I thought it was a bit unlikely that an American officer would be able to speak such fluent German and the way that he occasionally spoke in English initially made me think that they were going to have all of his dialogue spoken in his native language.
Deutschland '83
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Originally Posted by montyburns56:
“I thought it was a bit unlikely that an American officer would be able to speak such fluent German and the way that he occasionally spoke in English initially made me think that they were going to have all of his dialogue spoken in his native language.”
“I thought it was a bit unlikely that an American officer would be able to speak such fluent German and the way that he occasionally spoke in English initially made me think that they were going to have all of his dialogue spoken in his native language.”
He was a general not an officer. But fluency among the Americans stationed in Germany during the Cold War (and even today) was fairly commonplace. Many American soldiers raised their families in Germany and their children grew up bilingual. In the early 80s there were nearly 300,000 American soldiers deployed on bases in West Germany. From 1950 to 2000 over 10 million US soldiers had been stationed in West Germany at some point.
Originally Posted by heiker:
“I was puzzled as to why this would raise suspicion
”
“I was puzzled as to why this would raise suspicion
”
He supposed to be a spy.......those phones could have been bugged by the American CIA, MI6 or the West Germans. Like I said a bit far fetched.
If people are looking for realism... spy/espionage dramas probably aren't the best place. Even excellent gritty and painstakingly constructed programmes like The Americans consistently flout believability and are full of dubious moments. But what people should realise is that spies and agents are/were often as ill equipped, incompetent, and misinformed as the bumbling bureaucrats that employ them. So whilst it may not be realistic enough for some tastes Martin is a hell of a lot more credible than James Bond or Jason Bourne. At the end of the day it's just entertainment. What is quite believable is the ambiance of the period and that palpable sense of Cold War paranoia.
Originally Posted by TiffanyThorne:
“I loved the first episode. I lived in Germany in the 80s and early 90s and the show brought back a lot of memories for me.
I agree that Martin made many mistakes, but given that he was trained only for three weeks,that's understandable. Making the phone call from the General's house was a major blunder. My husband pointed out that Martin is working with the phone logs from around the military base. He should have known that the General's personal phone was monitored. Also, calling an East German phone number is a dead giveaway. Certainly someone would check the number and investigate who was being called and who might have made the call. I think the call would also be picked up by investigators on the East German side since it was coming from the West, and they would want to know why someone from the West was trying to contact Annette. Surely Martin would have been better off using a public phone booth.
I have a friend in Germany who recommended the show Cenk Batu to me- it's another show that's currently featured on the Channel 4 Walter Presents website- https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%...tu&h=cAQEnWkaw There's a trailer on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OKnoGbVwTM
It's a German show about a police agent in Hamburg who goes undercover to investigate criminal gangs.”
“I loved the first episode. I lived in Germany in the 80s and early 90s and the show brought back a lot of memories for me.
I agree that Martin made many mistakes, but given that he was trained only for three weeks,that's understandable. Making the phone call from the General's house was a major blunder. My husband pointed out that Martin is working with the phone logs from around the military base. He should have known that the General's personal phone was monitored. Also, calling an East German phone number is a dead giveaway. Certainly someone would check the number and investigate who was being called and who might have made the call. I think the call would also be picked up by investigators on the East German side since it was coming from the West, and they would want to know why someone from the West was trying to contact Annette. Surely Martin would have been better off using a public phone booth.
I have a friend in Germany who recommended the show Cenk Batu to me- it's another show that's currently featured on the Channel 4 Walter Presents website- https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%...tu&h=cAQEnWkaw There's a trailer on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OKnoGbVwTM
It's a German show about a police agent in Hamburg who goes undercover to investigate criminal gangs.”
That's what struck me. He also seemed unaware that someone might just happen to see him i.e like the General's sister in Law.
His girlfriend knows where he is now, - I wonder what will happen to her?
I enjoyed it. There were some tense moments, especially when Martin was photographing the contents of the General's briefcase.
I think the secretary in the office they both share, is beginning to suspect him.
The actor reminds me of the young man who writes for the Guardian. Owen - something or another.
I think the secretary in the office they both share, is beginning to suspect him.
The actor reminds me of the young man who writes for the Guardian. Owen - something or another.
Originally Posted by Straker:
“Top marks for having Peter Schilling's classic Major Tom as the theme.”
“Top marks for having Peter Schilling's classic Major Tom as the theme.”
I loved that back in 1984! I bought it on a cassingle. I was really disappointed when it peaked at #42 in the charts so didn't get more exposure.
Originally Posted by Straker:
“Top marks for having Peter Schilling's classic Major Tom as the theme.”
“Top marks for having Peter Schilling's classic Major Tom as the theme.”
The show is nearly worth it for that intro alone (and here it is)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L_PlDsa_BI
Quite good, esp loved the music. Did find some bits weird as people have said, phoning his gf from the General's house, seems totally reckless, and how come there was no cctv camera in the General's office?
I understand only a little spoken German but after ten or fifteen minutes I'd quite forgotten that this was subtitled.
It's a loss to those who refuse to broaden their horizons.
It's a loss to those who refuse to broaden their horizons.
I enjoyed it, but my sister spent the next half hour blowing plot holes throughout the show. I'll keep going.
Watched it again last night and enjoyed it. Still not convinced that woman could have heard any of what he said on the phone. She was too far away, she was probably slightly drunk, he was whispering and his head was pointed in the opposite direction.
Looking forward to Episode 2.
Looking forward to Episode 2.
I think the sister in law would have thought it was weird that his aide was making a call from the General's house phone- without permission as well. At the time I wouldn't have used someone's phone without asking first- she may have been thinking he was making a sneaky long distance call or a call to a number he couldn't ring on the military base (which was the case) . She could have been trying just to tell the General that she saw his aide using his phone. But at any rate the call was going to show up in the phone records.
Originally Posted by TelevisionUser:
“To the contrary, that type of thing did happen and there were quite a number of East German agents operating in West Germany. The most high profile case was that of Günter Guillaume whose case can be read about here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Günter_Guillaume
That incident was one of the most moronic and counterproductive things that East German "intelligence" ever did because it brought down Chancellor Willy Brandt who was in favour of rapprochement and coexistence with East Germany.”
“To the contrary, that type of thing did happen and there were quite a number of East German agents operating in West Germany. The most high profile case was that of Günter Guillaume whose case can be read about here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Günter_Guillaume
That incident was one of the most moronic and counterproductive things that East German "intelligence" ever did because it brought down Chancellor Willy Brandt who was in favour of rapprochement and coexistence with East Germany.”
I'm enjoying finding out how inept the security services could actually be
The Times also had an article about it. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/t...cle4655688.ece (£
)
Originally Posted by testcard:
“I was looking forward to a gritty Cold War drama, what I saw was almost a spoof with some glaring plot holes. From border guard to spy with three weeks training; the murder of the genuine ADC on the train (and no-one noticed); the bungled brush pass at the barbecue; the dead drop in the tree next to a track used by soldiers out exercising, and the handler meeting the spy at the same location. But I will be watching next week.”
“I was looking forward to a gritty Cold War drama, what I saw was almost a spoof with some glaring plot holes. From border guard to spy with three weeks training; the murder of the genuine ADC on the train (and no-one noticed); the bungled brush pass at the barbecue; the dead drop in the tree next to a track used by soldiers out exercising, and the handler meeting the spy at the same location. But I will be watching next week.”
Same here, it just didn't deliver for me.
Will be sticking with it though.
Originally Posted by RecordPlayer:
“I enjoyed it. There were some tense moments, especially when Martin was photographing the contents of the General's briefcase.
I think the secretary in the office they both share, is beginning to suspect him.
The actor reminds me of the young man who writes for the Guardian. Owen - something or another.”
“I enjoyed it. There were some tense moments, especially when Martin was photographing the contents of the General's briefcase.
I think the secretary in the office they both share, is beginning to suspect him.
The actor reminds me of the young man who writes for the Guardian. Owen - something or another.”
Are you thinking about Owen Jones?
Originally Posted by Froggie72:
“Are you thinking about Owen Jones?”
“Are you thinking about Owen Jones?”
That's him - had to look him up. He's very boyish.
I don't like him either.
Originally Posted by Froggie72:
“Just remember it's not him!
”
“Just remember it's not him!
”
Ha ha, yeah. The fact that he speaks German is a bonus.
Originally Posted by Tulip19:
“I'm enjoying finding out how inept the security services could actually be
The Times also had an article about it. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/t...cle4655688.ece (£)”
“I'm enjoying finding out how inept the security services could actually be
The Times also had an article about it. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/t...cle4655688.ece (£
)”
That article is right to point out that the series is closer to fact than fiction and the Eastern bloc security agencies used to use sleeper agents, converts, bribery (all voluntary) and blackmail (not so voluntary). I'm not aware of any assassination and replacement operations as in this plot although it wouldn't have been beyond the KGB and others to do that but it would have been a very high risk option.
Originally Posted by testcard:
“I was looking forward to a gritty Cold War drama, what I saw was almost a spoof with some glaring plot holes. From border guard to spy with three weeks training; the murder of the genuine ADC on the train (and no-one noticed); the bungled brush pass at the barbecue; the dead drop in the tree next to a track used by soldiers out exercising, and the handler meeting the spy at the same location. But I will be watching next week.”
“I was looking forward to a gritty Cold War drama, what I saw was almost a spoof with some glaring plot holes. From border guard to spy with three weeks training; the murder of the genuine ADC on the train (and no-one noticed); the bungled brush pass at the barbecue; the dead drop in the tree next to a track used by soldiers out exercising, and the handler meeting the spy at the same location. But I will be watching next week.”
If you lived behind the Iron Curtain in the late 70s early 80s and you saw somebody get bumped off......what would you have done? Complained and never been seen again, perhaps?
Caught up with this tonight.
Highly entertaining, great music and location scenery.
Don't mind the 'plot holes' or fast tracking Martin to become an Agent, the acting & sharp dialogue more than makes up for any negatives.
Roll on next week
Highly entertaining, great music and location scenery.
Don't mind the 'plot holes' or fast tracking Martin to become an Agent, the acting & sharp dialogue more than makes up for any negatives.
Roll on next week
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