TV review: fully-formed female characters, domestic stories and a British angle in Das Boot
Das Boot: Produced by Sky Studios & Bavaria Fiction, this 10-episode sequel follows the fortunes of a young U-boat crew as they engage in the Battle of the Atlantic, are hunted down by an obsessed Royal Navy Commander (Ray Stevenson) and are sent on a dangerous mission to the Southern Hemisphere. Together they form strong personal alliances under the command of Robert Ehrenberg (Franz Dinda).
(Sky Atlantic and NOW TV app) is a book, a movie and a TV series for anyone who likes Second World War dramas where the German characters get to do more than shout 'Achtung Tommy' three seconds before they’re shot (by Tommy).
Now into season three, has decided to surface, get out of the water have a bit more humanity. So there are fully-formed female characters and domestic stories and a British angle, featuring a ruthless navy commander called Jack who has dedicated his life to chasing submarines after the death of his son in a U-boat attack. He doesn’t come across as very vengeful though, because he reminds me of Captain Birdseye.
But still, it’s a grower. I miss the grind and terror of non-stop U-boat drama, but there is depth in the characters, particularly the two German teenagers who are ‘volunteered’ for U-boat duty as a way to get out of castration in a work-camp.
The stage is well-set for a showdown between Jack and the German U-boat commander called Ehrenberg. So that’s the thrills taken care of. But there is something else here too. Loss.
Jack isn’t the only one to lose a son. An older German commander, Hoffman, has lost his as well. It’s a mood change from the earlier seasons of , at the opening stages of the war, when the German U-boats ruled the waves and it was all glory and audiences with high-up Nazis.
Now Nazi Germany is being slowly bombed to bits. News from Russia is so bad that teenagers are happy to go to a losing war in a U-boat. And everyone, on both sides, is half-numbed by grief.
It doesn’t dwell on the grief. For example, an SS officer rocks up in Portugal to investigate a plot to steal Nazi gold. That last sentence sounds like every second world war thriller I’ve ever read or watched.
And I’m still on for watching more of them. We’re fascinated by Nazi Germany because we don’t know how we’d react if a murderous dictator came to power. (Hang around long enough in the 21st century and you might get to find out.)
There are insights throughout this latest season as good people do bad things, because they haven’t much of a choice. There are plain bad people too because it wouldn’t be drama without it. I miss the old U-boat only version of , but there are enough layers here to bring in a whole new audience.
