1899 (Netflix) is a lil difficult to get through, but all in all, I thought it was good.

Submitted by pm_me_reason_to_livx t3_1001jwx in television

I absolutely love shows where weird shit happens, so I might be biasedly in favor of 1899, but whatever you ultimately think about this series, you have to admit, it gets creative when it comes to surrealism. From the creators of Dark, which is something a smart TV viewer could probably realize without knowing beforehand because it's storytelling formula and structure is similar, 1899 follows a group of passengers on a ship heading to America, on which something doesn't feel quite right for a selective few of the passengers. There are confusing dream sequences, perplexing technological objects, and things get even stranger when a missing ship is found with no passengers.

Now, comparing it to Dark (which is a reasonable thing to do since both shows shares similarities in structure), you can see where 1899 is lacking. The backstories and character dynamics are just not that interesting, and when watching it can feel like filler until we get to the good parts (where weird shit happens) because it isn't obvious for the viewer that it's all connected to the main mystery. It leaves the series feeling quite slow at times... lengthy episode runtime doesn't help that case either. Still, I think the series falls back well on its puzzle mystery and the way it is executed. Visually, it's dark and shady, something I'm usually annoyed by in most shows, but not here because it benefits the setting and atmosphere. And... yea... I thought this was good, even though flawed.

rating: 7.8 out of 10
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Comments

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Barnestownlife t1_j2fbybx wrote

I loved it. It was exactly in my wheel house.

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PraxisLD t1_j2f9wef wrote

We quite enjoyed 1899, from the opening on the ship right up to the closing on the ship.

Looking forward to seeing what they do with season 2.

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LongMaybe1010 t1_j2f08ts wrote

I really wanted to love this. I was beyond thrilled to hear the Dark writers were making another show and I’m a huge fan of mind benders.

This was just super disappointing though. Everything seemed… off to me? The twist deliveries and the writing seemed like a mess. I have no idea if a second season will be greenlit, but I’m not sure how they will even proceed after the ending. I kept watching to hopefully get some answers but felt I had more questions, if anything.

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Takseen t1_j2fn87o wrote

I found it to be very disappointing. Hadn't seen Dark or been aware of who created it.

Had only seen a very short trailer. I was expecting something more like The Terror, another "19th Century mystery horror on a ship in a remote place" kind of thing. So when they pulled the switcheroo I was pretty disappointed. Also I never got to care for any of the characters that much, especially after some of the reveals later in the season.

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gonutsdonuts1 t1_j2fpj5f wrote

Watch the Making of Doc for 1899 it was incredible how they used The Volume for this production

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Rebeltob t1_j2ftko5 wrote

Everything about the show was too contrived. It wasn't just a mystery box show, there were literal mystery boxes within mystery boxes... All the way down to satisfy the Netflix algorithm. Dark actually felt like they were trying to convey a story with meaning/purpose.

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monocromatica t1_j2f8rxm wrote

I couldn't pass the second episode... I really didn't like the characters and the dialogues...it all felt so forced.

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