Category: MDP On TV

My love affair with Canadian TV has now extended to Danish TV. Everyone has heard of The
Killing which ranks among my all time favourite shows. You can read my reviews here and here (hanging out for season 3!).

Recently, another Danish show that’s just come to my attention is The Protectors. I’m nearly finished series two and it’s just getting better and better. I love the way the Danish screenwriters create dialogue – such a happy lack of cliche! Often times characters don’t reply to each other in conversation, or if they do, it’s so awkward that it seems completely realistic. Less is often more and this show is a perfect example.

For those who’ve never heard of the series, here is the premise:  In today’s violent world, the lives of many politicians, industrialists, heads of state and other VIPs are often endangered. To counteract these threats, the Danish Intelligence Bureau established the elite Personal Protection Unit – a force of competent, quick-thinking and dedicated bodyguards. This Emmy award winning Danish crime series centres around the lives and missions of these specialists, the people they protect and their enemies. 

As each episode is fairly plot heavy, it takes until the second series for the characters in the PET protection unit to fully develop. This is the pay-off that attracts me to television over film; the reward for an investment. I’m particularly enjoying the often volatile camaraderie between the three main bodyguards, Jasmina, Rasmus and Jonas. Having graduated through a tough selection process together, they maintain a sibling-like rivalry and a bond that is as close as family.

The stories are what you would expect; misbehaving politicians, international espionage, terrorism. The tone of the show is unpretentious and almost as gritty as The Killing (though it lacks The Killing’s unparalleled slow intensity and creepiness). It spends a fait bit of time exploring racism and gives a clear view into the racial tensions in Northern Europe. I’ve slowly accustomed to the Danish language and I’m starting to pick up nuances that the translation ignores – another enjoyable part of the experience. It’s very hard to go back to normal TV fodder after watching Danish TV. Highly recommended!

I wanted to have a break between the first and second season of The Killing because of how intense it is to watch. But eventually, having the DVD sitting next to me was too much to bear and I weakened.

At the beginning of series two, I missed centain characters a lot, namely Troels Hartmen and Pernille Larsen. The Killing writers like to run a political thread through each series and the character of Thomas Buch was not nearly as commanding as Troels. In fact, it took until the last few epsidoes for me to be properly hooked into to the political thread.

Not so, the crime investigation. Lund is as brilliant as ever and I can’t get enough of her character. I can’t think of another instance in television where a female is protrayed as so uncompromising and focussed and good at what they do (The Closer is along those lines but not nearly as powerful as this). There is not a moment when you are not in Lund’s corner, helping her unravel the dirty threads, going head to head with the bureacracy, fighting mediocrity, and struggling to keep her emotional life in tact. Yet, at no time does she lose her female essence. I totally applaud the writers and the actor, Sofie Grabol, for creating a heroine with such strength, courage and intelligence.

The plotting in series 2 is probably tighter than series one, and never at any stage was I actually sure who the killer was – that is, until the last epsisode. As a crime writer of sorts, I’m fascinated by how well they constantly confuse the reader with false leads, dead ends and by witholding information. It’s a mesmeric dance, driven by a strong protagonist.

As I said, the character Thomas Buch did not work his way under my skin like Troels Hartmen did, but the political thread was certainly a bleak look at the inner workings of politics.

The thread concerning the accused soldier Jens Peter Raben and his wife, was nicely handled and again it’s impossible not to be on the side of this badly wronged soldier. Until, of coure the final revelations which leaves the viewer a little numb and conflicted. (I can’t talk any more about it, for fear of ruining the story for you).

It was pleasing to see Lund’s boss, Lennart Brix, better developed in series two. He is the man charged with managing Lund’s obsessive brilliance and is constantly torn between trusting her, and reeling her in when she oversteps the line. All this is further coloured by the affair he’s having with one of his female superiors – the woman charged with liaising between him and the government.

I can’t wait for series 3 to become available. Sophie Grabol as Sarah Lund is firmly my number one girl, sliding Holly Hunter as Grace Hannadarko into runner up.

Get the Danish version of the series and enjoy TV storytelling at it’s best.

It’s no secret I’m a great fan of THE CLOSER. In fact, I think it’s responsible for my current TV addiction. It kind of awakened me to the fact that TV finally had some great female characters.

I watched six seasons in one delicious hit and loved every moment of every episode. Then an enforced break ensued while I waited for season 7 to become available.

It was announced, in the meantime, that Kyra Sedgewick had called it quits and this was to be her finale season, despite a continuing spin off for the rest of the cast called Major Crimes and featuring Mary McDonnell.

7 turns out to be a tough season for Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson. Her boss dies, her dad is sick, there’s a federal lawsuit hanging over her and then something really awful happens. I won’t go into any more plot details to avoid spoilers, but I will say that though I enjoyed seeing Brenda’s story through to the end, I found the season quite depressing.

The writers pretty much make Brenda pay for some of the more hard line decisions she’s made in previous cases. The lawsuit surrounding the Shootin’ Newton murder haunt hers right up until the last episode and finds Brenda doubting herself and all around her. And then she suffers some serious personal losses. It was tough to watch.

One highlight for the season, for me, was the fact that she finally gets to nail serial rapist and serial killer Phillip Stroh to the wall, and then some. That was a very satisfing Closer closure.

For the rest, some of the plot tie-ups felt a little bit contrived. However, the characters stayed true to form and there is no taking away from the strong sense of family and loyalty carefully built up around the Major Crimes unit over seven seaons (despite the threat of a traitor among them).

As a lead-in to her role in the spin-off, Mary McDonell’s character Captain Sharyn Rador is allowed to become a lot more likeable and it was good to see she also had Brenda’s back when things got nasty.

The other highlight for me was Fritz. Oh … why aren’t there more Fritz’s in the world?? A devoted, caring, sympathetic husband beyond compare. Fritz’s need to be bottled.

The Closer will always be a series that I think of with great fondness. I loved the characters and I think I’ve absorbed a little bit of BLJ into my psyche. They can’t be a bad thing – she’s one gutsy lady. Kyra Sedgewick is legend in the role. But if you haven’t watched the finale season, don’t expect to be uplifted. Karma is a bitch and she’s got Brenda’s number.

Below is a pic of me with Mary McDonnell taken in 2010.