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Berlin TV shenanigans
Dec. 19th, 2018 03:01 pmMy favourite non-Star Trek series of 2018 is Counterpart, the series starring JK Simmons as a mild mannered bureaucrat who comes face to face with his evil douchebag mirror universe parallel universe counterpart.
(I cannot recommend it highly enough -- the first episode has Not Enough Women, and I was really only continuing for Simmons, but then the second episode introduces ... her identity is a mild spoiler. Suffice to say, the lead female character, played by Olivia Williams, is one of the most complicated, ambiguous, ~~problematic female characters around. I plan to make DW icons at some point; in the meantime, I'm using The Americans' Elizabeth Jennings, who is not quite her spiritual sister, but they have a few things in common.)
Counterpart is set and partially filmed in Berlin, so it's often mentioned in the same breath as Berlin Station, a slightly older series -- three seasons so far -- set in the CIA's Berlin outpost. I watched the first episode last night.
It's...
Okay, asking me to feel bad about CIA agents having all their dodgiest secrets leaked is a stretch. Ending the first episode with "The leaker isn't just a traitor! He's a murderer!" as the camera pans lovingly over the bloody body of a young woman is an even bigger stretch. Expecting me to put up with both those things, and the only female characters so far are strictly in supporting roles? No thank you. Apparently Ashley Judd joins in season 2, but ... ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
On the other hand, the scenery is very pretty, and Richard Armitage is adequate. His accent's not amazing, but better than, say, David Tennant's. Maybe the show will get better?
(I cannot recommend it highly enough -- the first episode has Not Enough Women, and I was really only continuing for Simmons, but then the second episode introduces ... her identity is a mild spoiler. Suffice to say, the lead female character, played by Olivia Williams, is one of the most complicated, ambiguous, ~~problematic female characters around. I plan to make DW icons at some point; in the meantime, I'm using The Americans' Elizabeth Jennings, who is not quite her spiritual sister, but they have a few things in common.)
Counterpart is set and partially filmed in Berlin, so it's often mentioned in the same breath as Berlin Station, a slightly older series -- three seasons so far -- set in the CIA's Berlin outpost. I watched the first episode last night.
It's...
Okay, asking me to feel bad about CIA agents having all their dodgiest secrets leaked is a stretch. Ending the first episode with "The leaker isn't just a traitor! He's a murderer!" as the camera pans lovingly over the bloody body of a young woman is an even bigger stretch. Expecting me to put up with both those things, and the only female characters so far are strictly in supporting roles? No thank you. Apparently Ashley Judd joins in season 2, but ... ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
On the other hand, the scenery is very pretty, and Richard Armitage is adequate. His accent's not amazing, but better than, say, David Tennant's. Maybe the show will get better?
