Scandinavian Crime Drama - "The Bridge" and "The Protectors" (paying homage to "The Eagle")

SBS has recently been screening some high-quality Scandinavian crime drama in the form of the Swedish and Danish co-production "The Bridge" and the second season of the Danish drama "The Protectors".

One of the things that I have always liked about the Scandinavian storylines and casting is that they portray people who are "ordinary" in appearance and their foibles, and not all "beautiful people" as is often the case in American-made series. In "The Bridge", one of the two key detectives is a Swedish female with distinct Asperger Syndrome characteristics. She is very good at her job but a bit of a disaster when it comes to interpersonal relations. The storyline is still unfolding, but it is cleverly written, with lots of twists and turns in the plot, and clever linkages between characters that initially appear to be almost randomly introduced into the story.

"The Protectors" has been screened in two-hour blocks, allowing a complete story arc to unfold, and this has been very satisfying from the viewer's perspective. At the conclusion of Season Two, several career changes for key members of the cast are foreshadowed. The writers some years earlier also wrote another outstanding Scandinavian crime series "The Eagle". This was based around a charismatic (but also somewhat Aspergers-ish) male detective who was the lynchpin in a task force investigating transnational crime in Europe and based at Holmen in Copenhagen, Denmark.

In an interesting twist, actor Thomas Gabrielsson played one of the arch villains in "The Eagle" but was head of the Protector unit. At the end of the second season of "The Protectors", he drives his wife to that same location at Holmen and explains to her that he would like to take up a job as head of a new transnational crime task force to be based there! It was a lovely thought to imagine that there might be new adventures for The Eagle, but sadly it probably isn't going to happen.

From an internet search, it appears that there may be a third season of "The Protectors" yet to come, but regardless all three series are recommended viewing!