Dicte

Thankfully Netflix has added the first season of this to its streaming lineup otherwise I would never have even heard of it. I was hooked from the first episode and even though it was subtitled, soon you get so caught up in it you don't even realize you're still reading. Although Dicte is the main character, there is no shortage of surrounding characters whose stories are just as deep that you find yourself wanting to see more of them. The setting is beautiful, the stories intertwine perfectly from one to the next and the cast is superb.

My only complaint is that they haven't released the second season anywhere that I can view it, so I will have to wait, albeit impatiently, for the next episodes. If only America had more shows like this, I'd never leave the house.

Loved season 1, 3 strong women characters, good plots, great interactions male detective adds value. Season 2 starts ok then goes off the rails. Dicté becomes a neurotic a$$ , my favorite character gets killed due to Dicte's actions. Season 3 is just stupid people doing stupid men things. Dicté is so hung up on her own problems that she hurts all around her. I rate season 1 a 9, season 2 a 7 and season 3 a 2. So, average 6.

We watched season 3 just for completeness. It was painful. Each character that we liked in season 1 (except Torsten, his wife and Dicte's daughter) did mean things over the course of time so we ended up disliking all of them. With no characters to like the truly simple minded plots became a series of who cares. Don't watch season 3, make up your own endings. They'll be much better.

Dicte is a good break from the slick over-directed over-produced American dramas. It shows normal people with crooked teeth and not a lot of make-up solving gritty crimes and involved in many of life's dramas. I particularly enjoyed the nature of the Danish people, being open and interactive, divorcing a little too much perhaps, but very human, leading good lifestyles. It is not all about lawyers, psychopaths, terrorists and greedy people like I often see in dramas in North America. They are like the British and the Canadians, living in a somewhat civilized society where people care about each other. I really appreciate not too slick and not too always money-oriented. Is is a really refreshing series that I found most compelling to watch.

Dicte is more a soap opera than a detective/crime/journalism series. At least that's how I felt. There is a lot of family and friend drama, lots of cheating, sleeping around, etc. packed into one season. It seems that everything in the town that is worth a big story happens to Dicte, or right where she is, or to someone she knows, etc. Perhaps the town is too small. Or perhaps we are to appreciate that time passes between each story (two episodes each) so other, perhaps important, things have happened but Dicte wasn't there to poke her nose in. Regardless, many of the story lines seem contrived. But perhaps the one thing that really bothered me was the whole season seemed like a pro-life advertisement. Of course, this is done in a Danish, liberal sort of way, but still there is this overwhelming subliminal message (ok, not so subliminal...) that giving away your newborn is bad, that abortion is bad, that mothers who have to make these choices are, well, not good. And of course, all homes for children are bad, full of adults who want to abuse the children... In a way, the series can be interpreted as positive in many aspects regarding these issues (as Dicte is a good mother, despite the fact that she did give away her first born after being forced to by her religious parents) but somehow every time it tried to give some great message about babies and mothers, it seemed judgmental to me. Maybe something got lost in translation, or maybe, as someone suggested, the writing was not great to begin with. The series could have been more brooding and realistic if the chose to show the lives of some of the other characters, like the lonely detective, Wagner, but it seems like they wanted to keep the show more mainstream. Congrats for having a female gay character who actually has a healthy dating life and is not afraid to talk about it, but again, more on that would have been great.

All in all, Dicte is not at the same level with Wallander, for example, mostly due to the contrived stories and some weird thematic choices. The acting is actually descent, sometimes much better than descent, but the writing certainly has a long way to go.

This series, retitled 'Dicte - Crime Reporter' here in the UK, follows crime reporter Dicte Svendsen as she reports on, and gets involved in, various cases in her home city of Aarhus, which she has returned to after some time away. She lives with her teenage daughter, Rose, and usually ends up working with policeman John Wagner. The cases typically, but not always, concern murders. These cases are each two episodes long although they were combined into single double length episodes here. As well as the mysteries there are ongoing personal stories involving Dicte and her friends' various relationships, personal and professional problems.

Amongst all the 'Nordic Noir' this series is lighter fare with its shorter individual cases and a protagonist who is closer to the enthusiastic amateur of classic whodunits than more realistic police investigations. Dicte constantly gets herself into situations that put her in danger or could get her arrested in real life. The cases are intriguing and the characters' personal lives are entertaining if rather chaotic... some might say soapish. The cast does a fine job; although not being Danish I can't comment on their accents. Most notable amongst the cast are Iben Hjejle, who plays Dicte; Lars Brygmann, as Wagner; and Dar Salim, who plays photographer and Dicte's love interest Bo Skytte. Overall I'd certainly recommend this for fans of crime drama looking for something lighter than most recent Nordic offerings.

These comments are based on watching the series in Danish with English subtitles.