BORGEN, SEASON ONE

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Todd Mason has extolled the excellence of BORGEN for some time. I finally bought the Season One 4-DVD box set of BORGEN and watched the 10 episodes. Todd was right! This political drama involves the first woman Prime Minister of Denmark. Each episode presents a new challenge: political treachery, secret CIA landings, political back-biting, and shifting coalitions. If you’re a fan of House of Cards (either the British or the Netflix versions) you’ll love BRORGEN. Most of the dialogue is in Danish with English subtitles, but occasionally the characters will speak English. The cast is top-notch, especially Sidse Babett Knudsen as Birgitte Nyborg Christensen (the Prime Minister). As soon as they become available, I’ll buy the other seasons of BORGEN, By the way, Borgen (“the Castle”) is the nickname of Christiansborg Palace, which houses all three of Denmark’s branches of government: the Parliament, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Supreme Court. Check out the trailer below. GRADE: A

17 thoughts on “BORGEN, SEASON ONE

  1. Jeff Meyerson

    Glad you did the review George as I was jsut telling Jackie we should buy it. This will be the push I needed. We visited Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen in 1973.

    Reply
  2. George Kelley

    Jeff, BORGEN is well worth buying. And Jackie will enjoy BORGEN as she recovers from her knee surgery. I’ve never been to Denmark, but if I ever go I’d want to check out the Christainborg Palace.

    Reply
  3. Todd Mason

    Well, it’s been on US tv…Link TV, which is now merged with the Los Angeles independent public station KCET…but most people see Link through Dish Network and DirecTV satellite services (it has been broadcast in Philladelphia, DC, and the San Francisco Bay area, as well, at various times). That, and seeing it streamed on the Link site, is how I was aware of it…

    Sorry, George, that I missed your review till you told me about it!

    Reply
  4. Todd Mason

    BORGEN on Link TV:
    http://www.linktv.org/borgen

    Borgen Season 1 – Now Airing on Link TV
    Click or scroll down for airtimes and links to watch episodes online*

    Borgen – Season 2
    Returning this July to Link TV
    Click episode links below for airtimes

    Full episodes stream online for two weeks after they broadcast at the links below. Click episodes for broadcast info:

    Episode 11 – “89,000 Children”
    Episode 12 – “In Brussels No One…”
    Episode 13 – “The Last Worker”
    Episode 14 – “Battle Ready”
    Episode 15 – “Plant a Tree”
    Episode 16 – “Them and Us”
    Episode 17 – “What is Lost… (Pt. 1)”
    Episode 18 – “What is Lost… (Pt. 2)”
    Episode 19 – “The Sanctity of Private Life”
    Episode 20 – “An Extraordinary Remark”

    And a third season is coming…

    Reply
  5. Todd Mason

    NBC went as far, in 2011, as announcing they’d ordered a US adaptation of BORGEN, from the creator/producers of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS the tv series, but nothing much has come of that yet. The creators of BORGEN also being responsible for the original Dutch series THE KILLING and THE BRIDGE, and both of those having since been remade as US series, dunno what that might mean for foundering NBC’s project. (One unclever commentator compared BORGEN to THE WEST WING., as in NBC had already had a BORGEN..similar to comparing HOMICIDE to STARSKY AND HUTCH.)

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Todd, I’m not sure NBC would be a good place for a BORGEN clone. Network TV thrives on reality shows, sports, and CSI spin-offs. A sophisticated political drama would draw a tiny audience on NBC. At best, cable would be the logical home for such a series.

      Reply
      1. Hrmm

        Not entirely true, George. THE GOOD WIFE is one of the highest rated dramas on TV, and it’s a network show. However, it would do better on CBS than it would on NBC (though NBC was the network for WEST WING, which also had incredible ratings in its day). Due to the subject matter of Borgen and its tone, it feels more network than cable.

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