Anno 1790

[sealwhiskers]

Swedish tv has an uneven history in my book, when they get it wrong, the crap stinks worse than any similar crap on say US tv, because it can't drown in the gigantic pot of mediocrity that is served in a country with a big tv drama production, but when Swedish tv (Stv) gets it right, it truly shines and actually often outshines many other

Comments

[bummble]

Oh, that sounds really good!
I wonder if we'll get to see it here: we do get some Swedish movies etc, but mostly for children.

[sealwhiskers]

It comes out on dvd in a month or so, and since several US channels picked it up, the subtitles already exist.

[jlsjlsjls]

Looks and sounds wonderful ... no forthcoming DVD entries in the Amazon.ca or Chapters/Indigo sites (yet), but I'll memory this post to remind me to keep checking. :-)

[sealwhiskers]

Try this summer maybe, the show comes out on dvd (in Scandinavia at least, maybe in Europe) in a month or so, so maybe a few months later in other places...

I do think you'll really enjoy it!

[jlsjlsjls]

I think I will as well. Suspect my mother will too (always on the lookout for good stuff for her and she adores a well-produced/performed mystery)

P.S. Other comments had me looking up Bellman (and Fredman) ... I think the closest English equivalent to Bellman would likely be Henry Purcell (the Wikipedia entry on him focuses on his religious, semi-operatic, and ode-to-royalty works but he also wrote many songs of an earthier/everyday life sort: "Bess of Bedlam", "Pox on You", "As Roger Last Night to Jenny Lay Close", "Tom the Taylor", etc.)

[sealwhiskers]

That's not a bad comparison at all, there are likenesses, except that Bellman didn't do religious tunes. You add a hundred years, and make the bloke a bit more of a troubadour of his times, but yes.

[gyzki]

Awesome! Must keep a watch for! Speaking of "watch", in their late-night pub-crawls, do they encounter Carl Michael Bellman? (Fredman was an ex-watchmaker, wasn't he?)

[sealwhiskers]

Yes, he was a clockmaker!
Your knowledge is impressive. This is during a time where Bellman was still alive and in Stockholm, and king Gustav III was his patron. I'm only half way through the first season yet, and haven't encountered him, but I'd be surprised if he isn't going to be portrayed in in the show, or at least mentioned, since they are showing, mentioning or hinting at other known names, and Bellman was after all the Swedish megastar of those decades. So far there has been a prison guard singing a Bellman song while being drunk, so it's lurking...

[gyzki]

Squeee! Must. Watch.
Ahem. Bellman made quite an impression on me in my university days, and happily I didn't go on to study his music in depth, so the fun never got sucked out of it for me.

[sealwhiskers]

Bellman tunes give me an instant Sweden fix of positive nostalgia, which few other things can. :)
I shall see if I can burn a few copies, and get back to you.

[sealwhiskers]

Me too, the photography is beautiful, if nothing else!

[gale_storm]

Wow, this sounds really cool, and I'll look forward to seeing it somewhere, somewhen, somewhee... :-)

[sealwhiskers]

I think there is an excellent chance of this show airing in Denmark, if it hasn't already!