Rejseholdet

First off, I'm an American -- I haven't seen any comments on IMDb about this series yet from a U.S. viewer. Secondly, I work in the television business in development. So I wallow in much of the sludge that comes out of American broadcast programming. "Unit One" is an example of television that's a throwback to what I would attribute as '70s-style scripting, feature-wise. Namely, those films made by young autueurs who had free rein to make the dramas feel more realistic and to allow for organic character development. It tacks more along the lines of stellar British dramas like "Cracker" and "Prime Suspect" as well as Australia's brilliant "Underbelly." "Unit One" features stand-alone cases that are committed, then solved, each week. The mysteries aren't extraordinary or particularly byzantine. They usually center around one single twist, clocking in generally at the 40 minute mark, and resolution is neatly wrapped up in the 15 minutes thereafter. What makes this series a breath of fresh air is that it features main characters that you are hooked on and find relatable by episode 2. These are real, breathing, alive characters that have personal baggage, yet it's not a talky, batty type of baggage that American flotsam such as "Grey's Anatomy" or "Desperate Housewives" spoons out. These are realistic individuals whose backstories unfold leisurely over the course of the series, as if you work with them on a daily basis. After the mindless decade of "CSI's," "NCIS's," and "Criminal Minds," along with their subsequent spawns, it's refreshing to actually sit down to watch friends you want to spend time with, as is the case with "Unit One." The quippy banter, the unemotional wooden dialogue, and the over-the-top jeopardy that those American series I mentioned bludgeon us with each week are absurd compared to the nuance and the quiet resonance you get with this remarkable Danish series. I'm on episode 7 of the first season, but I've already bought all four seasons and am in for the long haul. If you need explosions and farcically-hopped up testosterone, along with music by The Who and fast-cutting, neon-lit, jittery palsy-cam action with cipher-like main characters as your main diet of television drama viewing, I suggest you stay away from this series. If you are an adult with a hunger for subtle, poignant, thoughtful and, yes, sometimes straight-forward procedural crime dramas, I urge you to check this show out.

I think my family must be the only one in Australia that sits down and watches Unit One every Friday. But we do. We stumbled across it last year when nothing else was on, and have watched it every week since. Not only do I enjoy listening to the Danish speakers, but the story lines are great. Unit One is a mobile police unit, that travels over Denmark in a semi-trailer that is their office. The group are not only colleagues, they're like family. Each week a new crime must be solved, sending them from one end of the country to the other. But the stories also dive into their personal lives. Ingrid's son, Allan's wife, Gaby and Johnny's relationship... Each week is a new and exciting episode. That is what keeps me coming back, despite the bright yellow subtitles I have to put up with. All in all, Unit One is a brilliant show, with wonderful writing and acting. I give it 8/10

This series only began (on SBS TV) here in Australia around a month ago, and I'm already hooked!! Whilst not the best or the most original cop show there is, it's well made, and the stories are believable, and the characters of the police are well drawn. Mostly, I like the balance between the crime-of-the-week and the personal lives of the detectives, where the latter never ever seems to overshadow the former, as it should be, but the personal insights into regular characters gives them substance and dimension.

I'd recommend it to anyone who likes their crime shows on TV to be straight-forward and without too much fanfare and sensation.

"Rejseholdet" is a big hit in Denmark, and there is a reason why. It is a cop series, where we follow the Danish police unit "the travel team", solving crimes, based on authentic cases from Denmark. The cast is full of talented Danish actors and actress', among others Mads Mikkelsen, known from the Danish movie Blinkende lygter a.k.a. Flickering Lights. In my opinion the show is god Danish quality, but don't just take my word for it, Tuesday November 26th 2002 "Rejseholdet" won the international Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series.

Taking inspiration in actual events in Danish crime history, this series simply rocks. I've just bought the whole series on dvd, and I must admit that it is quite amazing to see the development of the characters during the run. Finally a Danish series that can give the American ones, like CSI, Colombo, Murder She Wrote a.s.o. a little fight for the money.