Sebastian Bergman: Series 1 [DVD]

I do like Rolf Lassgard a lot as an actor. He was, I think, the original Wallander which was brilliant. Hew plays the lead, Sebastian Bergman, who is a strong minded politically incorrect, abrasive but also broken and grief-stricken man who lost both his wife and child in the tsunami in Thailand in 2004. He joins his old police colleague and is not particularly liked by the rest of the team but helps them solve two very well written murder stories. Worth a watch!

Just as compelling as the first series, but the characters are more fully developed. My reason for not awarding it any more than four stars is because I find the main character too keen on sleeping with people, and some of the bedroom scenes are a bit " sudden" and embarrassing for the viewer - or am I being old fashioned? Apart from that, the plots are exciting and the stories not too difficult to follow. Not quite up to the brilliance of Wallander, The Bridge or others of the Nordic Noir genre, but close enough to be recommended. I would probably buy the next series if there is one.

As a fan of Nordic Noir, I decided to give this a try, and I'm very glad I did.I don't think this 2 part series has had the publicity it deserves. To me, it's 'up there' with the best of Scandi crime fiction.Parts are not easy to watch, but these types of stories are not for the squeamish anyway!What makes this a bit different is the anti-hero , Sebastian, He is not particularly likeable, but as the series progresses we see why he is such a flawed, damaged person.Rolf Lassgard gives an outstanding performance, at times very moving and always credible.I didn't expect to like this-how wrong I was!

OK, the good? The main actor's performance. Unfortunately Låssgard rather overshadows the others.The bad? The clunky, creaky and flimsy plot. It's really rather hard to get engaged.The ugly? The character played by Lassgård. It's all very well to have a disagreeable protagonist, but there has to be some redeeming feature apart from his (implausible) forensic brilliance. This man is a sleazebag, and given the lack of empathy with the main character, the viewer is constantly tempted to do something more uplifting, like starting a game of sudoku.So why two stars, then? Because I like the cinematography.

I really enjoyed this DVD. It took a while for me to warm to the main character, in fact I do not think you do fully. The stories a both cleverly written and really well acted.

This may not be quite as enthralling as Wallander, The Killing and others in the Nordic Noir genre, but it was very good. The characters were well developed, and although Rolf Lassgard is no George Clooney, he is very believable. The background music added to the atmosphere but was not overpowering. I shall look forward to the next in the series. I felt that the one star reviews were rather harsh.

Not yet viewed but be aware that this DVD is Region 1 (USA) format. You'll need a multi-region DVD player.

The page and order form say it is a two-disc order when it's only a one-disc order.