This German fantasy series had plenty to appreciate. They not only incorporated several admirable fantasy-genre tropes but did it in ways that evaded cliché and enhanced curiosity.
The show's inherent beauty and nuanced wonder sourced largely from the novel "Der Greif" (published, 1989) by Wolfgang Hohlbein which they adapted.
A sinister family secret and a teenager who found himself being thrown in the deep end of a magical fate were some of the elements that set an ominous tone in the show early on.
The teen in question was Mark Zimmerman (played by Jeremias Meyer) and his coming into possession of his family's Chronicle of the Black Tower - a leather-bound tome practically oozing with intrigue - established a series of events that eventually saw him encountering The Gryphon.
Mark's father Karl Zimmerman (played by Golo Euler) died in mysterious ways, but in connection with this Chronicle and the creature that ruled the alternate dimension it led into. By this point in "The Gryphon" season one, I was already hooked and hungry to know more.
The 80s setting (palette and aesthete included) worked marvels for this show. It was in keeping with the book, of course, which was published in 1989. It made me feel nostalgia just watching.
Mark being into music gave the team plenty of room to naturally weave in some brilliant yester-year classics into the storyline as well. I loved the soundtrack choices.
Mystical artefacts, warrior gargoyles of all shapes and sizes, and The Gryphon which needed the Zimmermans to give in to their hate so it could survive all added up to a superbly unnerving story that I couldn't get out of my head.
The Gryphon is no 'good guy', but an enslaver who controls its realms with an iron fist and rules from the Dark Tower inside the dimension which Mark learned to access with the help of the leather-bound Chronicle of the Black Tower. He received the tome on his sixteenth birthday and hasn't been the same ever since.
A murderous agenda next unfolded, with too many ways for things to go wrong. Suffice to say, season 1 of "The Gryphon" had me on the edge of my seat and failing to predict the ending. The season finale became one of those moments when it was a good thing not to have read the book beforehand.
As of this writing, "The Gryphon" season 2 has not been renewed, but there are plenty of valid reasons for Amazon Prime to greenlight it. Season one adequately covered the standalone novel "Der Greif" by Wolfgang Hohlbein and did justice to the theme and genre in all the right ways, but they left some amazing cliff-hangers worth exploring in a second season.
"The Gryphon" S01 was defined by its simple plotline, one that hid manifold layers of storytelling gold. So if the author is willing to pen a second book or work on an original script exclusively for future TV seasons, Fantasy fans like myself will raise a glass to welcome either move.
The show's inherent beauty and nuanced wonder sourced largely from the novel "Der Greif" (published, 1989) by Wolfgang Hohlbein which they adapted.
A sinister family secret and a teenager who found himself being thrown in the deep end of a magical fate were some of the elements that set an ominous tone in the show early on.
The teen in question was Mark Zimmerman (played by Jeremias Meyer) and his coming into possession of his family's Chronicle of the Black Tower - a leather-bound tome practically oozing with intrigue - established a series of events that eventually saw him encountering The Gryphon.
Mark's father Karl Zimmerman (played by Golo Euler) died in mysterious ways, but in connection with this Chronicle and the creature that ruled the alternate dimension it led into. By this point in "The Gryphon" season one, I was already hooked and hungry to know more.
The 80s setting (palette and aesthete included) worked marvels for this show. It was in keeping with the book, of course, which was published in 1989. It made me feel nostalgia just watching.
Mark being into music gave the team plenty of room to naturally weave in some brilliant yester-year classics into the storyline as well. I loved the soundtrack choices.
Mystical artefacts, warrior gargoyles of all shapes and sizes, and The Gryphon which needed the Zimmermans to give in to their hate so it could survive all added up to a superbly unnerving story that I couldn't get out of my head.
The Gryphon is no 'good guy', but an enslaver who controls its realms with an iron fist and rules from the Dark Tower inside the dimension which Mark learned to access with the help of the leather-bound Chronicle of the Black Tower. He received the tome on his sixteenth birthday and hasn't been the same ever since.
A murderous agenda next unfolded, with too many ways for things to go wrong. Suffice to say, season 1 of "The Gryphon" had me on the edge of my seat and failing to predict the ending. The season finale became one of those moments when it was a good thing not to have read the book beforehand.
As of this writing, "The Gryphon" season 2 has not been renewed, but there are plenty of valid reasons for Amazon Prime to greenlight it. Season one adequately covered the standalone novel "Der Greif" by Wolfgang Hohlbein and did justice to the theme and genre in all the right ways, but they left some amazing cliff-hangers worth exploring in a second season.
"The Gryphon" S01 was defined by its simple plotline, one that hid manifold layers of storytelling gold. So if the author is willing to pen a second book or work on an original script exclusively for future TV seasons, Fantasy fans like myself will raise a glass to welcome either move.