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elin-alneberg
Reviews
1899 (2022)
Started great, then things... changed
The beginning of this show was amazing. Dark, suggestive, filled with interesting characters and it definitely awakened my curiosity. I especially enjoyed the fact that the characters spoke different languages, which seemed accurate for the setting of an emigrant ship.
But here is the thing. I know the Dark writers love science fiction: with steampunk technology, time travel, multiple realities and so on. The problem is that this is not what the show advertises. For the first half of the series it is based on old times, people's dark pasts and how they could intertwine. Then somewhere in the middle the personal stories start to matter less, as it all turns into remote controls, mental hospitals and holes in the wall to other realities. Finding out that nothing is real actually made me care less about what was gonna happen because it didn't matter anyway.
I am someone who watches TV mostly based on the atmosphere of it. 1899 had a GREAT atmosphere, and I couldn't wait to find out the mystery of Prometheus and what had led them there. Unfortunately, bringing in present time destroyed that illusion for me. Especially that little boy who never took off his green velvet jacket, like not even in the photo?! Weird.
My only wish was for a new simulation to start so I could be back on that ship for another mystery.
Young Royals (2021)
Didn't find a single review below 8 so I guess I'll be the bad guy here...
The first time I watched it, I did not like the series that much. The school does not look very fancy on the inside and many of the kids are not exactly posh looking as one might expect in such a school. To be clear: Boarding schools in Sweden are extremely rare and the only Swede I have heard of went to one is the actual king of Sweden. It is an upper class thing entirely. So I wish they would have spent more energy on the environment looking posh and expensive.
Okay, here comes the more controversial topic. I don't think Omar (Simon) is a very good actor. He speaks many lines in an amateur way and often moves very stiffly. For example: in the scenes where Simon is nervous, he just stares down at the floor the whole scene. No variety in acting, no subtlety. I also noticed that his face is often not shown when Omar says his lines. I don't know if it is an artistic decision or if the makers of the show just did not believe in his facial expressions while he was saying the lines... Omar is really cute and I love the chemistry, but I wish Netflix would have gone for an experienced actor instead of a pop artist.
Tips: Watch the big scene at the end of episode 4 and see if you can SEE a single word being uttered. All lines are spoken while the camera is off the person saying them, which to me is so odd. I watched it many times and I started to wonder if the show actually exchanged the whole dialogue after it was filmed.
Criticism aside, Edvin playing Wilhelm is so amazing. It is clear that he has already been acting for several years. He has subtlety, he is charming and the character has so many levels. Even though Wille acts like an idiot a large part of the series, you just love him and want everything to turn out well.
Honestly, I am a sucker for romance, and gay romance even more so. So I have watched the love story more times than I want to admit. However, I often skip the other parts (the fraternity parts for example) so I will refrain from reviewing the rest.
The Five (2016)
The most American British show ever...
... obviously not in a good way. The first few episodes were interesting and seemed like they were going somewhere. That was before it turned in to a silly action series with tens of pretend build-ups leading to absolutely nothing.
I read that the creator is apparently an American, and now everything makes sense. Silly me to think that the Police investigation and the character developments were the most important parts, I should have just waited for a huge reunion in the woods (which everyone somehow managed to attend). When the credits rolled I was still wondering if all the crimes really had been solved? Probably not, since most of the crimes (and there were a lot!) were committed by the protagonists.
A good crime series, such as "The Bridge" for example, has several subplots that all tie together. This one just has subplots:
-What happened to Pru's child, and did she get away from the abusive husband? Irrelevant.
-Why was Danny's father a major character? Unclear.
-Wtf was the pimp doing and why was he on their side? Wow.
-Why was it OK for a main character to commit two (or three? I lost count) murders and get away with it? And do his cold manners suggest that he has even killed before? Unfathomable, and Probably.
The biggest letdown to me was Pru, who at first seemed like a cool and competent character. Towards the end she turned into an oblivious whimp, who could do nothing herself. And she seriously offered to follow Mark into the woods, only to interrogate him on why he had brought her to the woods. Like, what?!
Diappointing at best.
T. Sventon praktiserande privatdetektiv (1989)
Ture Sventon is a private detective who never gets any jobs, but one day something happens when Ville Vessla appears...
The best children's shows are the ones that bring something to both kids and adults. This is definitely the case with Ture Sventon. At the same time as there is excitement and humor for the little ones there are also weird events that adults can appreciate. Like a villain who only consumes raspberry juice, or a crazy refrigerator engineer who has refrigerators everywhere in his house. Not to say the extremely polite Mr Omar, Sventon's helper, who is so humble he never gets to the point of what he is saying, or Ms Jansson, Sventon's secretary, who does nothing but crocheting potholders all day.
In short, Ture Sventon is a lovable TV series filled with lovable characters, and any child or adult should watch it, just to have a cozy time together.