Norsemen

I have to be honest, I never heard of Norsemen while it was on. This last season just ended and I just recently heard about it and that's because of the incredible word of mouth surrounding this show. Most of the reviews here all say the same thing...this show is funny. And they're right. It's gotten great reviews from both the audience and critics, it has a 90% of Rotten Tomatoes right now. The first two seasons were incredibly funny, the third is still funny, just not as good as the first two. It obviously is a show making fun of shows like Vikings but it's more than that, it's a good show in its own right. How they made Vikings funny is beyond me but they did it.

This is essentially Vikings with laughs. Very well done and markedly funny. Entertaining and also very timely, what with the recent finale of Game of Thrones. This helps to fill the medieval gap but with a new twist, so this isn't just another poor copy as we've seen start to crop up. Bravo to Norway for producing this great hit, and extra kudos to the cast and crew for filming each scene twice (and most likely many times more) in both Norwegian and English. Hopefully word spreads on this hidden gem and Netflix picks this up for the 2nd season (already filmed).

As a huge fan of Monty Python, I couldn't help but notice the stylistic resemblance, and if you like their approach, this comedy is a must see.

Summary: modern life issues in a Dark Ages set, as seen through the eyes of a few Viking villagers.

Then, as if the contrasting modern issues and the medieval set were not enough, there is another hilarious clash, the cultural differences between the Norse village inhabitants and the rest of the world, through the ideas come from afar, with the slaves they bring with them after a successful raid.

This series also reminds me a bit of Woody Allen's Love and Death, in a sense that one of the main characters is a total misfit, having a completely different philosophy compared to the rest of the villagers. He seems just trapped in a time and place where he doesn't belong (the irony!).

All in all, I love Norsemen, a sarcastic take on all that's wrong with us today. It is rather a micro-social kind of satire, but I wouldn't be surprised if some current largely debated global issues made their way into the series at some point.

This came as something of a surprise as it's unbelievably well rounded for a first season. Great characters, very funny in places but also with some very dark humour and a lot of incidental violence (so this is absolutely not general family viewing!).

One thing to note: it's Norwegian but available on Netflix in English. Don't fear poor dubbing though as it's performed in both languages by the same actors which means you lose nothing in the process.

Final point is how well made it is from a production point of view - it's not a show that particularly needs high production values but it has them. Very much so.

A great show all round.

Firstly; I'm biased here. I've known Øystein Martinsen, who plays Kark, for 35 years. He is the shows breakout star as the ever opthimist thrall (spoke to him after it aired, they ripped alot from Monty Python). Second; I stopped watching after ep 1 of the 3rd season. It was aired on Netflix by then with NO Norwegian language. For those who don't know, every scene was directed 2 times, one in native Norwegian, the same after in English. And the jokes just fall flat in English. Besides that, this is NOT a parody on more famous Vikings. It's more a tribute to the creators heroes, the Pythons. I enjoyed the first 2 seasons alot, with some of the best actors we have in Norway towing it. Actually surprised that a show this bloody could get a mass appeal, but it did. Kark rules!