State of Denmark

February 11, 2012 5:14 AM

Why Borgen's all the buzz at Westminster A moody, Danish political drama, complete with subtitles, prolonged pauses and superficially consensual continental politics would not seem the sort of programme to become the hot topic in the coffee bars and corridors of the Commons. Even more improbably the central character in Borgen is such an unlikely figure when viewed from the staid, male dominated world of Westminster. Birgitte Nyborg is an attractive, well-intentioned, left-leaning, green-tinged female prime minister who's worried about her weight and leads a party called "The Moderates".
posted by infini (16 comments total)

Fantastic series. Also pretty nice to get some exposure to my mother tongue on the television. What really surprised me is that it was written by Adam Price, the blonde younger half of this rather unorthodox cooking show/comedy.
posted by Dysk at 5:41 AM on February 11

Seriously, it's awesome. After Blair and Obama I can see the gap in the market for a smart political drama in which the main character is a woman of integrity. I loved the job description for the Director of Comms: 'I am not looking for a Prince of Darkness'. Makes you realise the influence of Westminster on the politics of Scandanavia - and particularly Denmark which has always been a strong ally of the UK in Brussels.

Political porn for Euro liberals. The comparison to The West Wing is apt.
posted by dmt at 6:18 AM on February 11

a moody, Danish political drama

I can put up with those moody, Danish political dramas as long as they have hot chicks like Birgitte Nyborg
posted by twoleftfeet at 6:25 AM on February 11

hot chicks like Birgitte Nyborg

I move to adjourn... to my bedroom!
posted by Trurl at 6:32 AM on February 11

Birgitte Nyborg can Minister my Prime any day!

Yeah, I know that doesn't make any sense. But it is sad that very few real political leaders are really hot sexually. I'd much rather judge them on their looks, because then I wouldn't have to listen to them talk.
posted by twoleftfeet at 7:04 AM on February 11

green-tinged

So she's an Orion?
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:50 AM on February 11

Fantastic series. Also pretty nice to get some exposure to my mother tongue on the television. What really surprised me is that it was written by Adam Price, the blonde younger half of this rather unorthodox cooking show/comedy.
posted by Dysk at 5:41 AM on February 11 [+] [!]

How refreshing not to get the usual "fuck off, you can't view this if you're not in the US" notice. Another yay for Danish television!
posted by humph at 7:57 AM on February 11

Well, Prime Minister "Gucci" Helle Thorning-Schmidth of Danmark counts as hot.

As does Yulia Tymoshenko, equal parts cute and intimidating (and sadly now a political prisoner in a pseudo-Soviet country).
posted by Harry at 7:58 AM on February 11

humph, I wouldn't even know whether something is available in the US or not, being based in the UK :)
posted by Dysk at 8:53 AM on February 11

On that subject, I did note that the BBC page showing the Borgen series showed up last week as "3 days left to see" and today as "iPlayer only" and "Not available in your region" - but that I can live with rather than a blanket ban.
posted by infini at 9:01 AM on February 11

The hottest politician on the planet is Mara Carfagna as evidenced by this and that.

But "Hottest Politician on the Planet" is a nebulous award, having been given twice to Winston Churchill and once to Henry Waxman.
posted by twoleftfeet at 9:07 AM on February 11

That sound you just heard was the cooter clock exploding.
posted by aihal at 11:09 AM on February 11 [1 favorite]

"I move to adjourn... to my bedroom!"
---
"Yeah, I know that doesn't make any sense. But it is sad that very few real political leaders are really hot sexually. I'd much rather judge them on their looks, because then I wouldn't have to listen to them talk."
---
etc.

It's strange that women often find politics misogynistic. Why on earth is it that they would get this stupid idea that people would discuss their looks as much as their policies?
posted by jaduncan at 2:20 PM on February 11 [10 favorites]

I've been watching this on Link TV. Good stuff.
posted by homunculus at 5:03 PM on February 11 [1 favorite]

Oh, so this has nothing to do with next week's dog show then? I'll be moving right along...
posted by ga4ry at 5:16 PM on February 11

It looks like there is a DVD of season 2 out, with English subtitles, but Amazon won't sell it to the UK, presumably by prior arrangement with the BBC (who will be screening it in a year's time). Could such a thing be legal under EU law? (I know that they recently struck down territorial broadcast monopoly rights over sporting events.)
posted by acb at 5:24 PM on February 11