VimalaNowlis
Sympathetic and relatable characters are the hook that makes you care. In this story, it is hard to find any. When the Nazi threatened to kill the whole French village because the resistance leader had escaped. The Canadian commander of the project was willing to let the Nazi go ahead to galvanize the resistance. Then he didn't bat an eyelash to send a nervous wreck, who had been promised a desk job, to the front line. Not only did he never worried about the safety risk to the other team members, he also gave instruction to never let the nervous wreck be captured alive. When a woman in the team failed in her attempt to blow up the Nazi HQ in the village, she had no problem letting her friend take her place and be killed. When the team was to blow up the bridge to stop the German soldiers coming, a little girl ran onto the bridge and spoiled the timing. After the little girl was whisked away and the team leader jumped in to start shooting and yelling at the boy to detonate the dynamite, the same woman gave the signal to stop because the leader on the bridge shooting at German soldiers was her lover. Instead of obeying the direct order from the leader, the confused boy didn't know what to do. She only gave the signal to blow up the bridge after the leader was fatally shot. After she was made the leader of a new mission, she immediately got herself captured and had to be rescued. Then she wanted the farmers who captured her killed in cold blood by ordering their barn burned. That's just too much. I can't stomach any more of these awful people.
smokedsalmoned-28058
I am from the US but am aware of Canadian efforts in code cracking & espionage. Big military show fan. Sure this is a dramatic presentation with human elements to sell the show but I really enjoy it as does my wife. I see that one fellow with be on Dirk Gently this season. Dustin Milligan. Torben Liebrecht as Franz Faber is a treat to watch. The conflict, the loving but neglected wife, the handicapped child and the"issue" to be dealt with.....ugh, but nicely done. I enjoy the teamlead Evelyn Brochu. Its an interesting twist but then again women do make the best spies. If willing they are most trusted and can get intimate access. History speaks to this with example after example. At first when I ran across this show I thought it was something from years ago and that Evelyne Brochu might be Rose Byrne. We enjoy the rest of the cast as well and the writing is very solid. Some of the story elements bring history home and slap you in the face with the small stuff like the consequence of action against the Nazi's, German blood and heredity laws etc.
unitedbynothing
Canadian TV has long since been a cautionary tale. What with its poor reputation at home, and usually abroad, there's been a yearning to reignite the revolution of quality TV.Is X Company a part of it? In a word: No. It obviously had a pretty decent budget as far as Canadian TV goes. There are some explosions, some rather huge external location scenes, that aren't a pretty penny to waste, and a high calibre of guest star (and main cast) from Germany, France, UK, and Canada. However, some of the editing is very poor, failing to create tension in scenes that need it, and the continuity in some scenes is so bad, it makes me wonder if there was anyone actually behind the monitors checking for inaccuracies at all. Then there's the score that goes from subtle strings to over the top, almost computerised, tones that overpowers the scenes. But in actuality, those problems are slight when it comes to the actual writing of the show. In fact, there were points watching this show, which is based on the real Camp X, a crucial, if slightly forgotten, part of WWII history, that I actually found it rather offensive to the people who were solders in WWII, fighting on the front line and as part of the French Resistance. The writing, rather than going for slightly 'green' and 'new' at this spy game, goes overboard with episode after episode featuring the team being incompetent and overly reckless before scrapping to save the day. It's not even entertaining seeing this not-so- merry band failing to be smart and efficient at the job they signed up to do. This then further highlights another issue: the writers' efforts to make the show procedural. Again, this starts to feel slightly misguided when the reality is: war was never procedural, never an episode wrapped up in a plot of the week. So when these writers are taking real events, such as the Lebensborn programme, and then leave them with very little follow up, just feels not only a wasted opportunity to depict the scale of these horrors, but kind of an insult to leave these actualities wrapped up in a neat, if messy, little bow. However, there are positives. They have a great ensemble cast that is better than the material they're forced to serve, with the exception of Hugh Dillon who is the weak link of the whole thing and a struggle to watch. Evelyne Brochu, who has made a name for herself in Québécois film and TV, really shines in the quiet moments when there's no dialogue to drag it down. Warren Brown is always good as a hard man with a heart. Sadly, the characters are often second fiddle to the main plot of the week. Aurora, (Brochu) has to deal with being a Sergeant, but falls into the regular writing tropes of a sole female in a male dominated piece, where she tends to spend a lot of time standing behind while the dudes get into petty arguments. After loosing what seemed to be her great love, the need to have her become love interest for the 'superhero' Alfred Graves is frankly a disservice to strong women on TV and the real women that were in amongst the fight of WWII.Another positive is the attempt to give the Nazi perspective. I particularly like the refusal to insult the intelligence of the viewers (Shame they do it in other ways) by having the scenes in German and the humanising the enemy is a smart one, as it further highlights the atrocities of the both sides of war. The German cast are excellent in their roles.I've seen production say they wanted to make this show accessible to a modern audience, but in actuality the atrocious attention to detail, from the lack of period type speaking manner, to the cringe worthy inaccurate historical references (example: C-4 did not exist until the mid-1950s yet is mentioned in episode four) has only served to make it feel cold and ridged, and lack a chemistry and charm. Artistic licence with the truth is fine, but it must be backed up with good writing and plotting, which isn't on show here. On the bones of it, the premise has/had the potential to be Canada's version of The Bletchley Circle. Instead, it just feels like yet another Canadian show for people to roll their eyes and go: "Oh Canada." And for that, I'm hugely disappointed. With ten episodes for season two, I hope the writers are aware of the issues and seek improvement, but with the attitude I've seen from one of the writers who comments on this very website, and feels the need to call people who have legitimate critiques 'bullies' or 'haters', I can't say I'm hopeful. I hope they take some notes from The Bletchley Circle AND Marvel's Agent Carter on how to write engaging historical events (the former), and mixing it with interesting characters going through grief and the emotional cost of war, that never feel far away from reality (both).
asdfsafdsalf
As a World War II and Holocaust Historian, I am quick to point out flaws when I find them. While this series does have its flaws, it is an absolutely gripping series. It is something that an individual who knows nothing about the war or espionage can sit down and be on the edge of their seats as they watch. Each of the five "spies" has something we can all relate to our admire, which makes watching this series even greater. I hope this series continues to get millions of views as I would love to see this continue for many seasons if possible! My greatest fear is that they will finish with season two, or even worse, not have the funds to complete the second season.
