City Stories (1993)
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| German title | City Stories / Stories from San Francisco |
| Original title | Tales of the City |
| Country of production |
United Kingdom United States |
| original language | English |
| year | 1993 |
| Production company |
Working Title Films Propaganda Films |
| length | 49-52 minutes |
| Episodes | 6 in 1 season |
| genre | drama |
| idea | Richard Kramer |
| production | Anthony Root Alan Poul |
| music | John Keane |
| Initial release | September 28, 1993 on Channel 4 |
First publication in German |
October 4, 1995 on tm3 |
| occupation | |
City Stories (original title Tales of the City ), in some broadcasts also Stories from San Francisco , is an American miniseries from 1993. It is based on the first novel in the City Stories series by the American writer Armistead Maupin .
The six episodes of the production aired weekly from September 28 to November 2, 1993 in the UK , which co-produced the series. In the United States, the episodes were first released as double episodes on January 10, 11, and 12, 1994. In Germany , the series was first published on October 4, 1995 on tm3 . In 2009, reruns of the series could be seen on TIMM . The series has also been available on Netflix since June 2019 .
The series is the first adaptation of the book series. After following her 1998 More Tales of the City , 2001 more City Stories and 2019, Netflix's own production City Stories .
action
In 1976, the young woman Mary Ann Singleton spends her summer vacation in San Francisco . For Mary Ann, who is from Cleveland , the big city, with its openness and very large, diverse LGBT community, is something completely new. She rents an apartment at 28 Barbary Lane, owned by the unconventional Anna Madrigal. Mary Ann meets her old school friend Connie Bradshaw in town and makes many new friends, including her neighbors Brian Hawkins, Michael Tolliver and Mona Ramsey. Mary Ann decides in the course of the series to stay longer in town, the last episode takes place on New Year's Day 1977. In addition to Mary Ann's private life in Barbary Lane and her work in Edgar Halcyon's advertising agency, the professional and personal everyday lives of the other characters are also in the The focus, in particular, is often made on the life of the LGBT community in the 1970s, as many characters are members of it.
production
In 1982, HBO secured the film rights to the first two books in the City Stories series. The broadcaster wanted to turn the material into a weekly sitcom . The screenwriter Richard Kramer described the scripts at the time as " Mary Tyler Moore of the 1980s". However, these plans changed as a result of the AIDS epidemic and the more conservative social climate in the United States following Ronald Reagan's presidency . HBO believed that a series that positively portrayed homosexuality , casual sex, and marijuana use would not go down well with audiences. Therefore, the series should first be rewritten as a drama, but HBO finally decided not to make a film adaptation of the two books.
Eventually, eleven years later, the series was co-produced by Channel 4 and PBS and aired in the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively. The broadcast ensured PBS very good ratings, but the production was criticized many times by conservative associations because of its very open portrayal of homosexuality and its explicit nude scenes (which were censored in some US versions). Robert Council, who at that time occupied a high position at the Family Research Council , described the series as "slippery gay propaganda" and tried, together with the American Family Association , to have state funding for PBS removed, but this failed. Because of this criticism, PBS decided to stop producing any sequels.
occupation
The synchronization of the series was created at Magma Synchron based on a dialogue book and under the dialogue direction of Joachim Kunzendorf.
Episode list
| No. | German title | Original title | First broadcast in UK | German language first publication (D) | Director | script |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Part 1 | Episode 1 | 28 Sep 1993 | Oct. 4, 1995 | Alastair Reid | Richard Kramer |
| In 1976, the young, naive Mary Ann Singleton was on vacation in San Francisco . She stays for a few days with her old school friend Connie Bradshaw, who, unlike her, is urbane. Mary Ann rents an apartment at 28 Barbary Lane. Your landlady is Anna Madrigal, an unconventional woman with a strong passion for hemp . Mary Ann quickly befriends her neighbors, whom Anna refers to as her "children". This includes Brian, who used to work as a lawyer but has given up this profession and works in a bar . Other "children" are Michael (called Mouse ) Tolliver, an extroverted homosexual , and the eccentric Mona Ramsey, who is a hippie and, like Anna, is not averse to the consumption of marijuana . She places Mary Ann as a secretary to her manager Edgar Halcyon, who heads an advertising agency . Edgar's son-in-law Beauchamp, who also works in the agency, is attractive, but not particularly intelligent and not a good employee, and he is constantly cheating on his wife DeDe. Edgar's wife Frannie is an alcoholic , he is terminally ill, but hides this and therefore goes to a faith healer . When Edgar is walking in a park, dejected, he meets Anna. They start talking, Anna tells him that the brothel in which he had sex for the first time in his life belonged to her mother. Edgar's mood has improved a lot because of the conversation with Anna, which is why he suggests that she meet more often in the future, which she accepts. | ||||||
| 2 | Part 2 | Episode 2 | Oct 5, 1993 | Oct 11, 1995 | Alastair Reid | Richard Kramer |
| Anna and Edgar are now close friends, but their relationship is purely platonic . Meanwhile, at Beauchamp's invitation, Mary Ann spends the weekend with him in a hotel. She actually wants to sleep on the sofa in the room, which is nowhere to be found, which is why she has to share the bed with Beauchamp. This inevitably leads to sex, which is not very pleasant for either of them, as Beauchamp has difficulties with his potency . The next working day, he ignores Mary Ann in the office, which annoys her. Brian is also unsatisfied as he has several unsatisfactory sex dates, including with Connie. DeDe, who knows of Beauchamp's infidelity, seduces Lionel Wong, the delivery man at a Chinese restaurant. Mouse meets Jon, a doctor, and spends a night with him. Mona quits the advertising agency because of what she believes is a sexist advertisement. When she and Mouse learn that Mary Ann no longer wants to stay in San Francisco, they want to prevent her departure. They succeed in this, among other things because Mary Ann's mother calls them and Mary Ann annoyed after the conversation decides to stay as far away from her parents as possible. | ||||||
| 3 | part 3 | Episode 3 | Oct 12, 1993 | Oct 18, 1995 | Alastair Reid | Richard Kramer |
| Mary Ann works as a volunteer operator on a pastoral hotline. When she comes home that evening, she is confronted by an angry DeDe who has found Mary Ann's scarf that she had left in Beauchamp's car. Mary Ann admits the infidelity, but can successfully convince her that she has no interest in her husband. Nonetheless, DeDe ponders and signs up for a weight loss camp because she does not consider herself attractive enough for Beauchamp. Edgar realizes that he probably won't live long, so he and Anna end their platonic relationship and sleep together. Meanwhile, Mouse is given points by friends at a dinner party at Jon's house, which offends him. Jon comforts Mouse, telling him he cares and doesn't care what his friends think of him. At the end of the episode, Mary Ann meets her somewhat scary new neighbor Norman, who has moved into the basement apartment, and Mona receives a call from her old friend D'orothea, an African American model. | ||||||
| 4th | Part 4 | Episode 4 | Oct 19, 1993 | Oct 25, 1995 | Alastair Reid | Richard Kramer |
| Mouse gets a visit from his parents, whom he leads through town. During this tour he is questioned by them about his private life, but remains silent about his sexual inclinations. Edgar spends the night with Anna, who both try to keep their affair a secret. Mona tells Mouse that she and D'orothea used to be in a relationship. D'orothea comes to town, whereupon Mona moves in with her, Anna is unusually upset for her when she moves out. Mary Ann's supervisor at the telephone counseling hanged herself , she is comforted by Brian at home, and the two get closer. Nevertheless, she begins a relationship with Norman, who asks her many questions about the other tenants and is sometimes visited by the young girl Lexi. DeDe realizes that she is pregnant . Several men come into question as potential fathers, with this information she is blackmailed by the seedy Carson Callas . | ||||||
| 5 | Part 5 | Episode 5 | Oct 26, 1993 | Nov 1, 1995 | Alastair Reid | Richard Kramer |
| Brian continues to try to date women, which still doesn't go to his satisfaction. For example, he would like to have a threesome with two waitresses , but that fails because the two are mother and daughter. Mona has the feeling that she cannot really get through to D'orothea. She also knows that D'orothea is reluctant to meet her parents, with whom she had a falling out, which is why Mona calls them to arrange a meeting with them. Meanwhile, DeDe has sex with Carson so he won't tell Beauchamp about their affairs. Although this connection is joyless, DeDe is happy to have sex several times a week, which has not been the case in the relationship with Beauchamp for a long time. Beauchamp, who knows nothing about DeDes pregnancy, tells her in a conversation that he doesn't want to have children. He then goes to a gay sauna, where he meets Jon, with whom he again starts an affair. Mary Ann still meets with Norman, who she feels sorry for because of his supposed loneliness. Little does she suspect that he was commissioned by a certain Mrs. Ramsay to reveal a secret from Anna's past. Anna reveals this secret to Edgar at the end of the episode. | ||||||
| 6th | Part 6 | Episode 6 | Nov 2, 1993 | Nov 8, 1995 | Alastair Reid | Richard Kramer |
| Jon meets DeDe while working as a gynecologist . He likes his new patient, which is why he ends his affair with Beauchamp and tells him about DeDes pregnancy. Just before Christmas, Mary Ann tells Mouse that her Norman behavior has been strange lately. That's why she goes to his apartment and looks for clues there. Finally she finds revealing photos of little Lexi. Meanwhile, Mona tracks down D'orothea's parents and invites them to have lunch together on Christmas Day. She is shocked that D'orothea's parents are white. It turns out that the pills she found in D'orothea's bathroom cabinet are tanning pills. Because of her Afro-American appearance, D'orothea has received more orders as a model. D'orothea and her parents finally reconcile and spend the holiday together. Meanwhile, the viewer learns Anna's secret: She is a trans woman and underwent gender reassignment surgery twenty years ago, then under the name Andy Ramsay . Norman intends to blackmail Anna with her secret when Mary Ann calls him and arranges a meeting with him in a cliff area. She confronts him with the photos of Lexi, an argument ensues between the two, in the course of which Norman falls from a cliff and dies. Mary Ann takes the information he has gathered about Anna and burns it without reading it. Mary Ann goes back to Barbary Lane, where she celebrates Christmas with Mouse, Mona, Brian, Connie and Anna. A few days later, Edgar learns of DeDes pregnancy and asks her to name the child Anna if it turns out to be a girl. He dies shortly afterwards, after the funeral Anna puts a joint on his grave and asks him to have fun for posterity. | ||||||
reception
Criticism
In the Internet Movie Database, the series received a 8.7 out of ten star rating based on 2,387 votes. On Rotten Tomatoes , the series received a 100 percent critical rating.
Entertainment Weekly rated the series on the occasion of its DVD release in 2005 with a B + (corresponds to a German two). According to the magazine, Stadtgeschichten is a “time capsule that treats its characters with humor and respect”, and the series also contains a “sexual directness” that was unusual for PBS in 1993 and that could no longer be shown on the station for political reasons . Therefore, the series is one of the ten best mini-series published on DVD.
In a 2009 review, Stephen Brook wrote in The Guardian that one might guess a 1993 series about carefree San Francisco residents and the LGBT community of the 1970s might be compared to more recent productions like Queer as Folk , The L Word - When women love women and Brokeback Mountain looks "timid and old-fashioned". However, city stories are still "a real pleasure." Brook commented positively on the fact that the many storylines are told at a "delicately slow" pace. According to Brook, the series was "groundbreaking" not because of its very direct portrayal of everyday homosexual life, but because the characters did not have to justify their sexuality. The series was so popular with viewers because it was ultimately about people who were friendly and helpful to each other. Brook concluded his review by saying that anyone who likes the 2008 film Milk would love city stories too.
According to Tasha Robinson of The AV Club website , City Stories paved the way for more and more television series that portray homosexuality in a positive light, which is why the series is a bit "bizarre" in retrospect. After a few episodes, the series seems like a kind of inside joke, as only a few people seem to live in San Francisco who meet constantly. But this is appropriate because the core of the series is about interpersonal relationships between different people. It is thanks to episode director Alastair Reid that the series doesn't feel too much like an “afternoon soap opera ”. Instead, he keeps the tone of the series "mild", the performances of the actors are not "theatrical", but "unobtrusive and modest". Compared to the "shallow" sequels, the series is "realistic". She just tells stories about sex and love, focusing on the personalities, not the genders of the characters.
Ross Ruediger wrote in Variety that the interweaving of several stories is as good as in modern series, for example Downton Abbey or Mad Men . The blurred and at the same time fluid camera work gives the impression that the production was actually shot in the 1970s. Maupin's universe is so captivating that you would "lose" yourself in the six-hour series. Nothing about the plot seems forced or the “hair pulled”, everything feels natural and right. Ruediger particularly praised the relationship between Anna Madrigal and Edgar Halcyon and thus the two actors Olympia Dukakis and Donald Moffat , and Barbara Garrick was "undervalued" as DeDe Halcyon. From today's perspective, the most shocking thing about city stories is how “tame” the sex scenes looked. In cable TV and the city history adaptation from 2019, sexual intercourse and drug use would be presented much more explicitly. Ruediger concluded that Maupin wrote understandably about LGBT people and their inclusion long before it became mainstream. Since the world is now approaching this topic much more openly, the series could be recognized in 2019 for what it has always been: the art of storytelling with something for everyone.
The film service found that the series was a "highly detailed film adaptation of a cult novel" that focuses on the "attitude to life of a generation that was enthusiastic about flower power , free love and drug experiments ". At the same time, they set a monument to a “liberal city in which pacifists , free spirits and homosexuals found a home”.
Awards
The series was nominated for an Emmy in 1994 in the categories of Best Miniseries or TV Movie and Best Screenplay in a Miniseries or TV Movie . In the same year, the series received nominations at the BAFTA Awards in the categories of Best Actress (for Olympia Dukakis) and Best Costume Design (for Molly Maginnis). In 1995 the series received a GLAAD Media Award in the Best Mini-Series category and a Peabody Award . According to the jury, the series received the latter because it portrayed the “brightly colored excesses” in San Francisco before the AIDS crisis with “courageous honesty” and “lively humor”. Thanks to the director Alastair Reid, the author Richard Kramer and the actors, Stadtgeschichten captures the "short years of innocence and blissful ignorance" and "celebrates the hope and optimism of a time that seems to have passed long ago". That is why the miniseries that go beyond “nostalgia and the limits of television drama” deserves the award.
Web links
- City stories in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- City stories on Netflix
- City stories at Fernsehserien.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Stadtgeschichten - Tales of the City: Broadcast dates. In: Fernsehserien.de. Retrieved June 28, 2019 .
- ^ David Opie: Tales of the City: What you need to know before watching the Netflix revival. In: Digital Spy . June 7, 2019, accessed June 28, 2019 .
- ↑ Steven Capsuto: Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television Ballantine Books (2000), pp. 188-189
- ^ Trish Bendix: 'Tales of the City': What to Know Before Watching the Netflix Reboot. In: The New York Times . June 5, 2019, accessed June 28, 2019 .
- ↑ German synchronous index | Series | Stories from San Francisco. Retrieved June 28, 2019 .
- ^ Tales of the City. In: Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved June 28, 2019 .
- ↑ Tales of the City is one of 10 best miniseries on DVD. In: Entertainment Weekly . July 2, 2005, accessed June 28, 2019 .
- ↑ Stephen Brook: Your next box set: Tales of the City. In: The Guardian . June 12, 2009, accessed June 28, 2019 .
- ^ Tasha Robinson: Tales Of The City. In: The AV Club. March 26, 2003, accessed June 28, 2019 .
- ^ Ross Ruediger: Get to Know Tales of the City's First Chapter. In: Variety . Retrieved June 29, 2019 .
- ↑ Stadtgeschichten (1993). In: Filmdienst . Retrieved June 28, 2019 .
- ↑ 46th Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners. In: emmys.com. September 11, 1994, accessed June 29, 2019 .
- ↑ Television in 1994. In: bafta.org. Retrieved June 29, 2019 .
- ↑ Nick Adams: Netflix's new "Tales of the City" will bring us various queer and trans stories in 2019. In: GLAAD.org . October 16, 2018, accessed June 29, 2019 .
- ↑ American Playhouse: Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City. In: peabodyawards.com. Retrieved June 29, 2019 .