3 ms·

This might just be my personal opinion but I feel like a lot of European shows avoid many of the common Hollywood tropes, which is another reason they feel 'fre

by koyote 6y ago

This might just be my personal opinion but I feel like a lot of European shows avoid many of the common Hollywood tropes, which is another reason they feel 'fresh'. Most US shows are quite predictable if you've watched similar shows of the same genre and I often find myself guessing the plotline or a plot tool while watching. This did not happen with DARK; in fact, that's how I realised that it avoided many of the tropes because they just did not eventuate when I tried 'guessing'.

open-source-ux 6y ago
When the Danish series The Killing was first shown in the UK it was acclaimed by both critics and audiences. Since then, there has been a boom in European dramas shown on UK TV screens, particularly thrillers. (Dramas from Italy, Germany, France, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Iceland are just some examples.) However, what seems "fresh" at first soon becomes familiar. This is particular true of Scandinanian thrillers. Once you watch a few, you realise they swap one set of familar tropes with their own set. For example, for thrillers: - Many red herrings in the murder case (often not making any sense but carefully planted by the writers to keep audiences guessing). - The death of at least one major (likable) character usually after the audience has warmed to the character. - At most a "bittersweet" ending is provided. A 'happy' ending is never executed: some distress or anxiety must always accompany the main character at the end of a series. Sounds familar?
- GekkePrutser 6y ago
  Yes very familiar. I watched The Bridge ("Bron Broen") and it had all these. It was still OK, but too much of it won't be. And the later seasons were a bit contrived so I stopped after the second one.
- BugWatch 6y ago
  Sounds "real"(istic-ish?).
buu700 6y ago
This did not happen with DARK; in fact, that's how I realised that it avoided many of the tropes because they just did not eventuate when I tried 'guessing'. Not to get too off-topic, but if you liked DARK then I'd highly recommend the 12 Monkeys series. If I had to pick one, I'd say 12 Monkeys may be a bit better.
- layoutIfNeeded 6y ago
  (The 12 Monkeys series is very bad compared to the original Terry Gilliam movie.)
  - stuaxo 6y ago
    It's sort of terrible, but gets better.. it has many moments that seem like they will be so bad you will stop watching but then it will turn it round somehow. It got more interesting after the first series, and then the last series is just not available in the UK which is annoying.
  - hinkley 6y ago
    The 'original Terry Gilliam movie' was inspired by a French short, La Jetée [1962].
- GekkePrutser 6y ago
  I hadn't heard of that one, thanks for the tip!! I will try it. From the writeup it sounds a bit like Travelers, which I also liked (sad that it was cancelled, but at least they finished their 'iteration' of the story!)
seabird 6y ago
I think it's important to note that Dark is "engineered." It has a comparatively short runtime, and the major points of the plot were written before the show even began production. This is something even some of the most widely acclaimed series didn't do, but up until streaming services started dumping whole seasons at a time, it wasn't really viable; leaving open ends meant more opportunity for big viewer numbers and ad revenue. La casa de papel (mentioned in the grandparent) wasn't planned to the same extent, and it shows. It's not bad, but the writing is nowhere near as strong as Dark. It's possible that these European Netflix series that started to get made largely for the sake of hitting the 30% domestic content number are inherently advantaged in that regard. They just need to exist in the catalog, and don't need to drag on and on (which has ruined plenty of American series) to fulfill their business case.
- GekkePrutser 6y ago
  True, Dark is great in that way. The story is really intricate. I came across it by fluke and I really liked it a lot. Indeed the dragging on bit of some series is very familiar. Like LOST :) I also notice that many of the 'villain of the week' series have many eps in each season, and all the good shows are much more sparse.
srg0 6y ago
Love and Anarchy feels very fresh. I enjoyed the light hearted story, an opportunity to hear how IKEA language sounds, and learned a thing or two about modern Sweden. Witcher universe is very East European, so this was another show that's not only epic, but it felt different from the generic fantasy. I am not sure how much can be attributed to the original franchise, and how much to Netflix production. I am glad to see German series. How to sell drugs online fast, S1 was good.

by koyote 6y ago

open-source-ux 6y ago

When the Danish series The Killing was first shown in the UK it was acclaimed by both critics and audiences. Since then, there has been a boom in European dramas shown on UK TV screens, particularly thrillers. (Dramas from Italy, Germany, France, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Iceland are just some examples.) However, what seems "fresh" at first soon becomes familiar. This is particular true of Scandinanian thrillers. Once you watch a few, you realise they swap one set of familar tropes with their own set. For example, for thrillers: - Many red herrings in the murder case (often not making any sense but carefully planted by the writers to keep audiences guessing). - The death of at least one major (likable) character usually after the audience has warmed to the character. - At most a "bittersweet" ending is provided. A 'happy' ending is never executed: some distress or anxiety must always accompany the main character at the end of a series. Sounds familar?

GekkePrutser 6y ago
Yes very familiar. I watched The Bridge ("Bron Broen") and it had all these. It was still OK, but too much of it won't be. And the later seasons were a bit contrived so I stopped after the second one.
BugWatch 6y ago
Sounds "real"(istic-ish?).

buu700 6y ago

This did not happen with DARK; in fact, that's how I realised that it avoided many of the tropes because they just did not eventuate when I tried 'guessing'. Not to get too off-topic, but if you liked DARK then I'd highly recommend the 12 Monkeys series. If I had to pick one, I'd say 12 Monkeys may be a bit better.

layoutIfNeeded 6y ago
(The 12 Monkeys series is very bad compared to the original Terry Gilliam movie.)
- stuaxo 6y ago
  It's sort of terrible, but gets better.. it has many moments that seem like they will be so bad you will stop watching but then it will turn it round somehow. It got more interesting after the first series, and then the last series is just not available in the UK which is annoying.
- hinkley 6y ago
  The 'original Terry Gilliam movie' was inspired by a French short, La Jetée [1962].
GekkePrutser 6y ago
I hadn't heard of that one, thanks for the tip!! I will try it. From the writeup it sounds a bit like Travelers, which I also liked (sad that it was cancelled, but at least they finished their 'iteration' of the story!)

seabird 6y ago

I think it's important to note that Dark is "engineered." It has a comparatively short runtime, and the major points of the plot were written before the show even began production. This is something even some of the most widely acclaimed series didn't do, but up until streaming services started dumping whole seasons at a time, it wasn't really viable; leaving open ends meant more opportunity for big viewer numbers and ad revenue. La casa de papel (mentioned in the grandparent) wasn't planned to the same extent, and it shows. It's not bad, but the writing is nowhere near as strong as Dark. It's possible that these European Netflix series that started to get made largely for the sake of hitting the 30% domestic content number are inherently advantaged in that regard. They just need to exist in the catalog, and don't need to drag on and on (which has ruined plenty of American series) to fulfill their business case.

GekkePrutser 6y ago
True, Dark is great in that way. The story is really intricate. I came across it by fluke and I really liked it a lot. Indeed the dragging on bit of some series is very familiar. Like LOST :) I also notice that many of the 'villain of the week' series have many eps in each season, and all the good shows are much more sparse.

srg0 6y ago

Love and Anarchy feels very fresh. I enjoyed the light hearted story, an opportunity to hear how IKEA language sounds, and learned a thing or two about modern Sweden. Witcher universe is very East European, so this was another show that's not only epic, but it felt different from the generic fantasy. I am not sure how much can be attributed to the original franchise, and how much to Netflix production. I am glad to see German series. How to sell drugs online fast, S1 was good.