Deutschland 83: Cold Fire
July 16, 2015 3:35 PM - Season 1, Episode 5 - Subscribe
Moritz dances to Bonnie Tyler and faces the cruel realities of his assignment, while something happens back home. Alex and Yvonne Edel unknowingly begin a new era of East-West relations. Annett gets her loyalties straight.
I don't think that guy looks even remotely like Carlos The Jackal, he's more likely an East German courier (Carlos at the time was working with the KGB/HVA and IIRC had quite some people under his command) who delivered the detonators to him.
posted by lmfsilva at 4:10 AM on July 17, 2015
posted by lmfsilva at 4:10 AM on July 17, 2015
Apparently the Maison de France was bombed by a German accomplice of Carlos the Jackal not by himself.
I enjoy this series so much.
posted by jouke at 11:03 AM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
I enjoy this series so much.
posted by jouke at 11:03 AM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
My semester in Germany ran from December 81 through July 82, and DAMN if the use of period music, clothing, and decor isn't giving me flashbacks. Peter Schilling. Fischer-Z. Even Phil Collins, which was everywhere at the time -- I remember hearing 'In the Air Tonight' for the first time in a bookshop in Heidelberg. Now I just need Extrabreit and Andreas Dorau + the Marinas to fill out my bingo card.
Reagan had pretty much everyone spooked. Even many of the conservatives, who weren't prone to criticizing the US, were referring to him as a "cowboy." Not as a compliment, either.
posted by Kinbote at 4:04 PM on July 18, 2015
Reagan had pretty much everyone spooked. Even many of the conservatives, who weren't prone to criticizing the US, were referring to him as a "cowboy." Not as a compliment, either.
posted by Kinbote at 4:04 PM on July 18, 2015
They really bring to life how both parties are freaked out by their imaginations of what the other party will do.
And then the demonstrations by the peace party in Germany and how Edel freaks out about their lack of understanding what the true scale of the danger is....
They do a pretty good job of presenting both sides even handedly. Although the cavalier response by Stasi officers to the bombing of the Maison de France is pretty chilling. Or Annette going to the police with her friends illegal literature.
posted by jouke at 1:05 AM on July 19, 2015
And then the demonstrations by the peace party in Germany and how Edel freaks out about their lack of understanding what the true scale of the danger is....
They do a pretty good job of presenting both sides even handedly. Although the cavalier response by Stasi officers to the bombing of the Maison de France is pretty chilling. Or Annette going to the police with her friends illegal literature.
posted by jouke at 1:05 AM on July 19, 2015
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Random thing that caught my eye: When General Edel's secretary pulls out a bottle of cologne to wipe down what Edel's wife has given her out of fear of AIDS, I'm pretty sure the bottle is a bottle of Echt Kölnisch Wasser 4711 - which I happen to have a bottle of in my medicine cabinet, that my Dad brought me back from a trip to Germany sometime in the 1980s. (Yes, it's that old. And it's still almost full - it's not a scent I'd wear daily, but I do like it.) As I understand it, this stuff is the reason we call fragrances "eau de Cologne," as in "water from Cologne, Germany."
Back to the show - I'm a little confused about the bomb at the Maison de France - was the bomb planted by the guy Martin gave the "decaf coffee" to? I was watching rather late last night but it looked like the guy Martin chased down after was the same one, and that he picked the detonator out of a similar "coffee can."
Also, nice use of "Mad World" and "In The Air Tonight" (however much of a hack Phil Collins may have become, that's still an amazing piece).
posted by dnash at 8:16 PM on July 16, 2015