Rejseholdet

I've seen selected episodes of Unit One on German television and am extremely impressed. I'm a fan of several Swedish crime series (Commissar Beck and the Henning Mankell mysteries), but Unit One is just as good, if not better. What is surprising is how much it packs into little over an hour. Not only does it cover the case in all its complications, but it also covers various back stories, the private conflicts that affect the members of Unit One. The writing, the cast, the photography, the direction are all superb, and I can only hope that ZDF in Germany will show all the episodes, and when they do, that they will put the series in primetime, and not in a late-night slot as they have up to now.

"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.

Rejseholdet is the second project from the national danish TV-station DR1 to bear that name, and it is by far the best of the two shows.

The plot is very basic. The danish police force has a team that can move out and assist the local police in cases where expert knowledge is required. Each episode is based on real-life crimes commited in Denmark and (so far) the neighboring countries of Sweden and Germany. The story follows the away team, and much of the plot is focused around the character's interaction between themselves, their private life, and the people they meet during the cause of the investigation.

What the series lack in action, is made up in the show of realism presented. The crimes are not solved at gunpoint, but rather in careful examination of the crimescene and the general public's help (remember Denmark is a small country, so often someone is bound to know something or have seen something).

The acting is quite good, and very realistic compared to most contemporary danish shows and films. Especially Mads Mikkelsen (as Fischer) and Lars Brygmann (La Cour) stands out. The two characters suplement each other very well and are the ones with most depth.

What also makes this movie very popular, is the fact that a lot of neglected locations in Denmark, is shown in the show. No town is too small for a crime, and most danes will have their city, or one close to them, featured in one of the episodes.

It is no wonder that almost a quarter of the danes watch this series every week. And it is also no wonder that the concept has been sold to other tv-networks - so look out for your own version of "Rejseholdet" soon.

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

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.