Among the ideas, “1899” is so modest that I didn’t even bother to finish – 11/29/2022

In the 1999 comedy “Fairly Crazy Heroes”, Wes Studi portrays the Sphinx, a superhero whose superpowers are “very mysterious”. This is it. He utters the obvious in a monotonous low tone and the class rolls their eyes as Wes grimaces.

“1899”, a series by the creators of “Darkness”, is somewhat similar to the Sphinx. In eight episodes, duo Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar scribble a plot with a veneer of mystery and sophistication that, in the end, is a collection of platitudes portrayed in lazy sluggishness.

However, one has to wonder if Jantje and Baran will be able to make up for their complete lack of ideas as a revolutionary product. In the crucible of “1899” we find parallel realities, overlapping plots and characters and a fantastical development that no longer surprises anyone.

Also because you’ve seen the story “1899” before, only with a different name and made by more talented people. There is a hint of “The Matrix”, a “Dark City” flavour, a “Manifest” feel and “The OA”. The difference is that none of these movies or series mix a confusing plot with a clever premise.

Not that it’s a sin to navigate similar fantasy and science fiction concepts. Repeated symbols and labels in products of this type can create the illusion of repeating the same ideas – and that’s okay. The author of the national comedy series ‘Black Silence’ has pointed out similarities in her work with the creation of Jantje and Baran.

“1899,” however, did not begin from the work of others to be modest on its merits. The plot follows the crew and passengers of the Kerberos, an extremely diverse collection of languages, castes, desires, and customs, as it travels from London to New York on the eve of the 20th century.

In a journey of unsaturated colours, Kerberos crosses, in the middle of the ocean, a ship that disappeared months ago, the Prometheus. Adrift, and without the slightest sign of humans on board, the ghost ship’s reappearance is the trigger to unleash a series of secrets and mysteries, suggesting that nothing can ever be quite as it seems.

Seemed like a good idea until it turns out there was no idea at all. In one-hour episodes that seem to go on for weeks, “1899” drags its not-so-fun-at-all plot, populated by characters unable to make any connection, like the ghost of Christmas past and his chain-heavy chain.

Whenever a mystery was revealed, I found my attention turning to my dog’s barking or to the stickers I needed to stick on the Cup album. Finishing each chapter proved to be an excruciating physical ordeal. Before I get to the finale of Episode 8, I throw in the towel. The dishes in the sink need my attention.

In 2004, “Lost” made history by turning a major mystery into a hit on free-to-air television in the United States. Before flowBefore the advent of social media, Jeffrey Leiber, JJ Abrams, and Damon Lindelof’s series blended survival drama with sci-fi and rewrote the history of television.

Dozens of new series have sought to reproduce, with more or less success, the wonderful mood of “Lost”. The program that followed the survivors of a commercial plane crash on a lost island in the South Pacific, despite a very impressive start, collapsed under the weight of its success. Its sixth season, which completed a total of 121 episodes, was received not as a celebration, but as a relief.

structure that follows it flow, which gives the modern series an average of eight episodes per season, helps hide the fragility of the series’ plot by compressing dramatic arcs and character development. In the case of “1899,” there are at least twenty faces that need minimal exposure to fit into the story.

My theory is that platforms feed into this superficiality for their own benefit. It was barely produced in live broadcasts and “1899” has already fattened countless channels and podcasts from “influencers” to introduce its protagonists, to explain each scene. It is a symbiosis of infinite appetite where no one understands anything and everyone nods. Bad advertising is still advertising.

Not that television production in the second decade of the twenty-first century boils down to superficial and pedantic ideas. Black Mirror, as an anthology, aims to be both urgent and culturally relevant. “Orphan Black” flirts with aesthetics biopunk In a drama about the loss of identity. Mike Flanagan has already pulled off three horror series of indisputable quality.

On the other hand, “1899” seems to be the result of creation by algorithms only. Each step in the text is not subject to a dramatic crescendo, but rather the movements in which the table drives what is supposed to stimulate its audience. The big “surprise” of the series seems to be telegraphed from the very first episode – send spoilersI won’t complain. “Darkness” is no longer such a big deal. “1899” was the benefit of the doubt. I would hardly give a chance to a third party He hits signed by Dinner And the Baran.