The Red Wolf

As a woman, it's especially fun to watch this program. Annika is so fearless and yet so believable a character. There's a twist to the usual family dynamic in that Annika is the more workaholic and absent parent and her poor, long-suffering (and extremely hot) husband is often stuck home with the kids, or lying languidly shirtless in bed waiting for her just as she has to go out and investigate a tip.

All of the acting is wonderful and the direction very natural. One gets completely sucked into the plot and the pathos. You see how Annika steels herself from being impacted from most of it, and yet some cases really get to her. The Kvallpresse newsroom has its amusing cast of characters, from the tubby, barking and be-jowled news chief, to the lovable and mannish old socialist Berit, to the smarmy young toady Patrik.

Some of the crimes are pretty grisly so this series is not suitable for children. I've read reviews elsewhere in which men complain about having to hear about Annika's family life (also with Irene Huss, another Swedish crime solver I love) so this may be more something women and those interested in women's lives would enjoy.

this whole series is actually a mediocre one if compares to other mysteries out of Scandinavian TV industries. screenplays were so badly crafted and then further deteriorated by poor directing and editing. the only thing that this series still worth viewing was the main female crime reporter herself, played by Malin Crépin, a female actor who performed naturally, a quite likable persona that viewers would like to watch just because of her. the settings related to her work, those supporting roles in the newspapers were not quite good, the whole series relied heavily on flash back, all crimes had to be rewound back and back again, one by one. it's like Korean TV drama series, characters have to talk to themselves by murmuring all the time to help explaining something that poor screenplays and directors usually could not do. this series also got limited actors to play the roles, we often saw an actor in one episode appeared in the next one with different role, but the face was just too familiar to be smoothly transformed into another one. the whole series only got one above average episode, the one about the Nobel prize murder case. others episodes, like this one and "prime time" were simply too flat, dumb and awkward to be watched, you need two factors that might enable you to complete the whole series: time and patience, i.e., if you got some leisure time to waste and if you got enough patience. otherwise, it's a pain in the neck to watch along.

i was also disgusted by the poor screenplay of this episode that showed the heroine's true color: a news hound without emotion and empathy. she told the tabloid to expose the teenager who was later killed by the serial killer. when she heard that young man was killed because of her, she seemed to give no darn at all; when she saw her longtime boyfriend/husband had an affair, her reaction also not quite like a normal female. the poor screenplay just made her with a robotic personality, a woman only got certain degrees of emotions to her two kids, but remote and almost without any feeling to others.

The film in question follows the footsteps of several famous Scandinavian crime dramas with "feminine approach", i.e. the leading character is a strong woman who does well in masculine environment or even outperforms her associates. Usually they are based on book by female authors, and topics deal with "softer" values rather than harsh and nasty felonies. Similar to e.g. Dicte, Annika Bengtzon is a journalist, but both the character itself and performance are somewhat weaker than Iben Hjejle's Dicte; moreover, there are some sidelines not providing additional value to the course of events (Annika's family problems), and the ones depicting evil are quite inexpressive. On the other hand, the plot itself is intriguing and as I did not figure out the real killer, I can give 7 overall points. And as it was my first familiarisation with Liza Marklund / Annika Bengtzon, I would not like to express blunt criticism, perhaps they did not just "open" fully to me at first sight.

This Swedish television series captures the work and personal life of Annika Bengtzon, a tenacious journalist who relentlessly strives to unveil the truth and identities of criminals. She is also a doting, young mother and her conviction to her work often conflicts with her lion-hearted longing to be a good mother and supportive spouse/lover. The quick-paced show is artfully done (both visually and auditorily) and gives the viewer a sense that time is of the essence and moreover, it gives Annika's life a sense of edginess, fragility and most importantly, freedom, as she plunges headlong into tracking down criminals without thinking twice about the consequences. Annika is beautiful by American standards and average by Swedish standards. But she is not portrayed in any glossy fashion - she wears dark eyeliner, sloppy t-shirts and has pronounced bags under her eyes. The show does an excellent job at portraying a passionate, hard-working woman's struggles and it does an average job in creating compelling mysteries. The mysteries are somewhat formulaic, which is why we love them. However, a smart audience will eventually want to see more grit and complexity in its criminals. - Looking forward to Season 2.

I really enjoyed this series. Luckily, I didn't check out the ratings on IMDb, or I might never have tried it. Well-written, well-acted, and well-directed. I have seen the first six episodes (which seem to be listed separately here). Some are better than others, but all were worth watching.

Malin Crepin is a treat to watch, as Annika. The continuing story of her marriage and motherhood make Annika a much fuller character than "reporter." Like the best of series, there is both an episode resolution and continuing character development.

If you like Scandinavian TV series like "The Protectors," you'll probably like "Annika Bengtzon."

Check it out if you like well-done mysteries. I hope there are more of these shows to come.