functioning society. Thoroughly enjoyed it, liked the fact they explained the origin during the first season, and the characters are all interesting in their own way. And there's no obvious protagonist, so keeps your emotions open (although there are a few distressing and squeamish scenes which some people may find disturbing, but add to the drama and storytelling). Thumbs up from me, can't wait for season 2!