TV Series v Movies

If you have a TV at home and you enjoy an evening on the couch watching TV I’m sure there is at least one TV series that you watch on a regular basis. Whether daily or weekly a series usually has recurring characters that you often start to identify with or at least sympathize with and a plot that unfolds in a manner that makes you want to watch episode after episode. You don’t have to be a couch potato to get a little upset when someone disturbs you while watching your favourite show. There are different types of series, for example daily soaps. Quite recently there have been a lot of series –mostly American ones- that take place in hospitals or have some kind of police force as main characters.

Perhaps you prefer watching movies? You can watch movies at home or at the movie theatre, but no matter where you choose to watch them at the end there is clarity. Except that lately, the film industry is obsessed with making a sequel for every even slightly successful movie. In movies the whole plot usually unfolds in a matter of 120 minutes and when it ends you don’t have to wonder about what is going to happen in the next episode.

I will let you in on a little secret. My personal guilty pleasure is a show that airs in Germany. It’s called “Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten” (German for Good Times, Bad Times). It’s a daily soap that’s been around for over a decade. It tells you all about the daily struggles and drama of the people living in a neighborhood in Berlin. Of course it includes tons of relationship problems and it tries to pick up on current problems in society. Whether this is done successfully is still questionable. It is shot at a studio in Berlin and also on location. For example one of my friends used to go to a school where they shot school scenes for the show. I’m not proud to be watching this show and I would certainly not call myself a fan but there is something about the show that makes me want to tune in every night at 19.40h.

Also based in Berlin is the movie “Berlin Calling”. It tells the rather crazy story about a Berlin DJ Ickarus who after touring the world tries to work on a new album, suffers from psychosis due to his excessive drug consumption and ends up in a mental institution. It takes the viewer on a crazy tour through the electronic music scene in Berlin. The story line is funny and tragic at the same time. The main character is played by real-life DJ and Producer Paul Kalkbrenner who is also responsible for the soundtrack. Some of the places were scenes for the movie were shot include famous clubs in Berlin such as Maria and Bar25.

Whether you are a fan of daily soaps or have weekly movie nights with your friends Berlin is an amazing city that is worth exploring. Movies and shows based there will only make you more curious about the places you see in them. And if you rent Apartments in Berlin you will have a great and cheap place to rest up or recover from any activities you plan on getting into in the German capital.