shallowness (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shallowness) wrote2019-04-19 11:55 am
shallowness) wrote2019-04-19 11:55 am
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These days geopolitics = drama
Whilst I’ve been enjoying The Widow for being a thriller and rolling my eyes at some of MotherFatherSon’s attempts to critique modern Britain, I thought, ‘Sure, I’ll watch a Drama With Something to Say About the World’s Two Superpowers on Channel 4.’
Chimerica 1.1. Kodak Ergo Sum
An engaging enough drama, if not quite as potent as it wishes it were. It helps that I’ve always found Nivola a not unattractive presence. He’s playing modern day Lee, a photojournalist who we first meet getting his big break in the Tianamen Square protests, nearly thirty years ago (slightly less in the show’s time as it’s set during the previous American Presidential campaign). We then saw him in another warzone, taking photos, and after a bomb (?) hit, taking some more, first of the dead, then the living, which allowed for a bit of side-eyeing/consideration of ethics.
But it’s the first photo, the one that made him famous, that keeps coming up, and the question of what happened to the Tank Man, the subject of that photo that drives him, especially after Lee is busted for having manipulated a front-page photo from Syria, so he needs to regain some journalistic cred. Like he said, he doesn’t know what else to do.
I think I saw the same documentary that the showmakers did about the New York Times and Trump, because the context of being accused of fake news, the pressures of keeping up with the net and new technology while battling the lack of interest in important stories was filched from there. We also saw Lee being an entitled jerk around a young representative of new media.
But we also saw him being naïve in China, having returned there for a story, reconnecting with an old friend, a former protestor, now teaching English. The show is better about the generalities of living in China where the younger generation simply doesn’t know about Tianemen Square but does know how to get around the firewall to watch cat videos on YouTube.
There were some striking images: the widower who’s flashback to time with his dead wife led to him hallucinating seeing her again*; Lee being haunted by Chinese men in white shirts holding shopping bags; and the final reveal of the Tank Man living in the States with his copy of the famed sunflowers.
Trump’s presence in the episode seemed kind of decorative; although the recurrent questions about what America, not China, makes of democracy had more weight.
One feels that Sophie Okenedo’s capitalist character will be more important (and yeah, that message inviting Lee to have dinner in no way screamed ‘This is a work thing’). It’s a good cast – you don’t entirely sympathise with Lee, but he’s dynamic enough to be interesting (although I could frankly watch Nivola put film in a camera for a lot longer). I presume zero Chinese nationals were involved.
I did find the titles, with their whole explaining how a portmanteau works thing, irritating.
*This involved him hallucinating his dead wife in a fridge. I know. At the time, it arose from a memory of them discussing how they’d met, and him coming up with a fantastic story that seemed like an updated folk tale, and her listening on, humouring him. But all ‘fridging’ criticisms apply.
Berlin Station 2.1 Everything’s Going to Be Alt-Right
The interesting question, going in, was who was going to be still around. And according to the credits, it was nearly everyone.
I’m not opposed to Daniel’s new look, but that first scene with Esther was painfully exposition heavy, and I say that as someone who has already forgotten a lot of the details of the first season.
Anyway, this season is diving into the world of neo-nazis…in Germany.
Enter B.B. Yates (Ashley Judd) with the actress as well as character trying to make a good impression. Reserving judgement, myself – the moment where she uttered the episode title was not good. Robert clearly hadn’t changed, though. Duh, of course she was lying to the ambassador. It took me a few scenes to realise he was ambassador Carmine Falcone. A finely balanced thing to ask the former chief of the station, a Company man all his life, to start up an independent spy unit for another branch of US government, even if the ambassador thought Stephen was missing the work and not liking others carrying it out instead and so would bite.
Esther and Valerie are also reserving judgement on the Station Whisperer, though I think Judd’s conveying her smarts well. Bless B.B. having to explain the old ‘put yourself in their shoes’ thing to Robert.
The dynamic of young rookie and experienced agent was fun (also Valerie would be guarded after what went down in the previous season) – but the neo-nazi political adviser was flirty with Valerie, and after their second encounter, who knows if that’s a good thing?
Stephen and Robert both know each other too well – the latter definitely knew Stephen was lying about refusing the job offer; and Robert giving away that the CIA had ops on.
I’m sure Esther Krug put an agent in to keep an eye on Danny – he’s still clearly a weakness for her.
The ‘shock reveal’ of Danny turning to Hector wasn’t really. Granted, he seemed to have a suitable identity from their past, but he’s all kinds of damaged goods. Is it going to be worth the play? Is this going to be the win the station needs with so much of it unofficial and unsanctioned?
Chimerica 1.1. Kodak Ergo Sum
An engaging enough drama, if not quite as potent as it wishes it were. It helps that I’ve always found Nivola a not unattractive presence. He’s playing modern day Lee, a photojournalist who we first meet getting his big break in the Tianamen Square protests, nearly thirty years ago (slightly less in the show’s time as it’s set during the previous American Presidential campaign). We then saw him in another warzone, taking photos, and after a bomb (?) hit, taking some more, first of the dead, then the living, which allowed for a bit of side-eyeing/consideration of ethics.
But it’s the first photo, the one that made him famous, that keeps coming up, and the question of what happened to the Tank Man, the subject of that photo that drives him, especially after Lee is busted for having manipulated a front-page photo from Syria, so he needs to regain some journalistic cred. Like he said, he doesn’t know what else to do.
I think I saw the same documentary that the showmakers did about the New York Times and Trump, because the context of being accused of fake news, the pressures of keeping up with the net and new technology while battling the lack of interest in important stories was filched from there. We also saw Lee being an entitled jerk around a young representative of new media.
But we also saw him being naïve in China, having returned there for a story, reconnecting with an old friend, a former protestor, now teaching English. The show is better about the generalities of living in China where the younger generation simply doesn’t know about Tianemen Square but does know how to get around the firewall to watch cat videos on YouTube.
There were some striking images: the widower who’s flashback to time with his dead wife led to him hallucinating seeing her again*; Lee being haunted by Chinese men in white shirts holding shopping bags; and the final reveal of the Tank Man living in the States with his copy of the famed sunflowers.
Trump’s presence in the episode seemed kind of decorative; although the recurrent questions about what America, not China, makes of democracy had more weight.
One feels that Sophie Okenedo’s capitalist character will be more important (and yeah, that message inviting Lee to have dinner in no way screamed ‘This is a work thing’). It’s a good cast – you don’t entirely sympathise with Lee, but he’s dynamic enough to be interesting (although I could frankly watch Nivola put film in a camera for a lot longer). I presume zero Chinese nationals were involved.
I did find the titles, with their whole explaining how a portmanteau works thing, irritating.
*This involved him hallucinating his dead wife in a fridge. I know. At the time, it arose from a memory of them discussing how they’d met, and him coming up with a fantastic story that seemed like an updated folk tale, and her listening on, humouring him. But all ‘fridging’ criticisms apply.
Berlin Station 2.1 Everything’s Going to Be Alt-Right
The interesting question, going in, was who was going to be still around. And according to the credits, it was nearly everyone.
I’m not opposed to Daniel’s new look, but that first scene with Esther was painfully exposition heavy, and I say that as someone who has already forgotten a lot of the details of the first season.
Anyway, this season is diving into the world of neo-nazis…in Germany.
Enter B.B. Yates (Ashley Judd) with the actress as well as character trying to make a good impression. Reserving judgement, myself – the moment where she uttered the episode title was not good. Robert clearly hadn’t changed, though. Duh, of course she was lying to the ambassador. It took me a few scenes to realise he was ambassador Carmine Falcone. A finely balanced thing to ask the former chief of the station, a Company man all his life, to start up an independent spy unit for another branch of US government, even if the ambassador thought Stephen was missing the work and not liking others carrying it out instead and so would bite.
Esther and Valerie are also reserving judgement on the Station Whisperer, though I think Judd’s conveying her smarts well. Bless B.B. having to explain the old ‘put yourself in their shoes’ thing to Robert.
The dynamic of young rookie and experienced agent was fun (also Valerie would be guarded after what went down in the previous season) – but the neo-nazi political adviser was flirty with Valerie, and after their second encounter, who knows if that’s a good thing?
Stephen and Robert both know each other too well – the latter definitely knew Stephen was lying about refusing the job offer; and Robert giving away that the CIA had ops on.
I’m sure Esther Krug put an agent in to keep an eye on Danny – he’s still clearly a weakness for her.
The ‘shock reveal’ of Danny turning to Hector wasn’t really. Granted, he seemed to have a suitable identity from their past, but he’s all kinds of damaged goods. Is it going to be worth the play? Is this going to be the win the station needs with so much of it unofficial and unsanctioned?