Valkyrien

This series starts off as a boring and predictable series. Some Doctor doing the "Frankenstein" piece.

But its nothing like that. The story line is a mix of "yeah, so what", and "hey! these are great characters". Leif is a standout - his humoristic attitude, yet involved in a series of events which is totally novel, and set in the fictitious(?) caves under Oslo.

I think all the acting is brilliant - and the script is simply, not predictable.

I was so concerned to start watching this, but I am so glad I did.

I echo the comment of previous reviewer that the field is in desperate need of some different plot premises. We made it, I hope, past the unlikable dysfunctional, usually addicted to drugs, alcohol,or an equally destructive behaviour who is gruff beyond rude, head-strong beyond reason. Now we have the formula: scenes alternating between violence and sexual, often both together, without much plot device. With required violence, often extended, on women.

I look forward to something new, even if I have to suspend disbelief occasionally. i hope it discards those over-used tropes.

Do you remember how much time we spent watching Walter White cleaning his meth-lab equipment to perfection?

Or how long does it take for the average sci-fi blockbuster to introduce you to the concept of time-travelling?

If you do, you will probably understand what I mean by hasty.

In recent years what most American series lack in original and clever script, Scandinavian-northern productions seem to have plenty. They may miss the hits due to bad marketing, low international appeal, small letdowns or whatever prevents their values to strive (hits which - by the way - often get in the hands of various remakes). Still, this is the sign of cultures that nurture intelligence VERSUS beauty contests, popularity ratings and political correctness. But this is an entirely different topic.

The story in Valkyrien is so open and complex that it could last 10 seasons (but it does it all in 8, 45 minutes episodes). A lot of topics rarely seen otherwise are dealt with: the power of bureaucracy, ethics and bio-ethics, sustainability, ecology, unavoidability of society, conspiracy theories. Given the number of productions around it's awesome finding something so fresh and interesting.

Yet some lows can be spotted in the superficiality which we are provided here and there for action's or drama's sake (forget scientific or even procedurals' accuracy) and in some "too unlikely" scenes. And here is imho the major weakness of the show: to make people care you need them to believe in what they see. And to achieve this, spending a proper amount of time and details to allow the disbelief to be suspended is critical. I'm not suggesting that indulging in artificial lengthening (like in soaps, or even successful series like Lost) is the right solution. I'm stating that by abusing the simplistic pace of action movies, your audience forgets about depth. Which shouldn't be your objective if you focus your plot on complex, nerdy, not-popular and potentially-boring topics.

Anyway: if you enjoy originality and well written cross genre stuff give it a try. But it would need a longer polished remake for the ideas to properly shine.

I added the «comedy» tag to this series. Originally the description read «drama», but it's so much more than that: if you watch this series, you'll (hopefully) notice how funny, smart and unpredictably original its dialogue is. Generally, I'm not a fan of any actor, I rather believe in good casting. Yet I need to mention that Pal Sverre Hagen does (again) a magnificent job. He appeared on my radar while watching «Kraftidioten» (English: «In order of disappearance»), a movie in which he plays a psychopathic drug dealer in an incredibly humoristic fashion. The story of Valkyrien may be a little farfetched, personally I think it's exceptionally original in its writing. It is very off beat, unpredictable, even philosophical. In short: very smart and funny. All actors are very well cast and do a marvelous job. Superb writing and a must see if you're in for something original.

If you are looking for playful and exciting entertainment but don't care about medical or scientific impossibilities, then you can manage to get through this series. I guess the creators of the series thought that if the show is entertaining enough, people wont focus on the medical impossibilities that litter the show e.g operating on people with anesthesia, two doctors who seem to specialize in everything under the sun etc. You also have to put up with the usual moralizing about global events (climate change, pharmaceutical companies, health care)that is fairly common in Danish and Norwegian movies, and to a lesser extent in Swedish series. So, if you can ignore the scientific silliness and just go on a crazy roller coaster ride for the entertainment, this series is for you. If there's a second season, I'll probably watch it but after a while I fear that the sheer impossibility of the plot events may just cause me to lose interest.