Borgen

Jark

Jark

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Political thriller from the producers of The Killing coming to BBC4, starting tomorrow night, starring Sidse Babett-Knudsen as a politician who unexpectedly gets elected into government.

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The bidding wars and cut-throat machinations are absolutely riveting and, crucially, feel authentic. In any case, Borgen moves at such a lick there’s no time to get bored. There’s wry humour, terrific acting, jolting surprises… everything you would expect from DR, the same production company behind The Killing.

And just as we couldn’t take our eyes off Detective Sarah Lund, you’ll be rooting for charismatic, unfashionably honest party leader Birgitte Nyborg as she finds herself a hair’s breadth away from government’s top job. Sidse Babett Knudsen is sensationally good in the role, and one wonders how much Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Denmark’s real-life first female PM, tunes in for tips.

Lund lovers will have other reasons to watch: Soren Malling, who played Meyer in the first Killing, pops up as a TV editor. And a big readjustment is needed to accept Killing II bogeyman Mikael Birkkjær in a new role as Birgitte’s forbearing househusband. But you’ll get over it. His scenes with Knudsen are cute, funny and believable.

Inevitably, an American remake is on the agenda, but forgive me for not getting overexcited about that. The Killing proved categorically, as many international hits have over the years, that original is best.
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Can't wait.
 
This was absolutely fucking fantastic. Much faster paced than The Killing and much slicker too (Jan Meyer turning up in this was a nice surprise!) The cinematography was really beautiful, fabulous acting, gripping plot twists... honestly don't think I could fault it.

The girl at the TV station was like the Danish Billie Piper.
 
Yes I really liked this. It felt a fair bit more lightweight than The Killing, but the cast was fabulous and it moved along at a nice brisk pace.

How accurate is it of Denmark's major political parties? As a Brit, it was a bit confusing to have the supposed left-wing party leader portrayed as an anti-immigration, headscarf-banning racist.
 
VoR said:
How accurate is it of Denmark's major political parties?
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very I'd say. the two major parties are very populistic and almost blend into one on several occassions (but of course you won't get excactly that on screen as you need the antagonism). there are also plenty of similarities with current political issues and activity with some personal drama added. the former made the show a bit too obvious for me in the long run

but Sidse Babett Knudsen is very watchable. I love her in almost anything she's in. a two faced harpy!
 
VoR said:
As a Brit, it was a bit confusing to have the supposed left-wing party leader portrayed as an anti-immigration, headscarf-banning racist.
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I found it a bit difficult to get my head around this too - I really enjoyed it though. The crying tv girl was amusingly pathetic, but the lead was very likeable and the spin doctor guy easy on the eye.
 
Spin doctor guy is total BUFF TING

I enjoyed Episodes 3 & 4 just as much. The Greenland episode was actually very interesting as I've never really read up much on the relationship between the two countries.

Whinging newsreader is a bit of a weak link at the moment, but they did give her more to do in Episode 4. I really just don't like her FACE, though. They should replace her with Sanne the dippy secretary as obligatory younger female lead.

Also I swear I know older Newslady (Hanne) from something else, but I can't place it. It may just be that she looks a bit like Lauren Baccall.
 
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Katrine is not a weak link at all! If any of the big 3 are it's Kasper surely... I mean he's perfectly fine but he really hasn't DONE anything yet.
 
So far from the first season of The Killing, Theis, Stokke, Meyer and Holck have all shown up in this. :D
 
Katrine was quite annoying in the first three episodes, but she showed a bit of spunk in the last one.

Hanne Holm is FABULOUS.
 
The last double bill was really excellent. I think this is actually every bit as good as Forbrydelsen. Katrine and Birgitte are very easy to root for (even if Katrine does seem to have the exact same argument with her editor before every single edition of the news goes out) and Kasper finally came into his own in the last episode. It was nice to get a glimpse into why he's such an arse.
 
Got caught up last night, I LOVED the episode with the Solidarity Party HQ being bugged. The show was starting to settle into a little bit of a formula of "Birgitte faces ethical crisis, finds clever way to do the right thing and come out smelling of roses" so it was nice that this week she was really forced to make uncomfortabe compromises. Her confrontations with the sleazy ministry of justice guy and her sour faced ginger friend were QUITE :disco: I almost did a little gay squeal at the "You are a DEAD MAN in my party" *turns on heel and storms off leaving Ministry guy visibly shitting himself* scene.

Also I actually think Kaspar is my perfect man. *swoon* (physically, not in the sense that he's a fucked up pathological liar with daddy issues).
 
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he's nice on screen, VoR, but he looks like a hobo in real life
 
VoR said:
"You are a DEAD MAN in my party" *turns on heel and storms off leaving Ministry guy visibly shitting himself* scene.
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That was an amaze line.

I wasn't expecting them to go quite as far as they did in the final episode with her marriage troubles. The scene with Birgitte and Bent where she got all teary made me :( too. Birgitte maybe should drop the bun-haired harridan look she adopted towards the end of the series if she wants to appeal more to voters/her husband of the apparently fine arse.

Oh and I HATE ratty-faced Labour woman.
 
Does anyone know when Series 2 will be on the BBC?
 
Oh :(

Following its successful first series, BBC Four confirms that Danish drama Borgen will be returning to the channel for a second series next Winter.

Denmark’s first female Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg (Sidse Babett Knudsen) is the centre of a new 10-part series of the gripping drama about the fight for political power and its consequences. The lives of Borgen’s mix of characters are woven together in a complex fabric, as they each face various professional and private challenges. They include cynical spin doctor Kasper Juul (Pilou Asbæk); and the ambitious, idealistic political journalist Katrine Fønsmark (Birgitte Hjort Sørensen).

Made by DR/Danish Broadcasting Corp who also make hit drama series The Killing for BBC Four.

Richard Klein, Controller, BBC Four, says: “I’m thrilled our latest Scandinavian drama Borgen has been such a success and we are delighted to be bringing the audience a second series of this fantastic political series next winter.”

Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition says: “Borgen's combination of politics, journalism and human drama (not to mention stylish interior design!) has proved a winner with viewers and critics alike and we are delighted to confirm that Birgitte Nyborg will be returning for another term on BBC Four.”

The final episode of the first series reaches a dramatic climax this Saturday night on BBC Four.
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FetchFugly said:
That was an amaze line.

I wasn't expecting them to go quite as far as they did in the final episode with her marriage troubles. The scene with Birgitte and Bent where she got all teary made me :( too. Birgitte maybe should drop the bun-haired harridan look she adopted towards the end of the series if she wants to appeal more to voters/her husband of the apparently fine arse.

Oh and I HATE ratty-faced Labour woman.
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Belatedly finished this and I agree, the scene by the fountain was so sad. Sidse Babett Knudsen is a phenomenal actress. I love how she only crumpled for a SECOND, then pulled herself together and strode off, resolute.

Did we know this actually attracted higher ratings than the first series of The Killing? Peaked with 781,000 viewers (for Episode 9 too, showing that people stayed with it once they found it!) with the lowest ratings being 571,000 for Episode 4.

The Killing S1 peaked at 613,000 viewers (episode 16) and the lowest it ever got was 388,000 (Episode 4).

The Killing Series 2 was much bigger though, presumably because it was a slow burner and a lot of people discovered it after its initial run. Peaked at 1.2 million for episode 1, with a low of 846,000 (Episode 4).

Who could have predicted that a bunch of fairly complex Danish Language imports would draw those kind of audiences on a digital channel? :o
 
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I've found a torrent link for season 2 with English subtitles :o The first episode is SO GOOD, and by the looks of things it gets even tougher for Birgitte over the season if the opener's anything to go by. I've popped the link to the torrent in Birgitte's defence policy :smoke:
 
:disco:

I need my Hanne Holm fix.
 
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I'm rewatching because the subtitles on the torrent I found were a bit DODGE at points. But I'm SQUEALING knowing the final series starts in Denmark this weekend as well but short of learning Danish I'll have to wait half a year for the DVD. The primer DR published for the third season had me dripping (Link HERE but don't look if you haven't watched season 2 because obviously FUCK OFF MASSIVE SPOILERS etc)
 
Can anyone remind me what happened in the last episode of Series 1?
 
not having watched the first season and only sporadically the second, I've now decided to watch the new season of this. I'm entertained. it's nice to see the political ideology that real life politicians seem to have forgotten about. I also like how visually it works as a dichotomy to Forbrydelsen with Copenhagen actually being seen in DAY LIGHT
 
Borgen in Africa was ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT

So excited that I'm going to a Q&A w/ Sidse and screening of the final two episodes next Sun in Edinburgh :disco:
 
Preferably the Peace prize, but I'd even settle for Chemistry.
 
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Crash said:
Borgen in Africa was ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT

So excited that I'm going to a Q&A w/ Sidse and screening of the final two episodes next Sun in Edinburgh :disco:
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OMG WHEN/WHERE?! I have a Sunday to kill in Edinburgh next week :o
 
:evil: Why isn't she going to London?
 
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