It's always interesting to read or hear about a new German television program. It's interesting because in general you don't have to ever watch it to know it's... well, not very good. (And you usually won't, if you have any form of self-respect left) And also it's generally a very safe bet to say that it's going to be canceled in the not so distant future ("two weeks ago").
And that is the point where KDD comes in and is so much better than anything I have seen on television over the last few years - including the inevitable and I guess lucrative American shows. Not that there's anything wrong about CSI, but if I had to chose I'd definitely stick to the gritty and entertainingly inconvenient story lines of KDD's "exaggerated reality". Sure, it doesn't seem very... likely ... that there's actually so much drama going on in the life of ordinary policemen and -women. But the cases themselves are very credible, very human, and so are the main characters. Again: I don't think that actual people could ever be on the verge of depression, paranoia and pitiful helplessness as much as the people shown on screen, and yet you can't help but hope that everything is going to turn out alright for them (which I can assure you is not going to happen. Ever. Thank god.) Actually these are not even crime stories in the traditional sense of the word. The crimes themselves are not what matters, it's the criminals, who are over and over again wretched and in every sense of the word screwed-up people. Then again not every murderer or rapist gets caught, and not every drug-dealer or kidnapper is a bad person at heart. The photography is as brilliant as the writing, finding a good, solid middle course between cutting-too-rapidly and using-hour-long-shots (the things that usually happen on German television).
And of course no review of KDD would be complete without mentioning the actors who to me all seem brilliant in their own way. You simply believe they are their respective characters. And that's really the best and only compliment you can pay them, I think.
Also: Melika Foroutan just looks hot like hell. AND: Her character - as emotional and impulsive as she may be - to me seems to be the only one truly rational around. Except maybe for Jürgen Vogel's "Han" who too is very physical, sexual, but at the same time incredibly determined and self-assured. Just a thought.
And that is the point where KDD comes in and is so much better than anything I have seen on television over the last few years - including the inevitable and I guess lucrative American shows. Not that there's anything wrong about CSI, but if I had to chose I'd definitely stick to the gritty and entertainingly inconvenient story lines of KDD's "exaggerated reality". Sure, it doesn't seem very... likely ... that there's actually so much drama going on in the life of ordinary policemen and -women. But the cases themselves are very credible, very human, and so are the main characters. Again: I don't think that actual people could ever be on the verge of depression, paranoia and pitiful helplessness as much as the people shown on screen, and yet you can't help but hope that everything is going to turn out alright for them (which I can assure you is not going to happen. Ever. Thank god.) Actually these are not even crime stories in the traditional sense of the word. The crimes themselves are not what matters, it's the criminals, who are over and over again wretched and in every sense of the word screwed-up people. Then again not every murderer or rapist gets caught, and not every drug-dealer or kidnapper is a bad person at heart. The photography is as brilliant as the writing, finding a good, solid middle course between cutting-too-rapidly and using-hour-long-shots (the things that usually happen on German television).
And of course no review of KDD would be complete without mentioning the actors who to me all seem brilliant in their own way. You simply believe they are their respective characters. And that's really the best and only compliment you can pay them, I think.
Also: Melika Foroutan just looks hot like hell. AND: Her character - as emotional and impulsive as she may be - to me seems to be the only one truly rational around. Except maybe for Jürgen Vogel's "Han" who too is very physical, sexual, but at the same time incredibly determined and self-assured. Just a thought.
