--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@...> wrote: > > For those few who might have enjoyed my continuing obsession with Danish > crime TV (one shared by millions of Brits, BTW, not just millions of > Danes), here's another series to be on the lookout for. It's made by the > same Danish production company that created "The Killing" (Forbrydelsen) > and "Borgen," both of which knocked my socks off. > > This one's called "The Bridge." It's original title is "Bron/Broen," > which are the words for bridge in Danish and Swedish. And that's an apt > title, because the cops are trying to solve a murder that takes place on > a bridge, in the center of it, *exactly* on the dividing line between > Denmark and Sweden. As a result, cops from Malmo, Sweden and Copenhagen > have to team up to solve the case. > > The settings are bleak and cold and Scandinavian and so is the Swedish > cop, Saga Norén (played wonderfully by Sofia Helin). She is clearly > good at her job as a homicide cop, but just as clearly awful at her job > as a human being. She is as cold and as unempathic as a person can > possibly be. It's not that she doesn't care about the people around her, > it's that on some fundamental level she barely recognizes that they're > there. When she needs sex she aggressively picks up a guy at a bar, gets > her rocks off, and then can't remember his name the next day. > > She's so completely lost in her own world that she regularly strips down > to her bra and changes blouses at her desk at work, in the middle of a > busy, open office full of people. It's not that she's trying to shock; > instead, it has never occurred to her that this isn't appropriate. And > her coworkers are so aware of her brilliance at solving crimes that > they've never mentioned to her that it is inappropriate. They just > accept her as damaged goods, but brilliant damaged goods. > > Saga is teamed up with Martin Rohde, a cop from Copenhagen. Although > he's got a few problems in his life (like having gotten a vasectomy the > day he's assigned to the case, and thus having a little trouble > sitting), but he's mainly a nice guy. He, too, quickly catches on that > his new partner is a head case, but he's so bright and good at *his* job > that he also gets that she's brilliant. > > The plotting so far (I just finished episode 3 of 6) is excellent, and > consistently surprising. I haven't been able to "see anything coming" > before it actually showed up onscreen. Can you imagine how *few* > American crime TV shows I can say that about? So I'm expecting good > things from the rest of the series, plot- and character-wise. > > But it's really all about Saga. She's just a trip, and just brilliantly > fleshed out by writer Björn Stein. Here's an example. > > Her boss, finding her at her desk at the police station late at night, > as he's leaving to go home, stops and talks to her. She asks him if he's > still planning to move, and he asks whether she wants his job if he > does. She says, "No," to which he replies, "Whoever takes over will > appreciate having you here." > > She says (already having tuned him out at "No"), gazing again at the > computer display she's using to find the killer, "Extremely focused. > Single. Successful. Clearly defined targets. Good at planning." > > Her boss, thinking she's still talking to him, and still talking about > his job and her ability to step into it, says, "Exactly." > > She looks confused, and says, "That's the perpetrator's psychological > profile." Her boss is somewhat stunned, realizing that she has no idea > that she has just described herself, and that he was replying by saying > "Exactly." > > I can't find a trailer in English, but here's a video of the opening > credits sequence: > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qEaG4Dw3FE > <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qEaG4Dw3FE> >
Damn, missed the first episode and didn't bother catching up on iplayer as I thought (for some reason) it was only a two-parter. Will have to order it from the library now. The Killing and Borgen were excellent and put most British drama in the shade, something we used to be good at but with the government in bed with Murdoch they keep cutting the BBC budget to increase competition, why anyone would think that's a good thing is beyond me as all it does is make networks reach for the lowest common denominator. Hey ho...
