tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post1618365865662603936..comments2024-03-18T10:29:46.055+00:00Comments on Ken Armstrong Writing Stuff: The (Scandinavian) Emperor's New Clothes?Ken Armstronghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-16184125791934232742012-06-02T11:00:54.994+01:002012-06-02T11:00:54.994+01:00Hi Pat For all it's darkness, The Bridge seem...Hi Pat For all it's darkness, The Bridge seems to me to be a bit lighted than The Killing. There's a bit of Buddy-Buddy action going on. It's good though, I think you might like it.<br /><br />Dear Anon Thank you. You may be spam, I know, but you've written it so nicely, I can't help but post it. :)Ken Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-25230272087477941432012-06-02T05:04:18.939+01:002012-06-02T05:04:18.939+01:00Honestly it's hard to come across a worthy blo...Honestly it's hard to come across a worthy blog worth commenting on nowadays, the web is really too flooded. Adore this post, love your blog. Just thought i would let you know!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-42177544662282982132012-05-28T08:35:15.385+01:002012-05-28T08:35:15.385+01:00Not heard about the bridge, don't tend to watc...Not heard about the bridge, don't tend to watch much TV in real time but we do catch up usually after the fact. Really enjoyed The Killing, althought they did drag it out...must order the Bridge on your recommendation. We watched an excellent Scandinavian film last night called Headhunters ...well worth a watch. Big fan of Treme too Rachel - I just downloaded 'Ooh Poo Pah Doo' the other day as it stuck in my head.Pat.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04929958670490162089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-73593288528457614932012-05-27T20:23:15.221+01:002012-05-27T20:23:15.221+01:00We're watching "Treme" on the BT fre...We're watching "Treme" on the BT free thing just now. Some great music - really enjoying it.<br />xRachel Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11803852725693518924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-80633147768552576772012-05-27T18:20:49.665+01:002012-05-27T18:20:49.665+01:00Hi Rachel (Loved that Chim chiminee song earlier. ...Hi Rachel (Loved that Chim chiminee song earlier. Ta for that.) I think you would have liked series one of The Killing. Strongest of strong lady in that one. If himself hasn't seen it, consider a cheap ebay boxset. 20 slow episodes of darkness and mystery... you know you want to. :)Ken Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-31418199358344761522012-05-27T18:15:46.868+01:002012-05-27T18:15:46.868+01:00I don't really watch crime drama at all (in En...I don't really watch crime drama at all (in English or other languages) but I did get drawn into "The Bridge" (as my him indoors was watching it). I think it was Saga who made the difference for me... it is still common for female characters in drama to serve very simple roles (window dressing, challenging stereotypes of window dressing...) and so certainly I always like to follow a female character who seems different to all the ones I've seen so many times before.<br /><br />I did think the last episode of "The Bridge" was probably the weakest of the run and so the series did seem to kind of limp out a bit but that's true of so many things. It's hard to finish well!Rachel Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11803852725693518924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-21472239456877721582012-05-27T15:32:41.263+01:002012-05-27T15:32:41.263+01:00Jim: I'm with you on Wallander. I really like...Jim: I'm with you on Wallander. I really like Branagh in the part and I think they are beautifully made - I'm hoping for more. I never really got into the original ones, I've seen a few but never got hooked. I probably could if I tried. Of course we agree on 'Let The Right One In'. I love the original and think the remake has merit too. Varg Veum eh? (writes it down).<br /><br />Fergus: We're bound to suffer the Diminishing Returns thing now, I guess. Killing 2 wasn't as good. The Bridge was fun though, I grew to like Saga.Ken Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-87313612492706893762012-05-27T14:49:59.638+01:002012-05-27T14:49:59.638+01:00Ja, I think we're about to see a wave of disti...Ja, I think we're about to see a wave of distinctly average Scandinavian drama hit these shores. I have (half) joked elsewhere about the next big series to air on BBC4. 'Murdir ån Midsømer.'Uniquefergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13738091121261853850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-45265453890230479612012-05-27T13:54:59.377+01:002012-05-27T13:54:59.377+01:00While Carrie was away in the States I watched a fi...While Carrie was away in the States I watched a film with subtitles—two or three actually—but this particular one stands out because there were a couple of sentences in English and the subtitles ‘translated’ them and got them wrong. I thought that was hysterical. And it wasn’t just wrong it was badly wrong, as if it had been run through Google Translate a few dozen times, translated into six other languages and then back into English. I don’t have much of a facility with languages but even I know when the people are saying one thing but the subtitles are saying something else. I don’t fret about it. As long as I get the gist I’m happy. Books are a little different because all there is there are the words and I’ve been shocked on more than one occasion when I’ve compared two translations with the original text to see just how different they end up. The best example to look at there are the variety of translations of the Bible out there and how much is lost in the translation. The one that jumps out at me is the expression “reads in an undertone” which some Bibles reduce to “mediate on” and, yes, that’s the right idea but the point is the kings were to <i>literally</i> read the book of the Law aloud as a means of reinforcing what they were supposed to be learning. As a writer I get that.<br /><br />As for different I see exactly where you’re coming from. It’s one of the reason I like to watch Australian shows because they’re one step removed from what we have here. Bad writing and bad acting are hard to hide though even with a language barrier. Look at the difference between the very faithful US adaptation of <i>Let the Right One In</i>. As I said to my wife had that been the only version I had seen I would have raved about it but having seen the original and struggled with the subtitles I could just tell it was superior. I don’t have the same problem with Kenneth Branagh’s take on Wallander because he <i>is</i> a fine actor but not having read any of the books I don’t know how well any of the three I’ve seen take on the role do. Subtitles do make us more forgiving because they act as a distraction and things we’d notice in English slip by because we are only getting the gist of what’s going on.<br /><br />As Carrie was away when <i>The Bridge</i> ended we still have four episodes to watch. We also have most of <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/9236058/Braquo-season-one-DVD-review.html" rel="nofollow"><i>Braquo</i></a> Season 2 the first season of which out-spiralled <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_%28TV_series%29" rel="nofollow"><i>Spiral</i></a> and I would have thought that would have been hard to do; again with the French dramas the procedures are <i>so</i> different to here. We have the entire first season of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Those_Who_Kill" rel="nofollow"><i>Those Who Kill</i></a>, another Danish drama, ready to watch some time. Look out for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varg_Veum" rel="nofollow"><i>Varg Veum</i></a> which I think I’ve mentioned before. We’ve seen a couple of the films (Danish again) and they were quite watchable. Oh and now there’s <i>Sebastian Bergman</i> which we’re taping. So much TV, so little time.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.com