DVD News: Dicte Series 1

The first series of Dicte - Crime Reporter the Danish crime series based on Elsebeth Egholm's novels, which recently ran on More 4 is available on DVD from today.

Following her divorce, investigative journalist Dicte (Iben Hjejle) moves back to her home town of Aarhus, along with her teenage daughter Rose. Dicte soon tangles with local police detective Wagner played by Lars Brygmann (Unit One, Borgen) and by the end of the first couple of episodes he's hoping not to see her again but of course that's not going to be the case!

The two-disc box-set has the episodes in their original ten-episode format ie 5 stories in two parts.

[I'm half-way through the series so I may return to the subject later on but so far it's enjoyable if a little full of coincidences.]

TV News: Dicte on More4

 
Danish series Dicte - Crime Reporter starts on More4 next Friday (3 June) at 9pm. It appears that series 1 will be shown over five weeks in two-hourly slots. There have been two series so far and a third has been commissioned.

Crime reporter Dicte Svendsen returns to her hometown of Aarhus following her divorce and stars Iben Hjejle as Dicte and Lars Brygmann (Unit One, Borgen) as Detective John Wagner.

The series is based on Elsebeth Egholm's Dicte series of books of which only two are available in English, Next of Kin and Life and Limb (books four and five in the series). These have been published only in Australia at the moment but they can be purchased via the Book Depository website.

TV News: The Return of Borgen to BBC4

The third and final series of Borgen will begin on BBC4 on Saturday 16th November at 9pm with A Child of Denmark:

It's two and a half years since Danish Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg called a general election, and she has left the political arena to become a well-paid speaker in business circles.

However, Nyborg has become disillusioned with the compromises the Moderate Party are making with the new government - and is compelled to act.

DVD News: Unit One

Almost six years to the day that I first blogged about it, there is now a UK release of Danish thriller series Unit One. Whether this is due to the success of The Killing et al or the praise star Mads Mikkleson's recently received for films A Royal Affair and The Hunt it is welcome news even if the show is a decade old.

Unit One, Series One, is released today on DVD.

Unit One is a long-standing Nordic Noir thriller series that tells the story of a group of staunch crime experts from an elite unit within the Danish police force. We follow their fascinating yet frightening work in the Danish underworld and witness their unflinching commitment and affectionate solidarity when pitted against horrifying, yet all-too-real, examples of the extremes of human nature they face in the line of duty. Unit One is based on true criminal cases through the last 10 years.

DVD News: Those Who Kill

I confess I have this series stored on my Sky+ box, along with Borgen, Braquo and Montalbano!

It's recently been released on DVD, at around £18 online.

Criminal commissioner Katrina Ries Jensen and legal psychiatrist Thomas Schaeffer are part of a unique police unit investigating a series of gruesome serial killings.. In each case they face dangerous threats in the race to uncover the bizarre motives and patterns of the killer. Only once they have an understanding of the victims and of the killer's psychology can they hope to catch him.

Based on an original idea by best-selling Danish crime novelist Elsebeth Egholm, Those Who Kill is a gripping crime thriller that will keep you guessing.

Return of The Killing

The second series of The Killing will start on 26 19 November at 9pm on the wonderful BBC4. It looks like we're getting two hour chunks again as episodes 3 & 4 are on the following week.

It's been two years since former detective Sarah Lund was divested of her investigative role and transferred to a low-key job in the country, but when the body of a female lawyer is found murdered in macabre and puzzling circumstances, Lund's former boss at Copenhagen police HQ finds that he has no choice but to call her back in to assist with the investigation.

Initially reluctant, Lund soon becomes engrossed with the case. As police grapple with what few clues they possess, newly appointed Minister for Justice Thomas Buch strives to oversee some intricate political negotiations between parliamentary parties over the introduction of a series of new anti-terrorism laws. At the same time, soldier Jens Peter Raben awaits release from the psychiatric ward he was committed to following a nervous breakdown.

Over the course of 10 gripping episodes, the worlds of crime, politics and the military become increasingly intertwined. With more dead being added to the list of murder victims as the series progresses, Lund's mission becomes a race against time to find the culprit and prevent further killings...

Here's a wordless trailer:

Danish TV Shows on UK TV - update

The US version of The Killing, due to be shown on Channel 4 next month has just been renewed. From Reuters:

AMC has ordered a second season of "The Killing," a serial drama based on a Danish series about the search for the killer of a teenage girl.

Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman star as Seattle homicide investigating the murder.

"The Killing" premiered to 2.7 million viewers April 3 and is averaging 2.2 million viewers so far this season. It ranks as AMC's second-highest-rated first-season drama after "The Walking Dead." Series creator Veena Sud ("Cold Case") will return as showrunner.

Fox Television Studios president David Madden, whose company produces the hourlong drama, told The Hollywood Reporter in April that "The Killing" was a risk when it launched.

"'The Killing' is as risky in its form as '24' was when it launched. We'll take a season to tell a very careful, deliberate, twisting/turning mystery that is almost more novelistic in its approach," he said.

Meanwhile in the UK, BBC Four has snapped up Borgen, a ten-part political drama:

Borgen is a compelling drama series about the fight for political power and its consequences. Sidse Babett Knudsen plays 40-year-old party leader Birgitte Nyborg who successfully secures a surprise election victory only to discover the biggest challenge of her life is yet to come.

Privately, Birgitte leads a happy family life with her husband and two children. She is a woman with a burning commitment, a big heart and too little time. Her challenge to be a successful politician and remain true to her beliefs will involve personal sacrifice with far reaching consequences for all those involved.

Borgen's mix of complex characters include cynical but brilliant media adviser, Kasper Juul, and young television political journalist Katrine Fonsmark, whose screen presence has quickly earned her popularity but whose personal life threatens to destroy everything she has worked so hard for.

Time to get the knitting needles out again:

Move over Wallander, here's The Killing (BBC4)

BBC4 are treating viewers to a 20 episode Danish crime drama, called The Killing (in English) and which takes place over 20 days.

The first two episodes are on at 9pm and 9.55 on Saturday on BBC4:

From the BBC's Press Office:

The Killing is the latest foreign language series to première in the UK on BBC Four, following the huge success of the Swedish Wallander. Nominated for an International Emmy for Best Drama, Denmark's hit TV series is a tense and absorbing whodunit, deftly uncovering some of the evils gnawing at contemporary society.

The 20 episodes play out over 20 days during a bleak Copenhagen November. Inspector Sarah Lund reports for her last day at work and learns that a teenage girl is missing. When her body is found in a car with links to a mayoral candidate's office, the case that gripped Danish TV viewers begins.

About to leave her post as the head of investigations at the Copenhagen homicide department as she is moving to Sweden, Sarah is in the midst of saying her goodbyes when she gets a disturbing dispatch which forces her to rethink her plans: a 19-year-old girl, Nanna Birk Larsen, is missing and her belongings have been discovered in a field.

A top Copenhagen politician, Troels, is in the middle of a promising election campaign when he is suddenly forced to make a change of plans. Meanwhile, in Vesterbro, Theis and Pernille learn that their daughter is missing.

In the first instalment of this 20-part thriller, these unsuspecting characters are drawn together by a series of simultaneous events that will change their lives for ever.

Unit One

As well as New Zealand getting the first run of tv show Missing based on Swedish author Karin Alvetegen's novel, Australians have been watching Danish police drama Unit One on SBS for sometime. However all is not lost for those of us who can play PAL/Region 4 DVDs as there are 3 volumes for sale, with English subtitles.
Eg from ezydvd.com.au:
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3 (March 07)

The chap on Volume 2 is none other than recent Bond villain Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen).

Unit One (orig. Rejseholdet) ran between 2001-2 and features a mobile task force that travels around Denmark helping local police solve crimes.