1864

I think I'm going to learn Danish so that I don't have to wait six months for the translation. Someone in the Amsterdam region who feels called? I am super easy going. Mostly.

For '1864' our Danish friends for a change tap from a different keg than we are normally used to from them. This time no socially handicapped detective who tries to solve a gruesome murder in an extremely gloomy environment, but two brothers who are sent to the front by Denmark to fight one of the bloodiest battles in the history of the country. Denmark and Germany will face each other as Denmark tries to draw the Schleswig-Holstein border region to the country. As with Risk, you have to roll sixes to emerge victorious. However, the Danes are stuck at two and three and thus lose almost half of their land and a quarter of the population. Among the population are the Jensen brothers who try to keep their heads above water in a maddening war in order to be able to return to their loved ones one day. I thought 1864 was pretty good to look away and afterwards I was surprised to read that this series of the Danish Public Broadcasting was unceremoniously put on the rack in my own country. The script would be too thin and violate true history; the dual storyline that takes place partly in 1864, partly in 2014 was annoying and unnecessary (in itself I agree) and the fact that it is the most expensive Danish series ever made didn't really contribute to this either. Maybe it's because both my Danish and my knowledge of Danish history are not very good and because of that I missed the sensitivities a bit, but I didn't think it was all that terrible. Is it the best Scandinavian series ever? No, of course not, that's Borgen. Or Forbrydelsen. Or Source|Broen. Is it the series that you immediately start pitching to anyone who wants to hear it? Also not. Do you have to drop everything after reading this text and immediately start downloading bol.commen? I don't think so. But if you – like me – like it when someone reads you the instruction manual for the combi microwave in Danish, then this is one that you can watch during a few wasted hours. Not a high-flyer, but certainly not the monster some people claim it is.