Pam & Tommy

The essence of the nineties, which was most authentic at the times when she was the most insane and her smile the most frozen. Against the backdrop of a sticky scandal, a few unlucky individuals suffer the loss of their ideals and mild mental decay, a fascinating journey via the internet, and all the evils that entails – and above all, a sad story about how one girl had to grow up simply because you can't be a sex symbol and a character actress at the same time. I didn't care much for Pamela in elementary school and saw Tommy as nothing more than a hollow stump, yet I almost cried at every bump or barrier in their later lives. Lily James and Sebastian Stan were bold casting decisions, but ones that paid off a hundredfold. Their look, their expressions, words, smiles, and mutual chemistry. I would gladly go for a second season with all the good and even the rather bad (the latter of which is usually unavoidable with stuff that's been thrown together), just so I could watch them interact a little while longer. (26.12.2022)

The world famous sex tape from the very beginnings of the internet had a fairly unsettled destiny. Pam & Tommy successfully oscillates between comedy, drama and often presents unbelievable situations from the lives of the three protagonists with almost documentary precision. Lily James is fantastic as Pamela and Sebastian Stan, in his role of a lifetime, almost steals the entire show. Rogen’s carpenter is simply another loser who you will feel sorry for and hate at the same time. Every detail of the nineties’ atmosphere is enthralling. The closer we get to the end, the more disturbing the media massage that destroyed this relationship between two people became. Ok, these people were pretty weird, but right for each other. (14.03.2022)

Eine überlange Serie über die einzige Affäre der kurzen Ehe von Pamela Anderson und Tommy Lee. Auf jeden Fall ist es eine Serie, die die 1990er Jahre, VHS-Pornos, die Anfänge des Internets (die erste Begegnung der Lees mit dem Internet findet in einer öffentlichen Bibliothek statt) zum Fetisch erhebt, die Maskenbildner haben sich ausgetobt, und schließlich wurde die Frage nach Schuld und Unschuld aufgeworfen. Die Welt hat sich verändert, selbst Pornostars halten heutzutage in Serien Reden zur Etikette. Zumindest auf Hulu. Die Rückblicke auf die Zeit, als Pam in sehr jungem Alter begann, für den Playboy Fotos zu machen, sind wunderschön. Ihre Affäre ist im Nachhinein interessant, vor allem im Hinblick auf das Thema Medien, Recht und Technologie. Dennoch denke ich, dass ein maximal zweiteiliger Fernsehfilm völlig ausreichend gewesen wäre. Es gab und gibt mehr als genug thematisches Material. Bald wird es einen Dokumentarfilm auf Netflix geben, eine neue Ausgabe von Barb Wire erscheinen und das gesamte Internet wird noch einmal die Playboy-Cover von 1989-2016 anschauen, dann wird sich alles beruhigen. (19.03.2022)

I was between three and four stars and ended up leaning towards a lower rating, but the series is still above average, mainly due to the great performances of the actors with and without make-up. The predictable plot isn't such a hit parade and I was downright bothered by the ending, which kind of fizzles out, leaving no feeling, nothing. It think it would be better as a movie. (09.07.2022)