‘The Bridge’ is the latest series to grace our screens and give Britain nail biting drama from Scandinavia. It follows the success of ‘Wallander,’ ‘The Killing,’ and ‘Borgen,’ all of which have received high praise for their script and execution. Being half Danish I couldn’t wait to get my teeth into the award winning series, ‘The Killing’ that all my relatives had been talking about. Though my friends may say I am being biased, I can without a doubt say that this is some of the best TV I have ever seen. It is engaging, fast paced, twisted, intelligent, and whilst it makes me incredibly jumpy and hide behind a cushion, I cannot stop watching.
‘The Bridge’ is no exception. It is a collaboration between public broadcasters from both Denmark and Sweden, with a mixed cast from both countries. The reason for this? A body, found on the Øresund bridge that links the two countries, directly on the border line. The catch? The body is cut in half; half Danish and half Swedish. Danish and Swedish police forces work together to solve a crime that escalates every week — though differences between the two nationalities are clear. At the head of the Swedish investigation is Saga; a peculiar character who appears to be lacking in the knowledge of social conventions and who at times seems laughable, yet others extremely vulnerable as she is unaware of her social awkwardness. Her headstrong nature is contrasted with the Dane, Martin Rohde, whose relaxed tendencies makes Saga’s comments stand out as hilariously funny and naive. An unlikely pairing, and an unlikely crime, yet they leave me wanting more each week. Watching with my flatmates, we were quickly drawn in by the tangle of subplots and the serial killer, whose voice we hear, but who cannot be tracked, and who has a social conscience. ‘The Bridge,’ like ‘The Killing’ and political drama ‘Borgen’ draws upon fault lines in society including the concern over immigration, homelessness and exploitation of child laborers, highlighting and tackling real life political and social problems that many script writers find easy to simply gloss over.
Scandinavian dramas seems to have created somewhat of a cult following. It is something I look forward to; my flatmates and I discuss the plot lines, our theories, I occasionally laugh at their pronunciation of the Scandinavian names and their attempts to talk the language that they are all now so interested in learning. I feel that not only does Britain get incredible television out of these dramas, but that my friends (and indeed the whole country) are learning about a more obscure language, they get to see countries which wouldn’t necessarily occur to them as places to visit, that are rich in culture, beautiful to see and where I spend my summers. Britain, I feel, is often very insular in its culture, sticking to its own productions, own traditions; the arts is an easy way in. It introduces people to a European country close to home, yet never really considered. ‘The Bridge,’ as a haunting and beautifully produced series, with an amazing script will undoubtably leave a first time Scandinavian drama viewer wishing they had watched ‘The Killing.’ They will quite possibly rush out to buy the boxsets for both series, and without a feeling of guilt, happily sit for an entire weekend watching 30 hours of spectacular drama, escaping from exam stress and the real world and delving into a world of suspects and Red Herrings galore.
‘The Bridge’ is on BBC4, Saturday 21:00 – 23:00 or on iPlayer
Thoughts 