Dicte

I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of this Danish crime drama. Second season began to fade as character's bizarre personal lives overtook the "crime" part of this drama. The third season saw a continued movement away from the crimes and revolved almost totally around the increasingly annoying and unbelievable personal lives of the characters. I would definitely recommend season one but skip season two and three.

Workmanlike Danish crime/human interest drama that ticks pretty much all the boxes we've come to expect. Young (-ish = late 30s/40s) professional female protagonist, check. Hipper and funkier than other people her age, as against more conventional friends and co-workers who seem occasionally bemused or irritated with her behavior, check and check. With her career, has to juggle raising one or two children more or less alone, and then a mystery crops up, check. Old boyfriend or ex-husband lurking around for color, check. Bad guys, if any, most likely to be right-wing, religious, or foreigners, check. A cast with familiar faces such as Iben Hjelje (from "Dag,") Laerke Winther Andersen ("Den som draeber," "Bankelot"), Dar Salim ("Broen," "Borgen," "Livvagterne," "Game of Thrones,") and Lars Brygmann ("Borgen," "Bankerot," "Rejseholdet") has crewed the show through three seasons now, very watchably. If you are not already a Nordic drama fan, this show is unlikely to win you over; if you are, however, you will enjoy it.

..so many productions appear artificial, or produced for 'effect.' This is a show that feels 'real-life'. These characters do not come off as actors, and that is something so welcome in sitting back and watching things play out. Iben Hjejle is a favorite actor, on either side of the pond... she is just so natural. Have been fortunate to see her in other works... she never disappoints. She is someone you would just like to meet and really get to know. Of course the story lines have to been taken independently, because no one person would have so much happen to them in real-world situations. But there is something truly unique in this production, it has a warmth and closeness, and she and all the other regular cast members make that happen time and again. So glad it does sparingly occur, because it gives hope it will somehow come about again. Special is special... even if it does not happen very frequently.

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.

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.