Das Boot (TV series)

Das Boot is a German television series produced for Sky One[1][2] and a sequel to Das Boot (1981). Like the film, the series is based on Lothar-Günther Buchheim's 1973 book Das Boot, but with additions from Buchheim's 1995 sequel Die Festung.[3][2] As the original film's plot ends in December 1941, the series' setting takes place nine months later, in 1942. The storyline is split into two narratives, one based on land around the French Resistance, the other set around German U-boat U-612 and its crew.

Das Boot
GenreWar
Based onDas Boot and
Die Festung
by Lothar-Günther Buchheim
Country of originGermany
Original languages
  • German
  • French
  • English
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes16 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Moritz Polter
  • Oliver Vogel
  • Jan S. Kaiser
  • Marcus Ammon
  • Frank Jastfelder
  • Jenna Santoianni
Production companies
Release
Original networkSky One
Original release23 November 2018 (2018-11-23) –
present (present)

Plot

The series, set in 1942, focus on the narratives of the upcoming Resistance in La Rochelle and the claustrophobic life aboard U-612.[4][5]

Cast

Episodes
SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1823 November 2018 (2018-11-23)14 December 2018 (2018-12-14)
2824 April 2020 (2020-04-24)15 May 2020 (2020-05-15)

Season 1 (2018)
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleEnglish titleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Neue Wege"
"New Paths"
Andreas ProchaskaTony Saint23 November 2018 (2018-11-23)[lower-alpha 1]
U-113 is attacked by an Allied plane in the Atlantic Ocean. Captain Wrangel goes overboard whilst the U-boat is forced to dive, and is bombarded with depth charges by an American destroyer, and sinks with the loss of all hands on board. In La Rochelle, U-612 is being readied for its maiden voyage under the inexperienced Captain Klaus Hoffmann, in the meantime time he gives evidence at the court martial of a submariner accused of cowardice in the face of the enemy and attends the execution, whereupon he performs a mercy killing. Simone Strasser arrives, from Alsace, to work at the Police H.Q. and billets with nurse Margot Bostal. Her boss, Gestapo Inspector Hagan Forster is instantly attracted to her. The night before they are due to leave the men visit the local brothel and try to get Mechanikergast Thorsten Hecker to lose his virginity with a prostitute, as it's considered bad luck to have a virgin on board. Diesel-Maschinenmaat Pips Lüders gets into fight after a game of cards, Inspector Pierre Duvall wants to detain him but Lüders says he can give him information to avoid this happening. A small fire onboard the docked submarine, in the radio room, requires Frank Strasser (Simone's brother) to replace the incumbent radio operator injured in it. Frank asks Simone to pass a document on to someone, who later turns out to be a member of the French resistance, she learns that Frank Strasser is therefore involved with them against the Nazis. The meeting is cut short as the police arrive, Duvall having been tipped off by someone. Simone is able to evade capture with the assistance of a priest.
22"Geheime Missionen"
"Secret Missions"
Andreas ProchaskaJohannes Betz23 November 2018 (2018-11-23)[lower-alpha 1]
Forster asks Simone to interpret as he interrogates a captured female French Resistance fighter (Jacqueline) who she met up with at Frank's request, though Forster is unaware of Simone's involvement. On U-612 Hoffmann irritates members of his crew and in particular his adjutant Oberleutnant zur See Karl Tennstedt by making them perform numerous drills, he further antagonises them by withdrawing from combat, with a group of destroyers, when he receives fresh orders to go to a new rendez-vous point. The mission is a propaganda mission that has been ordered directly by Goebbels, Forster having advised Fregattenkapitan Gluck to choose Hoffmann as it would be removing a less experienced captain from combat. Simone, on entering Frank's flat finds photos of Frank and a young woman, called Nathalie, who works behind the bar in a local brothel and goes to visit her. Carla, the leader of the local French resistance cell visits Simone and pressurises her into giving Jacqueline morphine so she can overdose and kill herself, before being forced to talk. Simone uses an air raid as her chance to do this, as the Police H.Q. is evacuated, but has to administer the morphine herself. U-612 reaches the supply ship where they pick up an American passenger, Samuel Greenwood, but immediately come under attack whilst refuelling from an allied aircraft.
33"Verluste"
"Casualties"
Andreas ProchaskaTony Saint30 November 2018 (2018-11-30)[lower-alpha 1]
On U-612 Tennstedt makes no secret of his contempt for Hoffman, sharing his bitterness with the other officers about how he feels Hoffman has benefited from having a famous U-boat commander for a father. Rumours begin to circulate through the crew that Greenwood is a Jew, that Hoffman shot the court-martialed submariner in cold blood, and that two U-boats were lost at the hands of the destroyers that U-612 engaged with previously. Greenwood, initially brash and over-familiar irritates the officers with his manner but later if for more circumspect when the true horrors of combat are revealed, first seeing Mechanikergefreiter Matthias Loidl lose his arm in an accident whilst loading the torpedo and then the destruction of a destroyer by U-612. In La Rochelle, Simone follows Nathalie back to her house and discovers she has had a child with Frank and that she is Jewish, with a forged identity. Simone shows her the document which she was supposed to pass onto Jacqueline on Frank's behalf, it is the circuit diagram for the radio on the U-boat, and was supposed to be exchanged for forged passports for Frank and Natalie. Carla brings Simone to their hideout and ascertains what happened to Jacqueline, Carla gives Simone the passports that had been forged for Frank and Simone warns her that Forster is aware of her. Carla vows to take her revenge which she exacts by organising a bomb at the welcoming home parade of another U-boat. At the brothel, where Nathalie works behind the bar, she is raped and beaten by one of the submariners for refusing to have sex with him.
44"Zweifel"
"Doubts"
Andreas ProchaskaBenedikt Röskau30 November 2018 (2018-11-30)[lower-alpha 1]
By way of reprisal for the bombing, the German High Command decree that Gluck orders the execution of 100 French citizens in retaliation. The mayor of La Rochelle is asked which names to be added to the list of people to be shot. Forster is unhappy with the indiscriminate nature of the killing, but Gluck assures him if the perpetrators are found then no-one else would need to die. Simone visits Nathalie in the hospital, at the behest of Margot and finds her in a very bad way with serious head and abdominal injuries received from her assault. Forster continues to attempt to court Simone. On U-612 Mechanikerobergefreiter Max von Haber is revealed to have come from a wealthy background and dropped out of officer training school to be of a lower rank, this induces further resentment in the men, who already blame him for Loidl suffering his injury and beat him as a result. They arrive at their rendezvous point for handing over Greenwood, but just as Greenwood is about to leave he insults Tennstedt who punches him and causes him to fall into the sea. Hoffman dives in to save him and ensures he is transported to the American vessel. On the American ship Greenwood's father awaits and it is clear that the father and son have a difficult relationship. The prisoner to be exchanged is revealed to be Wrangel who survived having been lost overboard and being picked up by the Americans. Greenwood Junior tells Hoffman that it is a trap and two U.S destroyers are on their way. Back on the U-boat Wrangel immediately tries to exert his authority over Hoffman by suggesting he torpedoes the American ship but Hoffman refuses citing the fact that they handed over the injured Loidl to the Americans so he can be properly cared for.
55"Loyalität"
"Loyalty"
Andreas ProchaskaLaura Grace7 December 2018 (2018-12-07)[lower-alpha 1]
In the morning after Simone and Carla's encounter, Simone passes on the circuit diagram that Frank originally gave her to pass on to the resistance. On U-612 Hoffmann is ill with possible pneumonia and Wrangel seizes his opportunity to take over as captain, first reinstating Tennstedt and then assuming control. Ehrenberg is unhappy but told any resistance will be considered an act of mutiny. Strasser and Bootsmann Günther Maas also resist and are detained. Hoffmann recovers sufficiently to challenge Wrangel, but despite reservations the officers support Wrangel. Hoffman is told he will be placed overboard in a dinghy with some provisions. Hoffman is allowed to address the men, and calls them out as mutineers, Max Von Haber declares his support for Hoffman and claims he would rather die with honour than 'breathe the same air' as the mutineers. In La Rochelle, Nathalie has died and Simone informs Margot that Frank and Nathalie have a baby together. The cell is visited by an Englishman Philip Sinclair, who knows Carla from fighting with her for the International Brigade, during the Spanish Civil War. Sinclair asks Carla to re-think her strategies and attack non-human targets if she wishes to continue to receive his support form the U.K. Forster and Duvall figure out that the bomb had a timing device that had a mechanism stolen from a time-clock. Duvall informs Forster that a time-clock was stolen from an iron foundry two weeks hence. U-612 comes across a huge convoy of ships, which Wrangel decides to attack without following clear protocols. It become immediately clear that Wrangel is unhinged and has a death-wish, as he orders the boat to charge headlong towards a destroyer, he walks away and leaves Tennstedt to deal with the situation. Tennstedt takes evasive action and avoids the collision but there are many other destroyers around and one pursues the submarine. The episode ends with the pings of the ASDIC system increasing in frequency as it gets closer and closer to the U-boat.
66"Gegen die Zeit"
"Nick of Time"
Andreas ProchaskaSimon Allen7 December 2018 (2018-12-07)[lower-alpha 1]
On U-612 depth charges cause severe damage to the craft. The boat sinks and appears to land on the sea-bed, but is actually the Laura Ethel Bank which is only 250m deep as opposed to 4,000m. Tennstedt is too stunned by events to command and retires to his bunk. Ehrenberg is forced to take command. Inspection of the boat reveals there is an air-leak and the batteries are damaged. The resistance cell receive a coded French message from British radio that the weapons from the U.K are to arrive by sea. Sinclair is aware of Carla's addiction. Carla asks Simone to get the details of the German patrol boat times, to avoid the incoming crew delivering the weapons from being captured. Simone and Margot visit Nathalie's mother and find that the baby (Anna) has pneumonia. Back on U-612 the men successfully find two separate air leaks and repair them. Hecker admits to Obermechanikermaat Josef Wolf that he did not have sex with a prostitute the night before the U-boat left as he was supposed to, as it is considered bad luck to have a virgin onboard. Some of the battery connectors are damaged, breaking the circuit, and chlorine gas is escaping from them. Lüders and Haas return with breathing equipment but a cell explodes and they are unable to repair the damage. Forster and Duvall question the porter who works at the iron foundry and get the name of the person who he assisted with acquiring the time-clock for. They then threaten his family too and he leads them to the cell safe house. Simone, who was interpreting for the porter, cycles to the cell to warn them and begins helping to remove vital evidence. The Germans arrive and begin shooting killing a resistance member. Simone hides to avoid detection. The weapons arrive by sea and are collected by Sinclair and Carla who drive back to the safe house. They arrive back at the safe house and engage in a shooting battle with the Germans. Sinclair is killed but Carla escapes. Simone manages to escape too and arrives back home to find Carla is already there. Shortly after Forster comes round and forces himself on Simone. Whilst they are having sex, Carla has the opportunity to shoot Forster but eschews the chance.
77"Verdammt"
"Damned"
Andreas ProchaskaJohannes Betz14 December 2018 (2018-12-14)[lower-alpha 1]
In the morning after, Simone ask Forster if he can remove Margot from the list of 'hostages' to be shot in retaliation for any further attacks from the resistance cell. He declines to help but assures her that no-one needs to die if Carla is caught. Duvall visits Margot in the hospital to ask her about the bottle of morphine he found and warns her that she is on the list of hostages. A piece of paper that Simone used to write down the patrol times is found at the safe house and handed over to Forster. On U-612 the diesel is getting low, their exact position is unknown, and the radio is damaged. They decide to try to get as close to the French coast as possible hoping to find a German ship on the way. Strasser suggests that no one at German High Command will have any idea about what happened and so they could alter the log (which hadn't been filled out since Greenwood was exchanged, because of Hoffman being ill) to make up any covering story of their choice. Back in La Rochelle, Carla and Simone discuss the previous night's events and Carla asks Simone to get hold of some more morphine for her as she is going cold turkey. Gluck informs Forster that U-612 is missing and that he should inform Simone because he has grown close to her. Forster reluctantly accepts the duty. On U-612 an S.O.S. distress signal can be heard being beaten out, it leads to a seemingly abandoned ship. Wrangel resumes his command and leads some of the men onto the ship, so they can extract the diesel from it. It turns out not to be abandoned but a small crew consisting of two Germans and other nationalities. The captain, one of the Germans, claims their machinist went mad and destroyed the engine. Wrangel negotiates that if Lüders can fix the engine they can have some diesel. Hecker finds a girl has been chained up and has been raped and beaten. Initially he reassures her but then, desperate to lose his virginity as he thinks this makes him a jinx, he decides to rape her. Wrangel ascertains that the Captain is not who he says he is and accuses him of desertion and shoots him. The rest of the ship's crew are killed in a ensuing fire-fight but Wolf is also shot and dies of his wounds. The true purpose of the ship is revealed as a number of Jewish refugees are found in the hull in filthy conditions. The girl who was raped is revealed to be a daughter of two of the refugees, the father asks for Strasser to give him his gun so he and his wife can kill themselves. Once the men are back on the U-boat, it torpedoes and sinks the ship. Carla is now at resistance member Emile Charpentier's farm and despite his reservations persuades him to carry on wit their actions. They kidnap Gluck whilst on his morning walk. On learning about her brother, Simone asks Margot to leave with baby Anna, she gives her the forged passport that Nathalie was to use. Forster receives a note from the resistance confirming Gluck's capture. He immediately orders the round-up of the 100 hostages plus another 50 for the shooting of his adjutant. Back at Police H.Q. he compares the writing on the note with the patrolboat times to Simone's writing and it is a clear match.
88"Abrechnung"
"Reckoning"
Andreas ProchaskaTony Saint14 December 2018 (2018-12-14)[lower-alpha 1]

Season 2 (2020)
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleEnglish titleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
91"Überlebensstrategien"
"Survival Strategies"
Matthias GlasnerAndrew Bampfield24 April 2020 (2020-04-24)[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3]
102"Unbequeme Allianzen"
"Inconvenient Alliances"
Matthias GlasnerAndrew Bampfield24 April 2020 (2020-04-24)[lower-alpha 3]
113"Sabotage"
"Sabotage"
Matthias GlasnerAndrew Bampfield1 May 2020 (2020-05-01)[lower-alpha 3]
124"Die Würfel sind gefallen"
"The Dice Have Fallen"
Matthias GlasnerAndrew Bampfield1 May 2020 (2020-05-01)[lower-alpha 3]
135"Befehl zum Töten"
"Command to Kill"
Rick OstermannAndrew Bampfield8 May 2020 (2020-05-08)[lower-alpha 3]
146"Letzte Entscheidungen"
"Final Decisions"
Rick OstermannAndrew Bampfield8 May 2020 (2020-05-08)[lower-alpha 3]
157"Kopf an Kopf"
"Head to Head"
Rick OstermannAndrew Bampfield15 May 2020 (2020-05-15)[lower-alpha 3]
168"Auf der anderen Seite"
"On the Other Hand"
Rick OstermannAndrew Bampfield15 May 2020 (2020-05-15)[lower-alpha 3]

Production

In June 2015, it was announced that a television series adaptation based on the 1981 World War II submarine warfare film Das Boot would be made.[7][8] In July 2016, it was announced that it would be a sequel in the form of an 8-part television series, directed by Andreas Prochaska.[9][10] The series would be produced by Bavaria Fiction, Sky Deutschland, and Sonar Entertainment.[11]

The cast for the series was announced in September 2017.[12][13][3][14] Production began in November 2017 and ended in July 2018. Malta, Germany (Munich), France (La Rochelle), and Czech Republic (Prague) were chosen for the location shooting, which started on 31 August 2017 and finished after 105 days on 20 February 2018.[3][2][1][15] The budget was $32.8 million.[4]

Like the original film, the series is based on Lothar-Günther Buchheim's 1973 book Das Boot, but with additions from Buchheim's 1995 sequel Die Festung.[3][2]

The submarine used in filming the series was the non-diving replica built in Malta as the 'modified' S-33 for the film U-571, also shot in Malta.[16] Footage, sets and models from that movie have been reused for other productions, including Submerged, depicting the loss of USS Sailfish, and the fictional HMS Scorpion in Ghostboat.[17] The replica is still afloat, moored at Cassar ship repair yard, Marsa in the inner part of the Grand Harbour. A special rig was built for the production by a Maltese armoury team, that allowed the submarine's anti-aircraft gun to both fire and recoil, something not done before with a blank-firing gun.

The series premiered on 23 November 2018 on Sky One in Germany.[18][19] The broadcast rights were sold into more than 100 countries before the series premiered.[18] The series was broadcast on Sky Atlantic in the United Kingdom in February 2019. The series made its United States premiere through Hulu on 17 June 2019.[20][21]

In December 2018, plans for a second season were announced.[22]

Filming for season 2 took place in the Czech Republic April - June 2019,[23] and June - July 2019 in Malta.[24] Clemens Schick, Thomas Kretschmann, Michael McElhatton and Ulrich Matthes joined the cast for the second season.[25]

Critical reception

Season 1 is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with an overall rating of 84%. The Critics Consensus reads, "Das Boot possesses the atmospheric pressure of its cinematic forebear while adding new depth to its compelling ensemble, making for a riveting international production."[26]

The series received more mixed reviews in Germany. German historian Sven Felix Kellerhoff criticizes especially the plot around the industrial family Greenwood and their financial ties with Nazi Germany. According to Kellerhoff, this could be seen as a way to relativize German guilt.[27] Kathleen Hildebrandt from the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung recognizes that women have a central part but thinks that their portrayal often is too much of a cliché. Hildebrandt sees a highly professional and glittering product which probably will be watched by many but she states that the series could have been more original and relevant if it hadn't cared so much about getting good audience numbers.[28] Thomas Klein (Berliner Zeitung) writes that there are no Nazis in "Das Boot", that no one is screaming "Heil Hitler" and that convinced party members are nowhere to be seen. According to Klein, "Das Boot" is emphasizing internationally common and smooth drama. He thinks that it is obvious that this series is not so much about German history but more about the commercialization of a famous brand. He closes his review by quoting the character Greenwood: "War is nevertheless just a rip-off" and states: "That is exactly the way [...] 'Das Boot' feels like".[29]

Notes
  1. All episodes of the first season were released on 23 November 2018 on Sky Go, Sky On Demand and Sky Ticket, ahead of their broadcast on television.
  2. "Überlebensstrategien" was first streamed online on Sky.de on 21 April 2020.[6]
  3. All episodes of the second season were released on 24 April 2020 on Sky Go, Sky Q and Sky Ticket/Sky X, ahead of their broadcast on television.

References
  1. Germany, Stuttgarter Zeitung, Stuttgart. "Dreharbeiten in München: "Das Boot" als Serie: Und es hat Ping gemacht!". stuttgarter-zeitung.de. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  2. "„Das Boot" 2018 – Infos, Cast & Starttermin der Sky-Serie". kino.de. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  3. "Das Boot • Die neue Serie – Starttermin & Stars". hoerzu.de. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  4. "New event series "Das Boot" wraps in Malta". bavaria-fiction.de. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  5. "War on the waves". Drama Quarterly.
  6. "#WirBleibenZuhause: Sky feiert Weltpremiere der zweiten Staffel des Sky Originals „Das Boot" als Live-Streamingevent". Sky Deutschland Corporate Website (in German). Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  7. Lee, Benjamin (25 June 2015). "Das reboot: German studio plans remake of underwater thriller". theguardian.com.
  8. "'Das Boot' Remake Planned". The Hollywood Reporter.
  9. Jacobs, Hans. "Das Boot Reboot". https://Handelsblatt Global.
  10. "'Das Boot': Sky Deutschland & Bavaria Team On Big-Budget Event Series". 2016-06-23.
  11. "Das Boot - Series in production". Bavaria Film.
  12. "'Das Boot': Tom Wlaschiha, Vincent Kartheiser, James D'Arcy & Thierry Frémont Round Out Cast". 2017-09-25.
  13. Grater2017-09-26T10:20:00+01:00, Tom. "'Das Boot' reboot adds Tom Wlaschiha, Vincent Kartheiser, James D'Arcy, Thierry Frémont". Screen.
  14. News.de-Redaktion. "Vicky Krieps: Alles im Kasten: Die wichtigsten Fakten zur Eventserie "Das Boot"". news.de. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  15. "Sky-Dreharbeiten: „Das Boot"-Serie soll Ende 2018 starten". handelsblatt.com. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  16. Woolford, Aimée (15 June 2020). "Interview: Franz Dinda On Season Two Of Das Boot". Close-Up Culture. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  17. Ltd, Allied Newspapers. "Watch: TV submarine gets a WWII facelift". timesofmalta.com. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  18. Germany, Westfälische Rundschau, Essen. "Serien-Remake von "Das Boot" kommt in Cannes gut an". wr.de. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  19. Commerce, Content. "Sky bringt "Das Boot" zurück: Kult-Film kommt als Serie zurück (Gesponsert)". CHIP Online.
  20. "Hulu to Launch International Hit Series "Das Boot," from Bavaria Fiction, Sky Deutschland and Sonar Entertainment, on June 17". The Futon Critic. 14 May 2019.
  21. Hale, Mike (16 June 2019). "Review: Rebooting 'Das Boot,' on Land and Sea". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 19 November 2019. This German-British production, washing up on Hulu on Monday, is a surf and turf proposition:
  22. "Sky Germany Orders Second Season of 'Das Boot' Series". The Hollywood Reporter.
  23. Czech Film Commission. "Das Boot, season 2". filmcommission.cz. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  24. Pace, Fiorella (24 July 2019). "Das Boot 2 – German TV series being filmed in Malta". tvm.com.mt. Public Broadcasting Services Ltd. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  25. Bavaria Fiction GmbH (16 September 2019). "First Look Images of second season of Das Boot revealed". Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  26. Das Boot: Season 1, retrieved 2019-06-24
  27. https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/film-das-boot-geschichtsklitterung-in-neuverfilmung.691.de.html?dram:article_id=467051
  28. https://www.sueddeutsche.de/medien/das-boot-serie-petersen-1.4222818
  29. https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/kultur-vergnuegen/sky-serie-das-boot-die-kommerzielle-verwertung-einer-prominenten-marke-li.10023
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