DzejnDou Review of Otvorena vrata

Otvorena vrata (1994–1995)

The first Serbian sitcom ever proved to be the best Serbian TV series

[10/10 · 24 October 2005]

"Otvorena Vrata" was the first Serbian attempt to do something completely fresh and different, compared to other TV series, which were more like soap operas. For the very first time, Serbian TV produced an authentic sitcom. It was a risky move, but it payed off. The concept with live audience would be way too much for Serbian TV standards, but at the end, it wasn't necessary at all. Here's what makes this TV series so great. First of all, plot is great. Single mother, Katarina is a sophisticated artist, who does sculptures and other post-modern gizmos. She lives in a rather fancy flat with her brother Svetislav, a guy who could easily be compared to Del Boy from "OFAH". He is always into business, trying to make some money and get rich. Note the specific situation in Yugoslavia back then (hyper-inflation, embargo,...). Then, there is Milica, Katarina's daughter obsessed with politics, philosophy and sociology. The smartest character of them all, with sophisticated sense of humor. Katarina's older child, and Milica's brother, Vojkan, is nice bloke, always willing to help his uncle Svetislav, but with one remarkable "quality": he is a hypochondriac. Then, there's Ana, Svetislav's daughter. Her mother was Svetislav's high school flame, and Ana spent her childhood in USA. She is wild and restless girl, a bit "rough around the edges", crazy about motorcycles. Deep down, she's a "softy". There are three more characters that should be mentioned: Katarina's ex-husband, Dragoslav, a not-so-successful-businessman trying to make a dime, then, their next-door neighbor, Mrs. Angelina, retired professor of solo and music, and at the end, another neighbor, Ugrinovic, an alpinist, who spends his time by hanging on the wall of the building and who is in love with Katarina. This TV show was a huge success back then. Unfortunately, there was no sequel. However, this proved to be the best Serbian TV series ever. I hope that it will be soon released on DVD, because it would be a shame not to have this master-piece in digital format.