My love affair with Canadian TV has now extended to Danish TV. Everyone has heard of The
Killing which ranks among my all time favourite shows. You can read my reviews here and here (hanging out for season 3!).

Recently, another Danish show that’s just come to my attention is The Protectors. I’m nearly finished series two and it’s just getting better and better. I love the way the Danish screenwriters create dialogue – such a happy lack of cliche! Often times characters don’t reply to each other in conversation, or if they do, it’s so awkward that it seems completely realistic. Less is often more and this show is a perfect example.

For those who’ve never heard of the series, here is the premise:  In today’s violent world, the lives of many politicians, industrialists, heads of state and other VIPs are often endangered. To counteract these threats, the Danish Intelligence Bureau established the elite Personal Protection Unit – a force of competent, quick-thinking and dedicated bodyguards. This Emmy award winning Danish crime series centres around the lives and missions of these specialists, the people they protect and their enemies. 

As each episode is fairly plot heavy, it takes until the second series for the characters in the PET protection unit to fully develop. This is the pay-off that attracts me to television over film; the reward for an investment. I’m particularly enjoying the often volatile camaraderie between the three main bodyguards, Jasmina, Rasmus and Jonas. Having graduated through a tough selection process together, they maintain a sibling-like rivalry and a bond that is as close as family.

The stories are what you would expect; misbehaving politicians, international espionage, terrorism. The tone of the show is unpretentious and almost as gritty as The Killing (though it lacks The Killing’s unparalleled slow intensity and creepiness). It spends a fait bit of time exploring racism and gives a clear view into the racial tensions in Northern Europe. I’ve slowly accustomed to the Danish language and I’m starting to pick up nuances that the translation ignores – another enjoyable part of the experience. It’s very hard to go back to normal TV fodder after watching Danish TV. Highly recommended!

Bitter Seeds is one of those books that is hard to quantify; in the simplest of terms it is alternative-history fiction based around the period encompassing the Spanish Revolution and the Second World War, redolent with ‘what-ifs’ and ‘if-onlys’. But beneath that surface description dwells a novel of complexity and deviation rarely seen in this genre.

Structurally speaking, Bitter Seeds is easy to follow. During the course of the book the location and narrative voice jumps between three separate characters that each have a rather broad perspective, but this mass of information has been written so artfully as to not disorient. The opportunity to see the book from both points of view of such an incredible conflict blurs the line that usually separates protagonist from antagonist, providing the reader with an opportunity to decide for themselves where their loyalties lie.

The story itself is infinitely more complex. It sets the scene in rural Germany in the 1920’s where several orphans dislocated from society by the first world war are adopted into the Children’s Home for Human enlightenment – an obvious cover for the inhumane medical experiments perpetrated during the period, introducing several of the important characters of the novel. Crossing the English Channel during the same period, the same day in point of fact, introduces the other two main characters and their origins; one, a poor scrounging child taken on by a disabled ex-pilot and groomed as a member of the Secret Service, the other the child of a wealthy lord introduced by his grandfather into mystic goings-on that are destined to change the course of humanity.

As the novel progresses, it depicts the progress of the war at many of the great turning points, this time though things are substantially different. The Nazi party has an incredible new weapon they describe as the Übermensch -Supermen-, men and women with abilities gifted through the aid of horrific medical experiments. Whereas the United Kingdom have a small group of warlocks; isolated men involved in blood pacts with beings that will only be content when humans are eradicated from existence.

From the beginning, it is difficult to tell who is pulling the strings in this tale. From the outside, it appears as if those calling the shots are the ones in charge, but as the story progresses it becomes more obvious that someone with far more vision is directing the war on both sides. And as every heinous act is perpetrated, by both sides of the Channel, the sheer deviousness of the plan is slowly revealed. What follows is an inevitable game of cat and mouse that is played with entirely different rules.

This is not a tale to be told in one book. Bitter Seeds is only the first book in this triptych, with the future volumes promising to expose more of the desperation and malice inherent in such a topic. And considering the high quality of the storytelling, the complexity of narrative, and general ‘can’t put it down’ nature of the book, it’s one to get stuck into just so you can get to the end. Be warned though; there is plenty of content that is easily described as distasteful, but the context makes every nuance and horrific element crucial to the story.

I have a long history with James Bond. As a little girl my dad would take me to the cinema every time a new Bond movie was released. It was something I looked forward to from one year to the next. I also spent my early reading days thumbing Dad’s Ian Fleming paperbacks, wishing I was old enough to read them.

Like everyone else, I’ve watched the franchise evolve and attempt to remain relevant. I really loved Casino Royale and accepted Daniel Craig as the new Bond without a qualm. Quantam of Solace was fun but not brilliant and now Skyfall.

Things I enjoyed about it:

Javier Bardem pretty much acted everyone else off the stage – no mean feat when you’re opposite Dame Judi Dench. His ex-spy-gone-rogue-with-a-mummy-complex was the best baddie acting to ever grace a Bond movie. Bravo!

Loved the title sequence and Adele’s song is really superb – usurping the Live and Let Die theme as my favourite.

The opening motorbike sequence was pretty damn fine. My husband (a long time off-road rider) had sweaty palms.

Ralph Fiennes delivered his part with aplomb.

Things I didn’t like:

Craig lacked any chemistry with his onscreen ladies and there was no spark to give Bond his dangerously attractive edge.

The fact that both Craig and Dench looked exhausted for the entire movie (Bond was supposed to be exhausted for the first part of the movie – but it never really went away).

Severine was way too much of a victim and had too little face-time for her story to mean anything (which was a shame, ‘cos I think she had potential).

Things I’m unsure about:

Building a personal story arc between Bond and “M” is quite a tough task, considering that both of them are supposed to be emotionally zipped up. It kind of seemed like they cancelled each other out with stiff upper lip. However, that may also be why Javier was such a powerful foil for them.

The Ending was pretty dissatisfying. Can’t say too much because of spoilers!

All in all, I’m glad I went to see it and I’d like to rewatch it on DVD to let it soak in a little more. But I came away with mixed feelings that threaten to stay that way.