186. Web-Series Reviews – 38

More web-series reviews...

Arne Dahl – Jan Arnald is a Swedish novelist and literary critic, who uses the pen name Arne Dahl when writing crime fiction. He is also a regular writer in Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

Under his pen name, he has written a series of crime novels about a fictional group of Swedish crime investigators, called "A Gruppen" in Swedish and "the Intercrime Group" in the first English translation. The books are translated into several languages. The first five books were made into 180-minute films, screened as two 90-minute episodes per story. The first, Misterioso, was screened on SVT1 in Sweden in 2011, with the following four stories shown in eight weekly instalments between October and December 2012. The series was picked up by BBC Four and screened on British television on Saturday nights as part of BBC Four's foreign crime series season starting in April 2013. 2 seasons with a total of 10 episodes.

A review from IMDB...

This is a great Swedish series based on the ''A-Gruppen'' novel series which were one of the best products of the ''Nordic Noir'' genre. Unfortunately, due to the lack of English editions regarding the last novels of the series, I've only read the first six and I can honestly admit that it was a splendid and rewarding experience. The distinguishing mark of ''A-Gruppen'' books was that there were no main characters, but it was rather the team that consisted the protagonist of the series. Each novel focuses specifically on one or two members of the elite group of Swedish police, and we become familiar with their personal stories and problems, which always, as everything in Arne Dahl's novels, interconnects with the different parts of the main plot. The stories are usually perhaps a bit more complicated than absolutely needed but this doesn't spoil any of the fun. The adaptation of the novels to two one-and-a-half hour episodes allows a more or less faithful adaptation of the complex book plotlines and the final result is more than satisfying. The casting consists of a Swedish all-star group of actors such as Shanti Roney, Matias Varela, Malin Arvidsson, Claes Ljungmark and many others. ''Arne Dahl'' is a tv production worthy of the name of the great Swedish author.

An excellent series, worth a definitive watch!  I read the first 5 books parallelly, before seeing the episodes.  Many things had changed in the series than what is depicted in the book.  But, both the book and the series were quite interesting.

Man in Room 201 – A Finnish thriller😊!!  The life of the Kurtti family changes completely on one fateful, midsummer night. Years later, secrets start to unravel and show how far each of them are willing to go for their loved ones.  Released in 2019 with a total of 6 episodes.

A review from IMDB...

This Finnish drama is set-in two-time periods; 2007 and 2019; the events in the former coming back to effect those in the later. In 2007 the Kurtii family have assembled to celebrate midsummer in a woodland area. Tommi, a young boy wanders off into the woods. Here troubled teen Elias Leppo is shooting a rifle. The next thing we know Tommi is dead; while it is strongly implied that certain things happened nothing is initially shown. In 2019 the family is planning to meet up again, this time in Greece. Shortly before they go Tommi's father and grandfather, who know what happened in 2007, receive letters implying a threat to Tommi's sisters and his twelve-year-old cousin, Kalle. The grandfather becomes convinced that 'Leo', the man staying in Room 301, is in fact Elias; a fear that is compounded when the man takes an interest in Kalle. As each timeline is shown we gradually learn the truth about what happened in 2007 and what is about to happen in 2019.

I rather enjoyed this short drama series. It was clear from early on that there would be many twists and turns and that certain things we assumed didn't happen quite as we thought... I deliberately wrote my precis after only four episodes to avoid accidental spoilers! The story moves at a good pace and there are plenty of tense moments including the heart-wrenching scenes where we finally see what happened to Tommi in 2007. The cast does a solid job and the locations, in Finland and Greece contrast nicely. Overall, I'd recommend this to those who enjoy plenty of twists in their drama; just don't expect 'Scandi-Noir'.

These comments are based on watching the series in Finnish with English subtitles.

Worth a watch!

Trapped – Thriller from Iceland😊!!  Trapped is an Icelandic television mystery drama series broadcast in Iceland in end-2015.  The first series of ten episodes follows Andri Olafsson, the chief of police in a remote town in Iceland, solving the murder of a former townsman whose mutilated corpse is recovered by fishermen.

2 seasons with 20 episodes in total have been released in 2015 and 2018.  3^rd season is supposed to come in 2021.  Will let you know when it happens😊

A review from IMDB...

Like a lot of people, I started watching Trapped because of the novelty of seeing a show made in Iceland. But when I finished the series, I had to admit: it's as good as the very best cop/mystery shows out of the UK, or anywhere else.

Trapped has several things going for it:

* The location, and the (icy-cold) atmosphere. What a great concept: a horrible murder, and all the suspects snowed-in in a tiny Icelandic town. (It reminded me of the excellent horror-adventure, 30 Days of Night.)

* The characters. The creators of this show must have used every top actor in Iceland, and even then they had to borrow some. But every role is beautifully played, and intelligently written. Every person depicted in this series has a believable personality, and even the villains remain believable and sympathetic.

* The plot. Unlike so many mysteries, Trapped is resolved in a totally plausible way. There are no lapses in logic, no improbable contrivances. Just human greed and stupidity, playing out in the way you'd expect. This is what really wins that 10/10 rating from me. Very few TV mysteries manage to come up with a really credible plot.

Trapped works perfectly on every level: as adventure, drama and mystery. Bear up with the subtitles (or brush up your Icelandic), and see this show as soon as possible. And join me in hoping that its creators have a lot more like it in store.

A definitive watch!! An excellent series!!

Today’s Observation 

Prevent accidents – start doing things deliberately! 😊