TV Review: Norsemen

Spoiler Alert

Anyone who has not seen series 1-3 of the NRK TV series Norsemen is hereby advised that this post may contain a few unavoidable spoilers.

My wife and I were, once again, looking for something new and light-hearted to watch on Netflix when we stumbled upon a curious little number which we affectionately dubbed ‘silly Vikings.’ Norsemen is a Norwegian historical comedy which chronicles the silly, base and often senselessly violent comings and goings of a group of Vikings living in the village of Norheim in 790 AD.

I’ll be perfectly honest and say it took a long time for us to decide if we actually liked this program. Normally when we watch a new thing on TV we have a strict ‘turn it off if you don’t like it’ policy and this show took a good two or three episodes to really get going. Nevertheless there was something compelling about it even then and we stuck with it until the very end.

‘But was it any good?‘ I hear you cry.

There’s something in me that says this map will create a lot of problems for many people for several seasons.

Jarl Varg breaks the fourth wall in, s.3, e.6 ‘Scrotum Whipping’

In spite of the fact this show is sold as a comedy (and with its off-beat style, low-brow gags and occasional winks at the fourth wall, it unmistakably should be defined as such), I didn’t actually find it that funny. It had its moments, sure, but I hardly cracked a rib watching it either. But let me tell you why I enjoyed it anyway.

Unlike a lot of comedies which focus on an individual character getting into funny situations, this show actually had quite a few main players, all with well defined motives, goals and conflicts which the viewer could easily sympathise with. I don’t have time to list every one but a few that stood out include:

• Arvid (Nils Jørgen Kaalstad) – torn between settling down in the village with a wife and his love of raiding and just a little sensitive about his weight, Arvid is hand picked by the chiefton on his deathbed to be his successor though he is not the next in line.
• Orm (Kåre Conradi) – cowardly, lonely and with a fondness for spying on people as they defecate, this slipperly little man is next in line to be chiefton though no one wants him around.
• Frøya (Silje Torp) – this muscle-bound female warrior loves to go on raids (including raping men). She also has the misfortune of being married to Orm, whom she despises.
• Liv (Kristine Riis) – gold-digger and nagging wife par excellence.
• Jarl Varg (Jon Øigarden) – one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet turned murderous tyrant because his friends made fun of his hair loss, Varg is obsessed with procuring a map to the West where he believes he will find endless plunder.

The character driven nature of the plot and the interplay of the various subplots was frankly excellent for a comedy series.

A little word of warning: while not especially graphic, there are some pretty adults themes referred to in this show. There’s a fair bit of casual violence and bad language, as well as jokes about sexual violence and a small number of mild/non-graphic depictions of the same.

All in all, a bizarre little show, undeniably low-brow in some respects and with off-beat humour that only managed to tickle me slightly. It took a little while to get started, but once it finally did get going, I found myself quickly starting to love it. Well written, well acted, full of rich characters and perfectly rounded off plot. If you can stomach a few adult themes and don’t mind the odd nod to the fourth wall then give it a go.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

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ATTENTION AUTHORS:

Every Tuesday, I post a new edition of Spotlight: a short post which shines a proverbial spotlight on a published novel or collection of short fiction. If you would like to have your book considered for a future edition of Spotlight, drop us an e-mail including a short synopsis of your book and a link to where we can buy it. Better yet, send me a copy of your book and I can include a mini-review.

I’m still looking to interview fiction authors here on Penstricken, especially new or indie authors. Whether it’s books, plays, comics or any other kind of fiction, if you’ve got something written, I want to hear about it. If you’re interested in having your work featured on Penstricken, be to sure to drop us an e-mail or message us on Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest.

Please be advised that due to a recent surge in interest, I am presently committed to a significant number of reviews/interviews over the next couple of months. If you would like an interview or review, I would still love to hear from you, though it is unlikely that I will be able to begin work immediately.

You can check out our previous interviews here:

• Sharleen Nelson, author of The Time Tourists [2]
• D. Wallace Peach, author of the Shattered Sea duology [2]
• Jacob Klop, author of Crooked Souls
• H.L. Walsh, author of From Men and Angels [2]
• G.M. Nair, author of Duckett and Dyer: Dicks for Hire
• Georgia Springate, author of Beyond
• S.E. Morgan, author of From Waterloo to Water Street
• Megan Pighetti, author of Fairy-Tailed Wish [2]
• Nancet Marques, author of Chino and the Boy Scouts [VIDEO]