Article first published as BERLIN STATION Review on Seat42F.
Premium movie service Epix joins the
original scripted world this weekend with two new shows. One, a drama,
is called BERLIN STATION, a slow-burn spy drama set in the city of
Berlin, Germany. Created by novelist Olen Steinhauer, the series has
shades of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and hops onto the current trend of
espionage television programs, but with more international flavor than
most. It boasts a cast that includes many well-knowns, so it seems ripe
for success, but is it good enough?
The plot will seem pretty familiar to
anyone who pays attention to the news, though it’s not really based on a
true story. An Edward Snowden-like man named Thomas Shaw is leaking the
covert activities of the American CIA office in Berlin, exposing the
identities of local sources. Agent Daniel Miller (Richard Armitage, The
Hobbit, Robin Hood), who is from Berlin but has been working elsewhere,
is called home to investigate. Knowing there is a mole in the CIA
station itself, everyone is on edge as Daniel attempts to find and stop
the leak, and early indications are he’s good enough at his job to do
so.
Who is the mole within the organization?
Is it station chief Steven Frost (Richard Jenkins, Six Feet Under,
Olive Kitteridge), who is having an affair with his secretary, Sandra
Abe (Tamlyn Tomita, Teen Wolf)? Maybe it’s the woman who brings Daniel
in, Valerie Edwards (Michelle Forbes, The Killing, True Blood), trying
to deflect attention, although she does seem awfully upset when one of
her contacts is burned. Or perhaps it’s Daniel’s former partner, Hector
DeJean (Rhys Ifans, Elementary, The Amazing Spider-Man), who likes the
seedy night life of the city? Or even agent Robert Kirsch (Leland Orser,
Ray Donovan, Taken), who gets less character development in the pilot
than those above?
BERLIN STATION makes the interesting
choice of not leaving the viewer in the dark very long. While many
series in this genre would keep the identity of the turncoat for a
season-long mystery that must be solved, this one doesn’t, at least for
those following along at home; it’s less certain how long it will take
Daniel to figure things out. Which is a bold decision that will change
how many view the story.
But is it a good idea? That, I’m not
certain of. Part of the draw of a spy series is the unanswered
questions, putting together the clues, and the suspense of figuring
things out. BERLIN STATION takes that away early on, so it must rely on
other elements to keep the viewers tuning in.
There are some great elements in this
show. The cast, as listed above, is terrific, and I like the other
characters, too, the German counterparts and enemy agents. The setting
is cool, as the show is actually filmed in Berlin. The quality of the
production and direction is pretty high. The stakes are real enough, and
the plot feels familiar without being repetitive.
However, I also found the show boring. I
like a good spy drama; The Americans is probably my favorite currently
on the air, and Homeland is good, too. But I didn’t care for Tinker
Tailor Soldier Spy because I found the film too slow, not really holding
my interest. BERLIN STATION seems to follow that format, and without
even leaving the identity of the bad guy a secret, I really don’t have
any interest in continuing past episode one.
If you’re a fan of this particular
subgenre, though, and enjoyed the Gary Oldman-fronted movie, then this
is likely to give you what you’re looking for, a regular weekly show in a
particular format.
BERLIN STATION premieres tonighton Epix,
and the network is allowing anyone to sample the first two hours free
of charge on its website now.
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