To say that Secret Army is not your average WW2 show is an understatement . Everything from the locations to the characters remains original even by today's standards . It truly is an amazing story-driven show that one shouldn't watch if it is action that you are looking for .
It takes on themes that aren't pictured very often in movies and show , like the escape lines in the first place , most of the time people will prefer to focus on active resistance fighters rather than more passive movements . It also has a much more realistic if not dark and gritty approach than most others War shows and hardly ever " glorifies " the actions of the protagonists . It is often hard to define who the protagonists really are in the show due to what the people of Lifeline often have to do to protect themselves or the pilots they are trying to send back to England . Added to the general antipathetic behaviour of some of the main characters the likable characters appear to be very few , whilst the despicable characters are many and on both sides .
They also have a very interesting way of depicting the German side with a strong duality between the honourable and sympathetic Luftwaffe Officer for whom you might find yourself rooting for before you know it , and the ruthless , sadistic Officer of the SS which is so brilliantly portrayed that he might just be one of the most evil characters you've seen on TV .
The great acting from the whole cast only contributes to further immerse you in the dreadful atmosphere of the life under the Occupation , and ties in pretty well with real historical events often depicted in the show . And needless to say that as someone who knows Brussels and its surroundings , it was even more appealing since all the streets and locations showed and mentioned throughout the 3 seasons are real and give you a nice idea of how Brussels looked 30 years ago . They even made an extra effort to have background chatters recorded in French and Dutch to add to the authenticity of the setting .
It takes on themes that aren't pictured very often in movies and show , like the escape lines in the first place , most of the time people will prefer to focus on active resistance fighters rather than more passive movements . It also has a much more realistic if not dark and gritty approach than most others War shows and hardly ever " glorifies " the actions of the protagonists . It is often hard to define who the protagonists really are in the show due to what the people of Lifeline often have to do to protect themselves or the pilots they are trying to send back to England . Added to the general antipathetic behaviour of some of the main characters the likable characters appear to be very few , whilst the despicable characters are many and on both sides .
They also have a very interesting way of depicting the German side with a strong duality between the honourable and sympathetic Luftwaffe Officer for whom you might find yourself rooting for before you know it , and the ruthless , sadistic Officer of the SS which is so brilliantly portrayed that he might just be one of the most evil characters you've seen on TV .
The great acting from the whole cast only contributes to further immerse you in the dreadful atmosphere of the life under the Occupation , and ties in pretty well with real historical events often depicted in the show . And needless to say that as someone who knows Brussels and its surroundings , it was even more appealing since all the streets and locations showed and mentioned throughout the 3 seasons are real and give you a nice idea of how Brussels looked 30 years ago . They even made an extra effort to have background chatters recorded in French and Dutch to add to the authenticity of the setting .