First I'd like to note that I'm generally a fan of Scandinavian TV shows. I enjoy watching crime shows, thrillers, and shows that delve into the supernatural.
So, when 'Jordskott', a Swedish mystery show, was announced to be aired on Arte, one of my favorite TV channels, known for quality productions and 'insider tips', I was full of expectations.
Consequently, I wasn't discouraged, when I felt that the first two or three episodes were mostly boring and way too long for what actually happened. I was hoping it would eventually get better, especially once a few of the 'mysteries' were explained.
Unfortunately, it didn't.
This is a show in which little is said, less explained, and nothing shown. It seems that none of the characters are curious, suspicious, or even much interested in what's going on. Obvious supernatural phenomena are taken for granted without anyone wondering about them. When the female protagonist's daughter shows up after having gone missing over seven years ago, she's infected by a 'parasite' that nobody has ever seen. Nobody at the hospital has any clue about it, and besides a half-hearted idea about removing it surgically, nobody appears to be interested in finding out more about it. The police are apparently completely incompetent and investigations into the apparent kidnapping, which serves as the initial hook for the show, go nowhere until the protagonist, lead by clues gained from strange visions and seemingly unrelated incidents starts to help them.
There's a bunch of odd characters with nebulous motivations, all apparently knowing more than they admit.
I don't know if it's for reasons of a low budget or artistic choice, but despite a growing population of 'non-human' beings, the viewer is never shown more than a glimpse, if anything at all. There's a teenager with glowing eyes, some screeching thing in a bath tub, and plenty of completely human-looking beings that are either carriers of the before-mentioned parasite (this is actually the 'Jordskkott') or something else (which is never explained) with vestigial tails. The biggest let-down is that the apparent villain, purportedly, the only survivor of a mythical race never makes an appearance, while the real villain turns out to be a secretary(!) trying to make sure her mentally retarded son will enjoy a good life after her imminent death (she has cancer) by bequeathing a silver treasure to him.
So, yeah, this was a complete waste of my time. What little there is of the flimsy storyline could have easily been told in a double-length episode of the X-Files.
So, when 'Jordskott', a Swedish mystery show, was announced to be aired on Arte, one of my favorite TV channels, known for quality productions and 'insider tips', I was full of expectations.
Consequently, I wasn't discouraged, when I felt that the first two or three episodes were mostly boring and way too long for what actually happened. I was hoping it would eventually get better, especially once a few of the 'mysteries' were explained.
Unfortunately, it didn't.
This is a show in which little is said, less explained, and nothing shown. It seems that none of the characters are curious, suspicious, or even much interested in what's going on. Obvious supernatural phenomena are taken for granted without anyone wondering about them. When the female protagonist's daughter shows up after having gone missing over seven years ago, she's infected by a 'parasite' that nobody has ever seen. Nobody at the hospital has any clue about it, and besides a half-hearted idea about removing it surgically, nobody appears to be interested in finding out more about it. The police are apparently completely incompetent and investigations into the apparent kidnapping, which serves as the initial hook for the show, go nowhere until the protagonist, lead by clues gained from strange visions and seemingly unrelated incidents starts to help them.
There's a bunch of odd characters with nebulous motivations, all apparently knowing more than they admit.
I don't know if it's for reasons of a low budget or artistic choice, but despite a growing population of 'non-human' beings, the viewer is never shown more than a glimpse, if anything at all. There's a teenager with glowing eyes, some screeching thing in a bath tub, and plenty of completely human-looking beings that are either carriers of the before-mentioned parasite (this is actually the 'Jordskkott') or something else (which is never explained) with vestigial tails. The biggest let-down is that the apparent villain, purportedly, the only survivor of a mythical race never makes an appearance, while the real villain turns out to be a secretary(!) trying to make sure her mentally retarded son will enjoy a good life after her imminent death (she has cancer) by bequeathing a silver treasure to him.
So, yeah, this was a complete waste of my time. What little there is of the flimsy storyline could have easily been told in a double-length episode of the X-Files.