Vindhætterne

I've been a fan of Jan Gintberg for several years. At first glance, he may seem like a loud-mouthed malcontent, but once you listen to him, you'll find an awful lot of truth in what he says. The man masters satire, and when he's given a chance and when he's at his best, he's hilarity and cleverness itself. Having found his previous effort(Gintberg Show Off) fair, but not too memorable(and finding all his later ones, at least so far, downright poor), I define this as his best work. He's assembled an amazing team for the purpose... Dorset, with his calm demeanor and writing assistance(though, judging by Gintberg's pace, he most likely provides most of the material himself); Marzouk, for the occasional energetic performance and the token immigrant; Øgendahl, for more energy, in what can best be described as Denmark's answer to Jim Carrey: wild, silly and frantic, with plenty of facial comedy; Bang, as the stone-faced reporter caricature(typically dealing with important subjects with an excellent touch of humor), and, lest we forget, his character of a drunk-out-of-his-mind alcoholic with a nasty habit of bugging the people Jan attempts to ask "the question of the week" on Copenhagen's main street; and, of course, Gintberg himself, for the grotesque analogies, the pushy(and loud) truths presented and the biting wit. The humor ranges from silly to satirical, and, granted, some jokes do fall flat. The vast majority of material works like a charm, and even the worst episodes had better gags and jokes than some of the best of his other work. The five comedians all play off each other perfectly, and the casting of the many parts played(usually by the group of stand-up performers, themselves) in the segments is spot-on. The show plays like a Danish version of The Daily Show. With weekly bits, such as the one of a troubled man threatening to jump, yelling about his problems(played to perfection by Jan himself, who started his character, years back, yelling satire in a similar fashion), and the slightly dim, Jutlandic police officer who attempts to talk him down. They make fun of numerology, politics(one particular clip of a female politician having a strong reaction to an unpleasant topic is re-used quite a lot, but mostly to great effect) and many, many other subjects... including Jan's all-time favorite thing to poke fun at, bikers. Quite often, they got well-known people to contribute, almost always with hilarious consequences. Eight weeks in a row of 2002, the week was ended on a good note, with Jan and co. spoofing the week's news. But alas, in spite of the promise of it returning for a second season, they never got to do more. Was it not popular enough? Was it *too* sharp, too on the mark? I don't know. I do find it sad that Jan and several of his kin are now doing utterly humorless talk-show-type programs, playing off how many famous guests they can get into the studio. I guess there's little reason to hold out hope for another season of this show(or even a similar show) being made... instead, I'll just hold on to my tape of all eight episodes. I recommend this to any fan of satire, Danish comedy and any of the comedians involved in making it. Very much worth your time. 8/10