Wallander: Series 1 (2005-06)

The Swedish series of Wallander is one of the best shows I've seen. Utterly gripping, beautifully shot (especially the stories that also received Swedish cinema releases), and terrifically played by a very talented cast, every 90 minute episode was a gem. Obviously some stories were weaker than others, but a weak Wallander was still  better than most bog standard detective dramas.

The series wasn't based on Henning Mankell's source novels, rather on new ideas from him, although not having read any I wouldn't notice! Krister Henriksson plays the oft dour, occasionally fun Kurt Wallander, but the show is not just named for him as the character's daughter, Linda is also part of the Ystad police force. Sadly, Johanna Sällström who played Linda committed suicide following the first series, and knowing this while watching the latter half of the season gives extra poiniancy to her performance, for the poor policewoman is put through the wringer. 

Among the other staff, some of whom leave half way through the season, shrink the police presence somewhat, are the very funny Nyberg (Mats Bergman), uniformed  Svartman (Fredrik Gunnarsson) and loose cannon Stefan Lindman, played by husband-of-Girl-With-The-Dragon-Tattoo's-Noomi-Rapace, Ola Rapace. He is a tough character to like sometimes, and his relationship with Linda goes sour, creating tension between them as the season progresses, and Stefan ultimately steps further over the line with suspects until the final episode when events reach an incredibly powerful and shocking conclusion, not to mention brave for TV show. 

Being filmed in Swedish, the mini-movies offer interesting insights into Swedish life (though obviously allowing for distortion of seeing this life through a TV drama) - although you'd take from Wallander that everyone lives in a detached house in the middle of nowhere as that's usually where the victims or murders live! Wallander presents interesting, genuinely intriguing mysteries, and is unafraid of a grisly murder scene, sometimes feeling a bit too graphic. However, that's the only criticism I'd level at the series, bar the strange fact that you never really get to know Kurt Wallander all that well - we're shown glimpses of his home life and certain things remain unexplained, but this is in keeping with the character, who is wedded to his work. I'm eagerly looking forward to BBC4 repeating the second and final Swedish series, and I'm interested to know how it will work without Stefan and without Linda - the first departure planned for, the second sadly not.