Borgen - Season 1

An Acclaimed Danish Political Drama Finally Gets A North American DVD Distribution
I first became aware of the Danish political drama "Borgen" when Stephen King listed it as the best TV program he had watched in 2012 in a year end edition of Entertainment Weekly. This caused me to seek out the show which has actually aired in a few major U.S. markets. Until now, though, it hasn't had an official North American DVD distribution deal. This four disc set has all ten episodes of Season One which debuted in Denmark in 2010 (the show is currently airing Season Three over there). In 2012, "Borgen" won a BAFTA as Best International TV Series. In a finely honed balance of the personal and the political, "Borgen" is grounded by an extraordinary leading performance by Sidse Babett Knudsen as Denmark's first female Prime Minister. You can draw certain comparisons to the "West Wing" for the juggling of an immense cast and rapid fire storylines or even to Geena Davis' short lived "Commander in Chief" for its depiction of a female...

BORGEN Captivates Audiences With Stellar Political Performances
I just experienced a marathon: I just watched an entire season of a television show I was entirely unfamiliar with from the get-go. If you're wondering, it's an import. It hails from Denmark. It's called BORGEN, and it was the winner for the "Best International TV Series" at the 2012 BAFTA Awards. For the record, I normally don't do this. I don't normally run-off an entire program in a single sitting. Like fine wine, I like my television dramas to breathe a little, so I'll usually sip them a few episodes at a time, allowing the experience to sink in a bit, to intoxicate me fully (or not, if it's an inferior wine), to give me something to think about and mull over while I'll looking for something to help wash it down. The problem I had with BORGEN was that - for reasons that I'll try to make perfectly clear by the end of this review - I simply couldn't look away.

Yes, it was THAT captivating.

(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary...

Outstanding Political Thriller!
I am so happy that "Borgen" has been released in Region 1 NTSC. I first read about it in in the UK Guardian. Season one of this ten-episode series, which is distributed on four disks, introduces the characters and plot. It therefore might seem a bit slow, and even confusing, if one is not familiar with the dynamics of a coalition government, but do persist. By episode two you ought to be thoroughly hooked (I watched six episodes in one sitting, and the other four the next evening). The series is so good that I want to go back and watch it again and pick up the details that I missed the first time around.

Sidse Babett Knudsen plays Birgitte Nyborg, who rises from political obscurity to become head of her political party. When the voters (in an idealistic scenario) recognise her sincerity and reject the political shenanigans of the conservative Prime Minister and the leader of the Labour Party, Birgitte's Moderate party receives a majority of votes. The Queen therefore asks...

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