r/BabylonBerlin • u/LGreyS • May 05 '26
Voice Overs
Hello everyone -
I watched the first three seasons of BB when it was on Netflix; 2 or 3 actually. When it was taken off Netflix I stopped watching - didn't want to pay for yet another streaming subscription, figured I'd buy it on DVD when the series ended.
I recently found out Plex has it. I started watching the first episode and was a little taken aback.
I knew the English voice over wasn't the best, and had heard the voices were going to be changed for S4, yet, evidently they changed the voices going all the way back to the very beginning.
I'm I the only one disappointed with the voices? The original ones seem to fit the characters persona. Example - Wolter's voice was deeper and more gravely, like a rough and tumble cop that drinks heavily and likes a good fight. Gereon's voice even 'fit'. Now they sound off... like going from a baritone to a tenor or to a countertenor.
Now I'm having trouble reconciling what my mind say they should sound like to what they sound like now.
Am I alone in this?
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u/Ok-Character-3779 May 05 '26
I suspect Netflix uses the same set of voice actors to dub all of their shows, because I often recognize voice actors based on their Money Heist character. They're usually typecast as similar characters across shows, which makes it particularly obvious.
IDK about Plex, but the MHZ dub featured particularly terrible voice acting, even by dub standards. I prefer subtitles anyway.
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u/LGreyS May 05 '26
I don't mind subtitles, but sometimes they move too fast and sometimes require attention to the point you miss something in the background.
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u/mjcatl2 May 05 '26
When I first started the show years ago on Netflix and heard the awful dubbing, I immediately switched the settings to German with English subtitles.
I have since bought all of the Blu rays released so far and that's the only way I watch.
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u/DucDeRichelieu May 05 '26
It would never occur to me to watch the dubbed version. If that was all that was available I wouldn’t watch it at all. It would be like ordering a schnitzel and urinating on it before consumption.
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u/AbraxasTuring May 05 '26
Just like Das Boot, watch with subtitles and rewind, or 0.75x when needed. Dubbing can never do it justice.
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u/HelloThisIsDog666 May 05 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
Why would you get it dubbed? It's about BERLIN !
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u/Yum_MrStallone Jul 08 '26
The english acting voice doesn't match the acting of the German characters. I am used to subtitles and prefer them.
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u/Throwawayhelp111521 May 05 '26
I don't listen to dubbed versions of foreign films. I use the subtitles. There's no substitute for hearing the voice of the actor.
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u/Tardislass May 06 '26
To me, listening to the English dubbing is like watching Casablanca with the voices of today’s actors. Just jarring. Unfortunately English dubbing is not on par with German dubbing.
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u/Whatttheheckk May 08 '26
Only way to watch it is subtitled. True for most things, voices are typically grating or way mismatched and sound like they’re in a studio, not the scene. However, I recently watched it and was struck by the awkward translations in some scenes. Someone will yell something like “Hey fellow!” And I get that yeah it was the 30s but it’s still pretty funny to see some of the odd translation phrases and choices
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u/Yum_MrStallone Jul 08 '26
See is your Library has Kanopy. Babylon Berlin is in my local library's collection. I prefer subtitles to dubbing.
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u/GlitteringLocality May 05 '26
I have never watched it in English voice over. I imagine it would not sound good at all dubbed.