Vikings (History Channel)
Just started watching this show a few days ago, and I am hooked like a halberd in the din of battle.
I have, for almost all of my life, held a deep interest and fascination with the Medieval/Renaissance era(s) of (mostly) Europe and especially if fantasy themes are involved.
I like to call it a "less violent" version of "A Game of Thrones" from HBO.
There is still considerable violence in most episodes, but it seems to be not as in your face or done for shock value like GoT, and it is more historically accurate as it deals with the Viking/Norse people of Northern Europe, but of course with touches of Norse mythology throughout (such as Odin appearing before the main character, demons, and surreal scenes)
I for sure wanna get the season collections on DVD soon!
I have only seen one episode so far, it aired last night although I think it was a re-run.
I think this show is great. About the mythology: I'm not sure if Odin was actually there or that it was just the interpretation or religious experience of Ragnar. In the opening scene only Ragnar saw Odin. Later in the series there are more characters with religious experiences but it's usually pretty ambiguous about whether any of the religions are "true" or the subjective experience of the characters.
I think it's also pretty nice how for some scenes they let the characters speak Old Norse or Anglo-Saxon. I think both are really nice sounding languages. And when the vikings speak English they speak with a funny fake Scandinavian accent too. It's a bit like the Nords in Skyrim.
^^^ It isn't a big budget show, so you can't expect Game of Thrones production quality. For example I think the towns and battles in reality would likely have had a lot more people in them. The real life versions of a few of the characters were involved with the Great Heathen Army that conquered half of England. If they are going to take the show that far, and I think they sort of plan to since they introduced king Aella.
As for the writing, blame the medieval people who wrote the saga. Of course they didn't write the dialogue but the events are sort of what happened based on the semi-reliable sagas. (Btw, don't google too much about the historical Ragnar or the Great Heathen Army or there be massive spoilers.)
I do like that it is sort of based on historical events, makes it more interesting to me. I would have liked though if they made it somewhat more historically accurate, for example Rollo is the Latin version of the name Rolf, so his Norse friends should just call him Rolf or Rolfr or something.
I have recently started watching this as well. I previously avoided it because I am interested in that time and feared it would be too dumbed-down historically. But I find it close enough for entertainment. Besides, I was a Skyrim fan and so I am amused whenever someone mentions "Ragnar", that name being used in a ditty in the game.
Like this show too - just finished season 2 and starting season 3. Its entertaining - not sure I can say any more for it than that - the writing is ok, though a bit repetitive and occasionally a bit too predictable - the acting is mostly fine, not exceptional, and ditto for the production value. But its good enough so far to hold my interest.
Ragnar the Red! There is also a character named Ragnar in Karthwasten. In the series they also use an accent similar to the accent of the Nords in Skyrim.
There are still people named Ragnar or one of its varieties (Rainier, Reinier, Redginar). I've met Dutch people named Reinier (pronounced Raineer).
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