Jamie Mistry, year 3
A 24-year-old East German, Martin, who is plucked from a comfortable life in the military and, against his will, turned into a spy, that nation’s secret police. His assignment is daunting: He is to assume another man’s identity and become an aide to a West German general at the heart of NATO’s nuclear-deterrence strategy.
In the style of a lot of current shows, “Deutschland 83” mixes real historical events into its made-up story. Ronald Reagan and other leaders of the period turn up in video clips spouting their Cold War bombast, verbiage that today feels both scary and ridiculously simplistic.
The show has the feel of a cold war series, with a young main character who both is buffeted by these grown-up forces and is the only glimmer of hope in a world gone mad.
The series also has some fun with Martin’s encounters with the practices, luxuries and technologies of the West. The telephone system baffles him. Hotel soaps and lotions are a revelation. The practice of billing a meal to your room number leads to some embarrassing miscommunication with a waitress.
In the end, it is a must watch. It combines love, the threat of war and the emerging times that occurred during post war Europe.
THE WORSLEY TIMES 
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