DaViD´82

I absolutely love this to death. Literally. A masterfully mixed absurd and, at the same time, very real cocktail by Alan Ball, full of black humor, cynicism, pessimism and optimism and, mainly, real living protagonists who you’ll love in spite of their many character defects (or maybe because of them?). There is no other series which has been so much and so pertinently about life as this one and only a few audiovisual works of art fits the well-worn description that it "holds up mirrors", which helps it to withstand even the weaker (in the context of the whole of the series - otherwise very high standard) third season. Simply an unforgettable five years spent in the company of the Fisher family. And honestly, if you experience their ups and downs together with them (in this case there can’t be any talk about mere watching) only then you can really appreciate and fully understand why the last ten minutes are rightly considered to be the one of the most emotional scenes ever.

Conscience is a killer. There are cops who work strictly according to the rules. There are cops who bends the rules for a good cause. And there are cops who just break the rules over their knee. And then there’s Vic Mackey (“Good cop and bad cop left for the day. I'm a different kind of cop."), who remains completely unimpressed by any rules apart from his own ones; he makes them up as he goes, as necessary, regardless of laws, public opinion, colleagues, politics, moral principles, gangs, mafia, family... Simply against everybody/thing with the motto “the end justifies the means" and if the means bring with them some dough, all the better. Primarily in the first two seasons, the authors did not even attempt to hide the fact that they found their inspiration in the LAPD Rampart Department anti-gang unit scandal. Vic is one of the most intriguing and most complex series characters ever and one thing is sure, regardless of whether you love him or hate him, you will certainly will form some opinion of him. The Shield is unarguably amoral, tough, most of the time realistic, despite certain screenwriting over-eagerness, and pumped full of adrenalin and action, engrossing and absolutely uncompromising. All of the action has corresponding consequences, sometimes lasting several episodes or even a whole season. The whole thing begins awfully mundanely and you can’t tell it apart from other cop dramas, but very soon it begins to become what makes it such a (genre) paradigm. Even the characters that seemed rather template-style at the beginning manage gradually to warm up to become unexpectedly sophisticated and so this is not just about Vic. I suppose the flimsiest characters here are Aceveda who epitomizes the saying “the way to hell is paved with good intentions", the rightly ambitious and slightly arrogant dolt Dutch “redneck xenophobe" Shane and Whitaker’s Jon Kavanaugh. Just a shame that the creators shunt Lem and Gardocki of to the sidelines in season five. The first four series are conceived as the “tough daily routine of the staff of a police station in the worst precinct of LA for gang violence, specially focused on a special, corrupt unit headed by Vic Mackey" and as of season five it is conceived as a trilogy involving the “even tougher daily routine, this time round just serving as a front for complete concentration of the fall and fight for survival of the members of Vic Mackey’s Strike Team." Faultless in formal terms, one of the few situations where a shaky camera pulling you into the action actually works well and in fact it is essential to this series which just wouldn’t be as good without it. The denouement, which would have impressed even Shakespeare (even though in terms of karma, it would have been better if Vic had his downfall doing something that he would never normally have done - see the beginning of season six), is clear from the outset, which changes nothing about the fact that the final episodes are often praised as candidates for the best series finale ever. I just have a tiny observation about the closing scene of the initial episode and about the deed that subsequently resounds throughout the series. That character would never act so stupidly,and probably would never do something like that at all. But this changes nothing about the fact that The Shield is a modern day classic and, if you have any doubts about that, just hope that a bald-headed guy never rings your doorbell and starts spelling out in semaphore the reasons why it is so good. P.S.: And this has nothing at all to do with the often mentioned The Wire, although Vic could easily end up coming into contact with Walt or Tony.

A story of a man who is heading for disaster. To write that this is a French response to Homeland (in the style of The Hour / Mad Men) is like keeping saliva in your mouth for a few hours and then spit them onto the face of the creators, but... it is true to some extent, even if we might not like it. The main difference, however, is in the plainness of the concept (it is quite free of big words, gestures and actions) of the view of the operation of the department of recruiting "acquaintances", not only defectors, agents, terrorists, but mostly ordinary people who could potentially have access to interesting/dangerous (dis) information. It's about finding the way to them and controlling them, not about blackmailing them.* Simply put, a daily routine of an uncommon office full of hypocrisy, intrigue, outsmarting others, plotting, looking over your shoulder, paperwork, strict rules in the workplace, nicknames of operatives taken from Tintino and... And yes, it is absolutely cold procedural "lecarréov style movie" in the best possible sense of this word, which is moreover current and not at all black and white. Just an unbelievable believable spy master, where it is often not clear who is a mouse and who is a cat, with nerve-wracking tension stemming from the behavior and subsequent actions of missing people doing their job and what they are damn good at. Not from shootings, murders or impending terrorist attacks. Pragmatic decisions win, not emotion-driven ones. Already the first season had not many competitors in terms of movies with similar quality genre. Not to mention an even better second season, which then does not have too much competition across the entire serial spectrum, regardless of genre boxes. And after all, even the third season does not deviate from the established trend of "absolute quality", although in the last two episodes it contains the germ of something that could be a problem in the future, namely, excessive adherence to one of the lines, which potentially might become flogging a dead horse. Surprisingly, however, the problem of the "weakest" fourth season is not in the above so far. The creators handled that more than well not even in the quality of individual lines (they are on the same level as always), but in connecting it all into one coherent whole. There are three separate story lines. Let´s pretend they complement each other (although the one that looks like a major for a long time and eventually fades away and serves more/perhaps as a possible start for the next season), but one is completely sidelined from start to finish. It´s remote, far from all events, in another place and with different characters. Which, to a large extent, also applies to the fifth season, where the disarray and absent-mindedness is even more noticeable. With the only difference that the main story line is even more highlighted and slightly better. Unusual, however, is the final duo of bittersweet "epilogue" episodes, which close the chapter of one era. It seems, with regard to the building blocks of the series, almost out of place, as if they come from a completely different series (à la Soprano). After all, it is the fault of Audiard and we can clearly that he is the one responsible. But after five seasons, it starts work properly. It is completely justified as a conclusion of one era.* Your real task will be to destroy the lives of people who are not necessarily bad. They are only foreigners who work for their country and have access to information important to our security. People that we call villains just because they live on the opposite side of the border and know the things their government wants to keep secret at all costs. | S1: 5/5 | S2: 5/5 | S3: 5/5 | S4: 4/5 | S5: 5/5 |

Living the American Dream via the periodic table and Heisenberg’s principle of equivocality which is not black-and-white, but that doesn’t mean that it contains no black or white. When a middle-age crisis hits an over-qualified, kind chemistry teacher with a complex, whose prizes family above all else (his wife is an accountant against her will and also an unsuccessful writer with a few published stories, his son has polio and is going through a rough puberty and there’s even an unplanned kid on the way); this is already a powerful theme in itself. And when you add a trick of fate in the form of advanced cancer, this is doubly powerful. It is clear that here we will get a combination of satire and drama with a precisely dosed admixture of black humor. And what if, to provide for his family, this hen-pecked chemistry teacher decides to “kick off the hen and declare a vendetta on fate"; in other words once and for all (and for the last time) to take his life into his own hands... So he sets out on the slippery slope of crime as a “Meth Cook", with a former pupil who was one of the laziest and most useless in the class, Jesse; which forms the recipe of an uncompromising, raw, cynical crime series where you find yourself breathing in the rhythm dictated by the creators, not by your own body. The only respite (which is no criticism - it fits here) occurs at the beginning of season three when the creators give the characters the opportunity to get off the careering train and return to their original, “non-criminal" routine. But if this seems like a disparate mixture of genres and themes, the truth is in exact opposite. Unusually well written (both characters and story; just a shame about the exceptions proving the rule in the Lost-style intertwining of fates during the final of season two) and presented (nobody else has yet come near to the prologs to each episode) and also never losing its worrying, chilling tone and very movie-like guise (it is markedly Coen-McCarthy-esque); and not just in TV production terms. But there is one snag. It definitely isn’t for people who need to identify with one of the characters. Of course, you understand (but may not approve of) the characters and their behavior in all situations, but the more this pedantic teacher Walt who you would trust with your wallet “becomes" Heisenberg, who commands respect and fills you with pure fear (If that's true, if you don't know who I am, then maybe your best course would be to tread lightly.), the more clear it becomes that you can’t root for him because he starts not seeing the wood for the trees, which means he not only harms his surroundings, but also his nearest and dearest. And mainly he is never under any circumstances the victim of circumstances or screenwriters, but is always fully responsible for everything that happens to him. And so it is with everything. In any case, if you get into the vibe of the series, you have a good chance that you will find a hot favorite for your most favorite episode of all existing series (there are countless candidates for this in all seasons, but the clear winner is Ozymandias), for the award for best scene of all existing series (there are more candidates for this than for the episode prize, but the clear winner here is Crawl Space) and of course for the award for best series of all top series. PS: And like the very end held no disappointment at all, it seems like, in spite of all the horrors experienced by others, Walt got off lightly in comparison. The very end lacks a certain hidden uncompromising streak which for instance raises The Shield onto the highest pedestal for the best and most memorable finale ever.

What if there were a series about investigation of crimes from a realistic, bureaucratic point of view à la The Wire that gradually matures into the highest quality wine ever? Such a series exists and is adored by critics, loved by viewers in Europe and has achieved cult status in France and Britain. This is a series that is not unrealistic (no arrests “US style" involving two people with a car chase across the city, but, just in case theoretically those two might be armed and dangerous, ten to fifteen cops are involved, meaning that the result of any attempt at escape would end up in them being stopped almost instantly) or easy viewing (forget about “every case solved and everything explained") because that’s just not how it works. It is ideal if you have at least a vague idea about the peculiarities of the French legal system, and about the powers of the police, the district attorney, lawyers and investigative judges. Because here we follow the fates and the daily routines of those who work inside this system who are meant to cooperate, but also have various and conflicting interests. Everybody has their own personal demons and the work takes its toll, whether in the form of drug addiction, a non-existent private life or something completely different. It’s also a series that is dark (or rather, worryingly realistic) and raw. The cases they deal with are generally believable, not over-combined twists where you can hear the paper shuffle; but this doesn’t mean that the cases are boring, uninteresting, unsuspenseful or lacking ideas. If it can be compared to anything, then to a peculiar mix of the already mentioned The Wire, The Shield (“the end justifies the means"), Damages (Josephine is turning into Patty Hewes’ twin) and classic, tough, old-school French crime movies where the evidence and solution of the case doesn’t take place sitting at a computer or in a laboratory, but traditionally in the interrogation room and by careful collection of information on the street and from stake-outs. But it isn’t just a derivative of the above, but a series that can stand up for itself which presents compelling questions and moral dilemmas both to the characters and to the viewer for which no correct answer exists. A fundamental difference exists between the legal and the human or “highest moral principle" approach to the same topic. It eats away at you without respite, draining you mentally until... Until you start to understand why the characters see the only comfort or solution in drugs. You will be very likely to have a solid case of depression after a couple of episodes. Not surprising, each episode is instant depression. You find your heart warming to the characters, despite their demeanor, deeds or decisions. And to add to it, each season differs distinctly in style and delivery. Season one (2005; 8 episodes) is excellent, no doubt about it, although it is still trying to find its own style in this original concept and is a little bit “trial and error". It is closer to “French Law & Order" (Paris enquêtes criminelles) than what it becomes in later seasons. The outcome of the main storyline might be a little to chillingly realistic, on the other hand it’s true that some storylines for some reason fizzle out (not the cases themselves, but more the personal and career-related issues). This is no longer a problem in season two(2008: 8 episodes). The three-year gap between the first season and this co-production with BBC Four means that this is much tighter (fewer cases, but in greater detail), tenser and more personal, despite having more characters. It turned out to be an ingenious step to borrow the idea from The Wire; we get an ion-depth look at “the other side of the barricades". Drug dealing and violence among immigrant gangs. And while the first season did not shy from showing the corruption and amorality of the legal system when trying to achieve “justice" realistically, season two addresses these topics even more fearlessly and uncompromisingly. But without slipping into cheap fabrication and simplification to make it more attractive. All of their deeds are fully understandable; you will be in no doubt that this is how things happen in the street. Whether you will agree with it, is another thing completely. It’s just a sort of The Wire; I know that I have already written that, but it’s true. In season three, “The Butcher of La Villette" (2010: 12 episodes) the creators toned down the realism a little in favor of making it more movie-like, but never mind. It’s the darkest, most atmospheric and most worrying; Se7en is the epitome of optimism in comparison. Increasing the number of episodes means a slightly slower take off, but no harm done, because once it steps on the gas, you have no opportunity to rest. This time, without exception, all of the characters’ professional and personal lives are wallowing in shit (quite deservedly) and there’s no way out. This time there is no talk about whether the end justifies the means, this time round we only see the means. Simply noir, depression, quality and just a shame that the lawyer storyline is just to fill space this season. Season four (2012: 12 episodes) turns away from absolute darkness and thrilleroid style back to civilization. This time, the creators focuses on the tsunami of immigrants, xenophobic sentiments in society and the extremism that comes from this in the form of an anarchistic, leftist cells of “wannabe Andreas Baader" students who exploit the above as an excuse for a revolution of the social system. This season has two problems. For one, twelve episodes is too little, because so much happens here that in places there are so many storylines going on that many of them don’t come to a satisfying conclusion and others just fizzle out. The second problem is the finale which is in typical series style (a little lot in the style of Homeland). And despite being delivered in quality and suspenseful clothing, it is far from being convincing. Season five (2014: 12 episodes) returns to the roots that took root in season two. In other words, it becomes again a procedural crime series where everything relates to everything else; it’s about characters who have nothing in life but their job, regardless of which side of the law they stand. Where it used to happen in past seasons that some of the main storylines “investigative judge - police - defense lawyers" were sidelined, here this does not apply; all stories go hand in hand and each in their own way. And so the result isn’t just the best season of this whole series, but that I consider this to be the best season ever of all crime series. It’s just so well constructed, emotionally crushing, full of convincing twists, dark, personal, focused on characters and uncompromising. A masterpiece. Season six (2017: 12 episodes) "Don’t bother asking yourself what you’ve become and when you crossed the line, because you did that so long ago you’ve lost sight of where it is..." or else The Corrupt versus the Corrupt. Apart from the storyline with Joséphine, which was strangely sidelined and left unnecessarily open for the next season, I have no complaints. The slightly corrupt try to take the really corrupt down, which brings politics, smuggling and almost everything into the equation; including unsurprising, moralizing-free social overtones. Add to this suitably written sturdy and emotionally strong personal storylines (mainly Roban). This time it is clearly less dark (but still realistically raw like nothing else you have seen, not only on TV), which is due to the fact that the thrilleroid genre elements have been abandoned and so the whole season and its outcome reeks of “grey everydayness". Season seven (2019: 12 episodes) What I said about the previous season applies word for word to this one; despite the fact that this season also stands up for itself and is absolutely unique. Plus, it is putting out not story threads, but ships cables for the final, eighth season, and to add to that, it is really emotional and fateful. And I say this about a dismal crime series about a (non-)functional system and corrupt cops. Which works only thanks to the fact that over the past almost fifteen years, my heart has warmed more to those erring, living characters than to any others. | S1: 4/5 | S2: 5/5 | S3: 5/5 | S4: 4/5 | S5: 5/5 | S6: 5/5 | S7: 5/5 |

"By dulling the blade of tyranny, I reconciled Rome to the monarchy." A series with Graves’ incomparable book behind it, horrible pasteboard scenery and lackadaisical theatrical direction. Can a TV series like that even be good? It can, and it’s not just good, it’s almost perfect. Wait a minute, almost... It IS perfect. It doesn’t achieve the genius of the book, but even so this is a thoroughly exceptional work. The unforgettable acting performances and the facintating world of intrigue are the main reason why I, Claudius is an unforgettable series even thirty years later.

In this terrifying world, all we have are the connections that we make. Despite a rather slow beginning when it's trying to find its place and humor in a too forced way, it gradually turns out to be (from the sixth episode of the first season the quality goes up, but that cult/qualitative status "must see" earned it only from its conclusion onwards), black horse (ha ha ha) among animated series aimed exclusively at adult objective viewer, who does not expect the creators to serve him the same episodes one after another, season after season. Although there is a huge amount of (quite specific, based on one-liners, slightly sidelined and thanks to its absurdity it’s certainly not for everyone) humor, the main role has the dramatic story line that ignores every one, even the characters and certainly the viewer too. It has a continuous plot and it is fully based on the development of all the characters. Satirical social reflection and the whole thing is connected by the daily survival of a burnt-out once-famous narcissistic horse (I’m not always the best at being not terrible.) With ugly middle-aged crisis, who is always ready to say something cynical, who is a nihilist to same extent, and tends to have depression, anxiety and alcoholism, self-destructive nature and unrelenting desperate inner desire for recognition/acceptance. And so well (and much better than, for example, Californication/Koalafirnication or Mad Men, to which the main character is closest), that we can say without exaggerating it is a regular (and above all successful) quality TV rather than comedy satiric monkey business (which I don't mean as an insult but rather as an appraisal) like Rick and Morty. Nothing else in the history of television combines such cleverly absurd (meta) humor with brutal ugly sincerity about the relationships of all of us. In addition, it is (also thanks to congenial voiceover) the most emotional series of today (perhaps only Leftovers can keep up). Yes, these emotions are mainly sad, full of unpleasant truths that no one wants to hear, unfulfilled dreams, unspoken sentences, depressed, intoxicated by alcohol, but always and at every moment truly authentic showing normal people lives. Yes, yours too. And it doesn't matter that these emotions are mediated through animated anthropomorphic animals.| S1: 4/5 | S2: 5/5 | S3: 5/5 | S4: 5/5 | S5: 4/5 | S6: 5/5 |

When you see a good move, look for a better one. Undoubtedly, there is a lot that might be written about Mr. Robot. For example, about a refined formal aspect that many articles will certainly analyze (the introductory headlines, the framing of the characters in the lower third/corners of the screen, etc.). Whether it's imaginative work with an unreliable narrator, breaking through the fourth wall, as well as analyzing the details of a well-thought-out cold and refined Fincher - De Palma style of (audio) visuals and their role (especially from the second series, when Esmail directs everything himself) or how it plundered the German movie Who Am I. About how, thanks to the smart structure, it doesn't matter if you see through the twists and turns during the opening scenes or later when the creators reveal, because in both cases it works because a conscious game is played with the viewer in a way that "you think you know and we know very well that you think you know"" during all season. However, it is not based on the point anyway. The Malek's and Wallström's performances (not only) will be highly praised, as well as countless articles about how there is finally a show that does not mess with Linux-lovers community of the world of hackers, blackhats and the like. Forums will be packed witch comments addressing the meaning of each sentence, allusion or reference. But what is left for the "ordinary" viewer, who does not care about the above-mentioned and just wants to watch a good TV series? So such a viewer is by far the best, because Mr. Robot in a nutshell offers damn successful Palahniuk-like anarchist hacker Fight Club that combines corporate line of Underwoods by uncompromising pragmatism. Which could be enough for a viewer whose perception of the community from the dark side of modern technology is only based on novels with Lisbeth Salander to give a pilot episode a chance. Whether he will like it or not, is a completely different question, but Mr. Robot, even considering a bunch of great series of unprecedented quality of recent years, is so unique and courageous that it offers many reasons to give it a chance, despite its occasional problems with the pace of storytelling. And who knows, maybe the creators will hack you and you will fall for it. | S1: 5/5 | S2: 4/5 | S3: 5/5 | S4: 5/5 |

"Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later that debt is paid." One of those historical events that you think you know about, but you actually don't, even if you have read Alexijevic and watched Zero Hour. Much (if not everything) could be written and praised about Chernobyl: from the procedural focus to the horror styling, the cinematography, the actors' unforced, unintentionally ridiculous "as if Eastern" diction, to the impact on knowledge and emotion. The way the creators combine genres, with education, warnings, subtexts and tributes, is unparalleled in cinema or quality TV. The way… Well, I already mentioned that much could be written and praised, but there is no reason, because the result is an experience that gets under your skin and you just can't get it out of your head. It’s not 5/5, it’s 15,000/3.6.

The preparation and consumption of food in a small kitchen-dining room as a unifying element of destinies, dreams and traditions in a geisha "boarding school". Utter Koreeda, utter melancholic feel-good, utter food porn. | S1: 5/5 |