This has been a very much hyped series. Every single newspaper reviewer in Sweden has gone completely gaga over it, claiming it to be a an absolute masterpiece. Well, maybe they have jumped to their unanimous conclusion a bit too hastily.
Don't get me wrong - it's not bad. But brilliant it certainly is not. The basic culprits are two: Firstly, the tempo is dreadfully slow, like nothing I have seen before. Frozen treacle runs faster. Nothing, I mean nothing at all, happens, or at least so it seems.
Secondly, we have the severe problems with chronology, which become most obvious when looking at the vehicles.
It is supposed to take place in 1973, but the black and white police Saab is a 1976 model. The black Cadillac that is supposed to be a banger is way too new - and none of these were imported until decades later. Anyway, these farm boys would never have been able to afford one in 1973.
The shopkeeper's clapped out Volvo Duett has seats from a late seventies Volvo 240. The policeman's white Volvo Amazon is a 1969 model, but looks like it's been through the wars for a couple of decades. All the cars have badly worn and dented registration plates, despite the fact that this type of "ABC123" plate was introduced to the arctic region during the first quarter of 1973, just a few months before the events - so they should all look shiny and new.
The list goes on - I found over 20 anachronisms in the two first episodes alone. Nitpicking maybe, but it detracts from the drama.
Don't get me wrong - it's not bad. But brilliant it certainly is not. The basic culprits are two: Firstly, the tempo is dreadfully slow, like nothing I have seen before. Frozen treacle runs faster. Nothing, I mean nothing at all, happens, or at least so it seems.
Secondly, we have the severe problems with chronology, which become most obvious when looking at the vehicles.
It is supposed to take place in 1973, but the black and white police Saab is a 1976 model. The black Cadillac that is supposed to be a banger is way too new - and none of these were imported until decades later. Anyway, these farm boys would never have been able to afford one in 1973.
The shopkeeper's clapped out Volvo Duett has seats from a late seventies Volvo 240. The policeman's white Volvo Amazon is a 1969 model, but looks like it's been through the wars for a couple of decades. All the cars have badly worn and dented registration plates, despite the fact that this type of "ABC123" plate was introduced to the arctic region during the first quarter of 1973, just a few months before the events - so they should all look shiny and new.
The list goes on - I found over 20 anachronisms in the two first episodes alone. Nitpicking maybe, but it detracts from the drama.