100 Code

I was not going to write a review but seeing some bad ones I have to add mine. This series is only second best to Broen, which is forever top1, especially the 3rd series. The atmosphere, the faded, dark colors and Ms Helin are just The Best.

Here, the Swedish actors are - again - very good, unlike the American guy who tells his lines like he was reading them. But that's nothing new, most of the time American "B" actors sound better, dubbed by a real actor of the language the film is dubbed in. Anyway, the series start relatively slow, but it picks up amazingly around ep5 and concludes.... wow. The script, how the tension is built up, how you start worrying for some characters although you may not like them make it a must watch.

Last decade has seen dozens of really magnificent and novel creations in the field of crime thrillers, without a single case per episode, but a recurrent case/topic with multiple twists and turns. 100 Code is another fine example of them, well, not up to Bron/Broen or Millennium, but still a thrilling series to follow. The inclusion of an American, wideness of the case and the parallel or subsequent use of both English and Swedish (most Swedes are very good at English) move the events beyond "provincial" mood and environment characteristic to Scandinavian crime from time to time. Nevertheless, the viewers obtain a decent overview of Swedish habits, concepts and nature, plus how all this is perceived by a foreign official.

As for performances, I am surprised that some viewers have found them poor; I find them realistic, as catching offenders is neither constant chases in fancy cars and clothing nor issuing witty remarks at each other, it is a hard and crushing job at the expense of family and friends. In my opinion, all the cast is doing well, yet Michael Nyqvist as Mikael Eklund and Dominic Monaghan as Tommy Conley spend more time on screen.

All in all, a good series, and the very ending was pleasantly tricky. If you like intensive series where crimes are dealt with in a team, then the one in question is definitely for you as well.

Loved this series, well acted, clever storyline an edge of your seat drama that had so much further to go.

It was only a matter of time before the Americans got in on the Nordic Noir scene properly instead of remakes and this is the perfect vehicle for so doing. It stars the rather good Dominic Monaghan as Tommy Conley a New York cop with a case he has tracked to Stockholm – that of a serial killer, so he believes. Once there he is teamed up with disgruntled cop Mikael Englund played by the brilliant Michael Nyqvist. It is not a marriage made in heaven but fate will draw them into a bond of sorts.

Then the bodies start turning up and things go from interesting to downright intriguing in a very short period of time. It soon appears to everyone that there is more to this than any of them had envisaged. Add to this the lives of the main players with everyone having a flawed character and the baggage of the past hanging round their necks and influencing their decisions now and you get a rather addictive programme.

This I feel is an excellent series and I dare say we will get season 2 anytime soon which is fine by me. It is in English and Swedish for the most part and the translations are all rather good too. If you like your box sets to be compulsive, convincing and inventive then this is something you should check out.

The downsides are Dominic Monaghan, a serious miscast and way out of his depth, and the slipping between subtitled Swedish and un-subtitled English which, at times, is barely audible. The upside is a seriously involving mystery about serial killings set against some wonderful Swedish backdrops. It may not be the best detective story you'll ever see but it beats the pants off of most TV fodder these days. And, aside from Mr Monaghan, the acting is excellent across the board with plenty of sub-plot action for those who like such things.

Worth a viewing of at least the first two episodes to let it suck you in, which it will do in spades full.