Vikings--history channel series (spoilers)

[Dorian Thompson]

So, I didn't see a thread for this series so I thought I'd start one. You can actually watch the new episode ahead of time on certain "alternative viewing" sites.

It's piqued my interest. The cinematography is lush and breathtaking. The actors seem to know what they're doing and the scripts aren't shying away from the fact that these protagonists were raiders. Ragnar isn't cuddly. Travis Fimmell has really captured Ragnar as a lead character and this relationship with his slave/monk Athelstan captured at Lindisfairne (which apparently was historically correct as being the first site raided by the Vikings in Northumbria) is challenging to say the least, but intriguing nonetheless. I can understand why Adelstan didn't run away.....where's he going to go in a strange land of violent people with no money to bribe anyone? Would a sheltered monk even know how to hunt or survive in the woods? Winter would be a bitch. It's not like he could catch a luxury liner home.

Rollo harrassing his brother's wife won't end well, and apparently shield maidens aren't a construct of the shows writers. They weren't common, but they did exist. I'm hooked. Can't wait for next week.

EDIT--Okay, apparently I'm blind and there is a thread concerning the pilot on the bottom of page two. My bad. Can the mods delete this or somehow merge the threads?

 

[Forbin]

You've apparently seen more episodes than me (History just showed ep 2 Sunday night), but yeah, I'm diggin' it. I'm hoping it's as much history lesson as entertainment, but I'd have to dig out a buncha books from the basement to fact check it.

 

[gturner]

Strange History Channel fact: The Vikings raided Ireland and then returned home and sold the booty at Ulf Harrison's pawn shop.

 

[Mister Fandango]

Rollo harrassing his brother's wife won't end well, and apparently shield maidens aren't a construct of the shows writers. They weren't common, but they did exist. I'm hooked. Can't wait for next week.

Not only aren't they made-up, but Lagertha in particular is a total bad ass from history/legend. Ditto for Ragnar. I can't wait to see where the series goes.

 

[JD]

As the person who did the pilot thread I'm fine with leaving this as the season thread, I don't know if I'm going to be to do a seperate thread for each episode.
As for the second episode, I really enjoyed it. Historical shows like this are quickly becoming a favorite genre of mine, and this is a good one. It's pretty impressive how much of the stuff in this is real. There are a bunch of the behind the scene videos on the History Channel website, and in one of them they discuss the thing they did before they left where they washed their faces and blew their noses into a bowl, and apparently that really was something they did.

 

[gturner]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHNbsfjpvPA[/yt]

Ragnar's wife is a third-degree black belt.

 

[Shurik]

Rollo harrassing his brother's wife won't end well, and apparently shield maidens aren't a construct of the shows writers. They weren't common, but they did exist. I'm hooked. Can't wait for next week.

Not only aren't they made-up, but Lagertha in particular is a total bad ass from history/legend. Ditto for Ragnar. I can't wait to see where the series goes.

Ragnar Lothbrok and his wife are semi-mythical characters from Viking sagas of that period. Supposedly, they lived a bit later (app. mid-9th century) than the time period the show is based in and they raided both England and France a lot.

This show does look pretty authentic and it's made well. And the Irish scenery is gorgeous.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

I haven't read much on it. Is it all filmed in Ireland? I thought that maybe they were actually in Scandanavia for part of the filming.

I also wonder what's up with the Earl. There's a very strange scene in this third episode that makes one wonder if the Earl has problems rising to the occasion with his missus.

So there really was a farmer's blow Viking style?

 

[Shurik]

I haven't read much on it. Is it all filmed in Ireland? I thought that maybe they were actually in Scandanavia for part of the filming.

According to Wiki, it's filmed in Ireland. The scenery makes me want to visit Ireland again even more than usual.

 

[RevDMV]

Cool a thread, I just happen to catch the first episode and I'm all in on this one.

I'm curious how'll they'll blend the history, myth and story they want to tell. It already felt like they were adding a level of fantasy to the background.

I certainly enjoy the shipbuilder...

 

[Dorian Thompson]

I don't know; that shipbuilder is kind of creepy and wrong. I do look forward to seeing what kind of cat and mouse game/stockholm syndrome/manipulation type dynamic will develop between Ragnar and Athelstan. No fangirlish shipping, it's just that the potential for some great psychological material is there with Athelstan being a captive and all that. He's a repressed monk, though. The temptations of a hedonistic life may prove daunting.

 

[gturner]

Athelstan needs to convert some of the heathens. As I recall, fairly recent archeology has found that pagan and Christian Vikings lived side-by-side virtually all the way through the Viking period. They can tell from the different burial rights. The BBC had a three-part documentary on the Vikings about 5 months ago (link), which you can still probably find tucked away in some corner of the Internet.

The Vikings also made the news this week with the discovery of a mythical Viking sunstone, which they used for navigation in cloudy weather.

National Geographic sunstone link with details.

Short summary. Researchers tested it and 20 volunteers could find the direction of the sun to within 1 degree on a cloudy day.

 

[Forbin]

Dorian, do us a favor and don't spoil things that happen in future episodes we haven't seen. It's kinda rude.

 

[Greg Cox]

In Dorian's defense, it's an odd situation in that History is actively encouraging people to watch upcoming episodes online, but, yeah, I'm just planning to watch the episodes as they air on Sunday nights, so I'm hoping people will refrain from commenting on the "advance" eps until they actually show up on TV, not just computers.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

I had no idea the episodes were airing ahead when I started the thread because I happened on the series accidentally and I put spoilers in the title to warn anyone coming into the thread. I thought the episode on the alternate site would air the following night. I thought the episode I'd seen would be the most recently aired. Thread's all yours, Forbin.

 

[Forbin]

*Interview video*

Well now I'm just totally in love with her!

 

[gturner]

Is it really possible to have spoilers about something the History Channel airs?

"Joey. Spoiler alert. Hitler loses."

 

[Greg Cox]

Is it really possible to have spoilers about something the History Channel airs?

"Joey. Spoiler alert. Hitler loses."

When it's a historical drama, not a documentary? Sure.

I mean, just because Downtown Abbey is a period piece set during the Great War or the Roaring Twenties doesn't mean it can't have spoilers.

 

[Byronic]

Is it really possible to have spoilers about something the History Channel airs?

"Joey. Spoiler alert. Hitler loses."

When it's a historical drama, not a documentary? Sure.

I mean, just because Downtown Abbey is a period piece set during the Great War or the Roaring Twenties doesn't mean it can't have spoilers.

But, none of the characters in Downton Abbey are based on real historical figures. Ragnar Lodbrok did exist, and so while the details of the show may be different, If the show lasts long enough, you could expect certain documented events in his life to happen on the show. Like the raids into France, and the births (or adoption) of his other sons like Ivar the Boneless.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I've been interested in the show since its announcement but I wanted to wait for the reviews before I jumped on it (that and I completely forgot when it started). The show sounds very promising and I'll have to check it out when I get back from my underway.