The Sommerdahl Murders

I really wanted to get hooked on this as I love Danish TV but this is pushing the limits. It has real potential but to emphasise so much on the breakdown of the marriage of the lead character has turned it in to a soap opera. Half the time you forget they are actually supposed to be out solving murders. It doesn't help that Dan Sommerdahl and his wife Marianne are not exactly likeable, you end up not really caring what happens to the relationship. The saving grace is André Babikian, he give his usual good performance.

Marianne is such a needy selfish drip. She's a forensic pathologist that works WITH her husband and has his respect in addition to being married to him. She acts like she just sits home all day waiting for him to come home. Be more realistic if she complained about having to see him all day, every day. They solve murders together. Not thrilling enough, so she sleeps with someone else and flirts with his best friend. Lame. Fast forward through her scenes.

The locations are beautiful right by the sea and the houses the main characters live in look like upper middle-class homes. Everything is just perfect except for the murders and the breakdown of a marriage.

The plots are pretty mundane. I guessed the motivations and murderers in 2 of the 4 plots and I'm pretty useless at whodunnits - I'd rather get a surprise at the end when we find out who the miscreant is. Running through everything is the marriage breakdown. I really can't understand why it was focused on so heavily. If it had impinged on the investigations and had led to someone getting away with another murder or crime, this would have been an acceptable use of the time spent on this theme. But it didn't. It just made the series frothier and more superficial than it needed to have been. It didn't help that the eponymous detective was so unlikable - stalking. telling his daughter tales, being nasty and unprofessional.

As usual, I watched till the end. I didn't hate it but there are far better things to have seen, I think. It was just a nicely numbing few episodes of escapism.

The mystery and investigation portions are entertaining. However, the soapy marriage squabbles drag the whole thing down.

The plots are slight and the scripts are light, but the good natured camaraderie among the cops saves the day. You won't find the disfunction and bad vibes of UK or US shows of this type and that's a big plus. On the plus side, you also don't find the prudery of UK/US shows; people here hop into each others' beds with regularity and ease and that is refreshing. This is a feel-good snack where you don't have to think too much.

Don't look for any deep meaning or character revelations in this series. But do expect an entertaining time waster that is more comfort food than nutrition. The scenery is beautiful, though.