The series “Bonanza”: what’s wrong with our “Heirs”

For all fans of TV series about how wealth deforms people, Bonanza could be a real treat. And at the same time, it’s a reason to rant about the local response to the American “Heirs.” The answer turned out to be clear, although calling the series competitors is not entirely correct.

The common belief that any adaptation is worse than the original hardly makes sense to be taken seriously. There are many examples when localized versions of projects (including Russian ones) turned out even better than the source code. In addition, “Bonanza” formally has nothing to do with “The Heirs,” and this is even a little offensive, because there is something to copy and develop in the American hit.

The very visualization of the world of business tycoons in the American project is quite surprising. The rich people are photographed as if paparazzi are spying on them, so all the gloss of the interiors, cars and outfits immediately disappears. In the frame, the faces on which anger, envy and confusion are frozen, as a result, the owners of accounts and all the blessings of the world do not at all look like the people from the secular spreads of glossy magazines.

Everything is different in Golden Day. Instead of a media mogul based on Rupert Murdoch, there is a construction oligarch, after whose death a serious squabble begins. The family is fighting for the business of the deceased with one of the shareholders, an official who protected big business in the ministries and claims a much larger piece of the pie after his business partner passed away.

In the local series, they try to show the rich world with as much cover as possible. Instead of kitschy, ridiculous offices, of which there are still a lot, Scandinavian minimalism, the heroes look much better than those they portray, in general, the greedy squabble takes place in the most spectacular scenery for the local serial budget. However, the desire to embellish reality in a country where not everything is beautiful is probably natural, especially for those who make films.

Another sign of “The Descendants” is the machine-gun-speed dialogue, mixed with swear words, business jargon and sarcasm. The heroes of “Bonanza” also do not mince words, and although in the broadcast version they express themselves much more modestly than in the streaming version, the speed of formulating thoughts and developing events is also quite decent. Sergei Minaev, as the author of the plot and co-author of the script, has become quite skilled in describing the lives of heroes of capitalist labor since the days of his novel “Duhless”.

According to Minaev, the script for “Bonanza” is partly based on stories from the lives of real families, where they divided inherited business empires. And in this situation, the storylines of “Descendants” were hardly sources of inspiration. Most likely, they had more than enough of their own local nightmares. And here there is no time for jokes and sarcasm, which are sometimes sorely lacking. However, the episode in which the daughter of a deceased oligarch, who was responsible for advertising collaborations with celebrities, asks to buy out the contract of a rapper friend who is trying to say goodbye to the producer, looks funny. A very elegant reference to the story of Yegor Creed, who went free from his producer Timati thanks to the financial support of Boris Rotenberg, which, however, there is no official confirmation.

The cast of “Descendants” is rightly called perfect. Instead of big stars, there are serious authorities from independent theaters, whose acting is close to virtuoso. In “Golden Day” the leading roles are completely media personalities, behind whom, of course, there is a trail of previous roles. However, the kaleidoscope of actresses and actors, whom everyone has undoubtedly seen somewhere, does not exclude pleasant surprises.

Igor Gordin, playing an official with a huge appetite for bribes and intrigue, again plays the role of a nomenklatura villain, which he has already played quite a lot. But still, every gesture and look of his holds attention, as it should happen in a situation where the role and the actor clearly coincide.

Yulia Snigir can be called either an actress maniacally selective for roles, or simply incredibly lucky. One way or another, in many projects Snigir manages to be different and at the same time get the most out of her image, while remaining a beauty in the frame. In Golden Day, she plays the mistress of a deceased oligarch, a girl who is equally good at showing her claws and showing business acumen.

All the others also seem to be in their places, but they are just playing regular roles in their filmographies. “Bonanza” can hardly be called a project that aspires to long attention and thoughtful discussion, but its construction of actors, script and production is quite capable of captivating and even charming in its own way. It’s best to avoid comparisons with Descendants. Despite the similar theme, these are still different fields. Our “taste” is not bad at all in comparison with the “dishes” that are now offered on federal airwaves.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29211 dated February 7, 2024

Newspaper headline:
Family matters