View Full Version : Wallander - BBC1 Sunday 30th November 9.00PM
This looks like it could be an interesting 3-part series.
Starring Kenneth Branagh as Swedish detective Kurt Wallander. Apparantely the series is based on books by author Henning Mankell, which have sold 25M world-wide.
The fact that it's set and filmed on location in Sweden should give it a different angle from the usual run-of-the-mill BBC cop dramas.
campdave
27-11-2008, 09:32
GF loves the books, no doubt I will be treated to 3 weeks of her moaning how these are nothing like them.
GAmbrose
27-11-2008, 10:10
Kenneth Branagh is a fairly heavyweight actor as well, could be very good.
Gary A
Wendell Armbruster
27-11-2008, 10:22
The headline on the new Radio Times is brilliant - Inspector Norse. Perhaps we can only expect the same old whodunnit plots with Volvos and smorgasbord replacing Jags and real ale.
WeaselFierce
29-11-2008, 06:46
Very optimistic based on Brannagh's involvement. Hope we do get a different spin on the TV detective genre.
Great to see Kenneth Branagh back on the beeb but I don't know if I can put up with yet another dark police drama.
The Swedish version is on BBC4 next Saturday (6 December 2008) at 22:00 and there's a documentary about Henning Mankell and the Wallander books before that at 21:00.
Meant to be really stunning backdrops and scenery (no surprises there)
Terribly_Mauled
30-11-2008, 21:48
Tis was amongst the best shot tv I've seen this year, with incredible performances...
but alas, I'd guessed whodunnit halfway through
losimagic
30-11-2008, 21:57
What was the point of it being in Sweeden? I know they were sweedish books but I didn't hear a single sweedish accent or see a single piece of Ikea furniture. It may as well have been set in somewhere like Cornwall and then you'd just be left wondering why the police were wearing funny uniforms.
Had a good story/casting, I just didn't get why the BBC were making it :/ At least he had a Volvo :(
Thought it was pretty classy stuff, the serial-killer story wasn't really important, it was just a ploy for some good angsty drama and very good acting. Seemd head and shoulders above other BBC TV shows.
but alas, I'd guessed whodunnit halfway throughYeah, me too. But very good acting.
Anyone know who would have done the paintings of Erika? Would that come under set design?
Really enjoyed it. Liked the acting, the story, the incidental music, the premise of it being set in scandinavia (even if that didn't really shine through), just about everything really & I'm glad that I set aside the time to watch it. Will definitely be watching next weeks episode/story.
gave up half way, couldn't get into this at all, trying far too hard imo
What was the point of it being in Sweeden? I know they were sweedish books but I didn't hear a single sweedish accent or see a single piece of Ikea furniture. It may as well have been set in somewhere like Cornwall and then you'd just be left wondering why the police were wearing funny uniforms.
It was slightly odd, but that was what I really liked about it. Made a change to have a cop show not set in Manchester or London, & the fact that none of the actors attempted an accent was a big plus.
Very well made & acted, & I had no idea David Warner was in it, so that was a nice surprise.
As with a few others, I guessed who the killer was the first time he turned up on screen.
Quality stuff. Looking forward to next week's episode. :thumbs:
Could have done without the random steadicam zoom into Branagh's face at the end though. :shrug:
Could have done without the random steadicam zoom into Branagh's face at the end though. :shrug:
What was that all about? :shrug:
Seemed like a "someone's coming to get you" zoom. Was it supposed to be some sort of moment of realisation? or where they just trying to say "Yes that's right, it's Kenneth Brannagh on the tv!!!!"?
The thing that was a little odd for me with the setting was not so much the lack of accents, but the lack of accents coupled with the very Swedish names.
Hime so glad zat peepil vunted zee actores to spick viz an hack-sent - it would have been so much better :nuts:
I don't think anyone, apart from losimagic, has said that they wanted accents. In fact that would have been unbearable, as you've demonstrated. To me it just seemed a little odd to hear everyone calling each other by 'typical' Scandinavian names but with an English accent, which made it stand out against the setting and was even slightly surreal.
Kurt Wallander - Kenneth Branagh
Anne-Britt Hoglund - Sarah Smart
Lisa Holgersson - Sadie Shimmin
Svedberg - Tom Beard
Martinsson - Tom Hiddleston
Nyberg - Richard McCabe
Povel Wallander - David Warner
Linda Wallander - Jeany Spark
Gertrude - Polly Hemingway
Dolores Maria Santana - Ashley Madekwe
Edvin Salomonsson - Jon Laurimore
Dr Malmstrom - Jessica Lloyd
Wetterstedt - Malcolm Tierney
TV Interviewer - Jasper Jacob
Sara Bjorkland - Joanna Griffiths
PC Norlen - Roger Moss
Lars Magnusson - John McEnery
Arne Carlman - Lars Humble
Anita Carlman - Jill Baker
Stefan Fredman - Nicholas Hoult
Erika Carlman - Alisa Arnah
Hugo Sandin - Michael Culver
Sandin's maid - Corito Chu-Jansson
Mats Ekholm - Joseph Chance
Bjorn Fredman - Per Lundstrom
Louise Fredman - Rebecca Ferguson
Sven Fredman - Neil Boorman
Annette Fredman - Sophie Stanton
Ebba - Boel Larsson
Ake Liljegren - Erik Larsson
Elizabeth Carlen - Pandora Clifford
Madeleine Rhedin - Yohanna Idha Hedlund
Jens Fredman - Jamie Nilsson
Anyway, an enjoyable first episode. Good heavy drama, well acted, nice back-drop and despite the killer being predictable an interesting storyline that was as much about relationships as it was the case.
Could take or leave the standard issue plot, but it was very well acted, and quite moving at the end. The stuff between him and his father was the best part in it.
mklion123
02-12-2008, 01:55
I made it through about 10-15 minutes of this and had to switch off, I thought he would be a swedish police officer working over here?
it was all a bit too poncey for me, it was like watching inspector morse/lewis in slow motion.
Just watched the first episode, a bit meh from me apart from the last 15 minutes or so. Very slow pace and could have been shot anywhere.
Terribly_Mauled
07-12-2008, 21:34
I didnt guess whodunnit this week! Much better on all counts. Branagh is like a glum Jack Bauer in this. But much better acted. :thumbs:
Enjoyed this episode too. I picked up on the Angola thing straight away but like Wallander was blind to seeing that she would be personally involved. :D Is next week the last one? :(
Finally watched the last two episodes and I think this is a really good show. Branagh is excellent in this. I too I'm trying to guess whodunnit before the reveal. This show goes from strength to strength I thought the girlfriend looked dodgy when she called Wallander back after him being late the first time. Can't believe Sunday is the last one. Hope there is another season coming up next year.
Terribly_Mauled
14-12-2008, 21:41
Christ, that last 5 minutes... :eek:
I dunno if I've ever held my breath for so long. last one, could have gone either way.
And WHAT a performance from Branagh. Stunning.
Looks very good in HD, Antony Dod Mantle was cinematographer on this one, and it looks from imdb that he's done a lot dogme-type work.
good series, the original Swedish ones that were shown on BBC4 were good as well
I really love this. Just about everything about it, the direction, the cinematography, the setting, the story, the acting (Branagh especilly) and the music score and tracks featured. It's not very often I really want to own a cd to a tv series. It's a shame that it won't be on again.... for a couple of years if at all probably. Oh and the English accents has never sat oddly with me once.
As for tonights episode, between us mrs m0by and I half pieced it together! About 50-60 minutes in I asked who she thought it was, given that in the previous 2 episodes we had seen the killer or accomplice on screen by then, even if we didn't know they were so. We didn't really have a clue. Mind you, she had said the killer was a postman and I said that he was the ex-lover of Svedberg, when it was revealed Kallie was gay and that Karl was in love with Kurt. Couldn't say why the killer didn't kill Wallander when he had the chance to though.
Terribly_Mauled
15-12-2008, 07:01
Couldn't say why the killer didn't kill Wallander when he had the chance to though.
A desire to cause him emotional suffering rather than physical pain. It was why he was willing to shoot his daughter in the head rather than Wallander himself at the end.
Captain Scarlet
15-12-2008, 16:59
Got to admit i started blubbing like a big girlie :cry: when his daughter came into the police lobby & he hugged her & broke down ....
I loved this short series, brilliant acted, excellently directed, all in all a very enjoyable experience & i really hope we get some more, sooner rather than later...
OO
I loved this short series, brilliant acted, excellently directed, all in all a very enjoyable experience & i really hope we get some more, sooner rather than later...
OO
I could not agree more what a fantastic series Branagh was really good in this. I'd love to see more
Good series.
No wisecracks, or dodgy camera work, or overdone rock/hip-hop soundtrack.
Just good drama and great acting all the way.
basegreen
21-12-2008, 19:21
Absolutely stunning, stunning. Visually, pace, plot, acting. Loved it.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed the Jack Bauer thing though!
WeaselFierce
23-12-2008, 05:36
Got to admit i started blubbing like a big girlie :cry: when his daughter came into the police lobby & he hugged her & broke down ....
I loved this short series, brilliant acted, excellently directed, all in all a very enjoyable experience & i really hope we get some more, sooner rather than later...
OO
Finally got around to watching these over the last few days and absolutely agree with your sentiment. It's refreshing to have a detective drama where the lead is a very human, normal character (superbly portrayed by Branagh) and not a compilation of gimmicks or affectations. In a BBC overun with endless Dickens/Brontes adaptations or Dr Who spin offs I seriously hope there's still a place in it's drama budget to continue such a subtle yet sublime series.
PS:- Half way through the second episode my wife asked me why his emails were in German... :brickwall:help:
philatio
23-12-2008, 15:03
Best new series I've seen for a long long time. Some people have said it's too slow paced but I just found it simply beautiful.
Branagh is just wonderful.
The only slight downside was that the plots were a bit thin. Especially in the first and third one (Soon as they mentioned the postman being the only person who visits the house.. durrrr!). Someone told me the books are like that though.
I thought Sunday's episode was the best one yet of the UK's take on this series.
I watched this week episode and I probably needed to see what had happened before as I struggled to get into it and this is normally my kind of program.
Both episodes shown so far in this series have been excellent. Kenneth Branagh's great in the role, the stories have a lot going for them in terms of Wallander's personal problems running alongside the case and the the atmosphere of a cop show set outside or the US/UK gives it a different aspect.
These shows are almost movie-length and last Sunday's episode was better than most British movies. It's all about Branagh and his performance is amusingly mannered, "I - the - what? - Look when did you last see the erm victim...?!" but I think this is up there with the great TV detectives.
I've tuned into this recently, very gripping and unusual.
It's worth noting that it does look stunning, technically and artistically - and was Shot on RED camera a 'budget' 4K digital cinema camera invented by Jim Jannard of Oakley fame.
http://www.red.com/
Just got done watching this years new trio of these, absolutely brilliant. Half the fun seems to come from trying to guage the exact moment when Wallander is going to finally have a nervous breakdown - 6 of these made so far and every one had me thinking he would be trying to eat his gun by the end of the ep.
baloobas
19-04-2010, 22:51
Just watched all 6 of these over 3 nights and thought they were great.
Branagh was fantastic, actually probably a little too good as he made some of the supporting cast look poor in comparison (especially the blonde curly haired cop).
Any idea if they will be making any more ?
With Branagh making Thor, it'll probably be a couple of years wait at least.
GAmbrose
20-04-2010, 23:29
I hope so, this is one of the best things the BBC has done for years. The cinematography is brilliant but mainly it's a real character piece. Half the show seems to be Kenneth Branagh introspectively acting his little heart out.
Six more are planned apparently, but will obviously depend on Branagh's availability.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jan/26/bbc-planning-sex-more-wallanders
Summerisle
16-12-2011, 07:54
Meant to post this a couple of weeks ago: Branagh, who won the award for helping raise the profile of UK films and accepted it at beginning of the ceremony so he could catch a plane to Sweden to continue filming the third series of Wallander
From here (http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/branaghs-film-legacy-honoured-6272433.html?origin=internalSearch).
I hope when he's done filming Wallander he can go and direct the Thor sequel
GAmbrose
23-04-2012, 14:57
Heads up - Series 3 starts on BBC on Sunday
Episode 1: 'An Event In Autumn' will air on Sunday April 29 at 9pm on BBC One and BBC HD;
Episode 2: 'The Dogs Of Riga' will air on Sunday May 6 at the same time on the same channels;
Episode 3: 'Before The Frost' will air on Sunday May 13 at the same time on the same channels.
WeaselFierce
23-04-2012, 15:48
Nice one, GAmbrose. Will go set my series link now. :thumbs:
It's not in the schedule for Sunday. Silent Witness is on at that time
GAmbrose
23-04-2012, 17:22
Sorry, got the information from: http://www.branaghswallander.com/
But then I noticed it does say:
2012: April 19:
The release date has now been pushed back to June 18 according to my supplier! I've no idea what to think now! Any info greatly appreciated.
I thought he meant the Blu-ray had been pushed back to then. Perhaps they have rescheduled it. It should be on TV soon anyway.
vBulletin® v3.8.7, Copyright ©2000-2012, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.