Sebastian Bergman

Enjoyed beginning of new Spiral series. 'Shadowlands' will always be top of my Saturday night drama list.

I see that series 2 of Spiral is starting tonight on BBC4. I think I missed the first couple of series and, although it filled a gap after The Killing had ended, it was nowhere near as good [but, then again, nothing could be]. But I like seeing Paris after my holiday there last year, and at least I can [slightly] understand the language. It 'grew' on me when I watched it before so I'll give it a go this time.

I find that I need to like at least one character in any film/TV programme to enjoy it, and that was sadly lacking with Saturday's series.

And, even though you could pick holes in the plots of the other programmes, it seemed ridiculous that a serial killer could escape so easily from a prison or that a Sebastian [who didn't even seem to be officially working for the police] could put handcuffs on another serial killer and take him away. And why did the killer target his daughter; surely he would have targetted her mother and, that being the case, why didn't Sebastian do something to protect her or at least warn her of the danger? Still, if I hadn't've watched it I would have missed the programme after it .

I'm not sure gracesmum ...yes the main character was/is flawed ...but so was Wallender and Harry Hole (in the Jo Nesbo stories) but I enjoyed both of those.
Perhaps it was picking up on the subliminal way he treated all women ...not just those he had 'bedded'? or the way we were never lead to have any sympathy for him over the death of his wife and daughter?
The whole thing didn't sit comfortably with me

As I get the feeling we are agreed on this, why do we think it didn't work anything like as well as The Killing or Wallander?
I agree the storyline was slow, but pretty thrilling towartds the end. Was it the characters or the fact that we didn't necessarily find the protagonist sympathetic? (What a randy old s*d too!)

Yes crimson, I did watch the second part ...I was sort of left with an "o" feeling.

Would probably put this at the bottom of all the scandanavian crime television that I've seen so far
I didn't 'gel' with the main character/actor and felt like an 'outsider' to the story.
They've left the story with an opening for more ...but I wouldn't necessarily prioritise watching.

Did anyone watch the second part? Still thought it was rubbish, but got me wondering why the other series were so good in comparison, given that they also contained a lot of blood, gore and violence. The programme that followed it was fascinating, it was about the huge population of people in America, young and old who are constantly travelling, one such group being people who retire, buy expensive motor homes and migrate with the weather, sometimes staying in camps where they have access to water and electricity, but sometimes just living in a group in the Mojave desert. They visit their children and grandchildren when they're passing through but just plan to live off their retirement funds.

As has been mentioned earlier, his character is somewhat 'Crackerlike' but I can't warm to him in any way [which I did with Cracker]. Perhaps, for once with a Scandinavian thing, it's down to just having subtitles and I'm not picking up on any subtleties [is there an anagram in there somewhere...].....

Yes Kurt's father did have Alzheimer's I think; it is briiliantly written and I imagine, very accurate. I think I heard Henning Mankell say that he wanted to make Kurt retire, but not kill him off.
I think the end of the first series of Wallander, with the death of Stefan, is one of the most harrowing things I have ever watched.

I think he plays 'being heartbroken' really well, soop. It appears that he's having panic attacks as well, which would tie in so well with everything his character's been through. The Bridge was the first Scandinavian series that I've watched, and am really hooked now.

Well I didn't make the story link tsunami/Wallender.

I still don't see the 'liking' of this character ...I thought he was sexist (way spoke to both women police officers at his lecture) and then the way he came on to victim's mother and the way he treated the woman officer involved in the investigation, calling her 'missy' .

But will be there for the second part ...no doubt more dark story lines, with lots of twists and turns.

I rather liked the second series, but then I saw it before the first series; those two young police cadets got themselves into such scrapes. I didn't know about Linda/Johanna till later and that made watching the first series terribly sad.

Mamie... oh dear, how sad. Didn't Kurt's artist father die with Alzheimer's?

Actually they did do another Wallander TV series without Johanna Sallstrom, though it wasn't as good. I think it was more that Henning Mankell was so upset that he didn't want to write any more about Linda. She is in the final Wallander book though and has a baby, while Kurt gets Alzheimer's.

Annobel...now we're singing from the same hymn sheet.

Sorry soop! I thought we were discussing the character. I have nothing against the actor.

Given that Johanna Sallstrom [Linda from the first series of Wallander] committed suicide as an indirect result of being caught up un the tsunami, which meant that they didn't have the heart to do another series I feel that it's wrong to use that storyline in this mini series. I feel that they're cashing in on someone's grief. Maybe it's unreasonable of me to think it, but I do. Seems insensitive.

Annobel ...oooer, poor man, he's only playing a role.

He may have a broken heart - what did I miss when I dropped off? - but I still think he's a creep.

green...he's a man with a broken heart. Even I, of upbeat of spirit [on a good day], can empathise with the character he portrays.

We usually love all the Scandinavian programmes, but this was so slow, if it hadn't been for a localised thunder storm I think I'd have slept through more than I actually did! And you just can't doze during foreign films, as it's no use just listening to the voices in the background.
This actor was my favourite Wallender - really tubby and out of condition, the way he was described in the books. The other guy looked just too old to be leaping out of boats, saving the world in each episode, etc. - the first series was definitely the best.
Kenneth Branagh was so so tragic in the role, though the landscapes were breathtaking.

lol Greenmossgiel....!
crimson, I definately picked up a 'Wallander' vibe which is all a bit of a cheat really especially as I prefered the other actor in the role...in fact preferred the whole other production. Whilst the least said about the Kenneth Branagh version the better!

Of course! I wasn't thinking, Hilda* - it was his mother's house, so that would account for the message on the photo. Annobel - it does sound muddy, really! He doesn't look very fresh though, does he!

Just watched the repeat and thought it was rubbish. Links with Wallander, due to the Tsunami storyline which I don't like, as that's what stopped there being a third series of Wallander. Will probably watch the second part, though.