Fortitude

Irish actor Richard Dormer as chief Andersen

I was intrigued by the storyline of the new  25 million pound SkyAtlantic thriller series " Fortitude"
For a mystery thriller set is an isolated Norwegian mining community where " every one has a job, everyone is comfortably off so there is no risk of crime" sounds like the start to one of those in vogue Scandinavia noir series we have all come to enjoy and love over the past couple of years
Fortitude  it would seem, is quite, quite different.
Set in a strangely multicultural Arctic town where only four of the cast of around fifteen are supposed to be Scandinavian , the first episode boasts political shenanigans over a proposed " ice Hotel" which will save the town from financial ruin, a killer polar bear, adultery, a mysterious brunette with a gun, a drunk with a secret, a strange research facility , a fair bit of full frontal male nudity and a murder amid a whole lot of ice and snow.
I didn't know just what to make of episode one. It was brooding and ever so slightly confusing, with the majority of  characters , being somewhat unsympathetic if not a little " odd" in nature.
We have the somewhat driven  town Governer (Sophie Grabel) and her odd untrusting relationship with her hospitalized husband. A mysterious police chief ( Richard Dormer) who looks as though he's covered up a crime, an unhappily and bickering married couple (Nicholas Pinnick & Jessica Raine)  with a son with a mystery sickness, and a brusque British doctor ( Phoebe Nicolls) who is something to do with animal testing.
oh and let's not forget a British drunk( Michael Gambon) who cries a lot and Stanley Tucci who has flown in by the Met Police to help solve the murder
Have you got all that mother?
I have a strange feeling the whole series will take a few odd turns away from the tried and tested usual Scandinavian Noir it purports to be........
Watch this space.........

34 comments:

  1. It sounds brilliant ... but unfortunately we don't have Sky :-(

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    1. We have had to get sky sue...... Tv reception is so poor the half of the village

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    2. We had to get Freesat to be able to get any television at all. We were determined not to pay a permanent fee to Sky, so we switched when we moved here.

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  2. It does look good but we have no sky. Have you watched breaking bad yet?

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    1. I think, I'm the only man on the planet that has not as yet kev.......don't know if I could cope with a new series
      The Walking Dead starts again in a week or so!

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    2. No John, there's at least 2 of us haven't seen it.

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    3. Make that three!

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    4. Watch it! Its lives up to the hype.

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    5. Anonymous3:50 pm

      Agreed - Breaking Bad is the best thing I've seen for years!

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    6. Breaking Bad is the best ever. Exceptional. I watch way too much TV, but I've never seen a series that can hold a candle to Breaking Bad.

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    7. okok...i will download it after my walking dead is finished!!!

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    8. I bought the boxed set ... it's absolutely brilliant.

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  3. We were so excited (yes sad people that we are I know..) all week knowing that it was coming on, then we sat down to watch it and....and...and...the landscape seems like the most straightforward character there is and I did struggle a bit to hear some of the dialogue..it felt like they threw everything into the mix initially just to get the ball rolling and that over the next few weeks more sense will be made...I hope....

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  4. Are you sure it was a real telly prog and not a fever induced dream....

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    1. Errrrrrrrrrrr?...........omg...the product of sepsis!

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  5. Sounds intriguing and Stanley Tucci is always brilliant. Oh no, you're not going to get me hooked on another television prog are you? NOOO!

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  6. Tres envious that you were able to watch it as although it sounds to be just my sort of telly we don't have Sky. I do think it's a bit sneaky of Sky not to have aired this on Sky 1 so that those of us with Virgin TV could also have seen it.

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  7. FIOS is carrying it here in the states, locally it's channel 192.

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    1. What station is that? I have DISH.

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  8. What Libby said. I struggled with some of the dialogue (why were half of them whispering?) and struggled to make sense of the plot. Yes, maybe it'll make more sense in the second episode.

    You're not alone John, I haven't seen Breaking Bad either.

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  9. After reading your synopsis John the fact that I didn't watch it is neither here nor there- keep up the synopses throughout the series and it will suffice. Full frontals? I'm past that I think - although maybe - I don't know.

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    1. I dunno, Weave, Richard Dormer looks rather fetching in that photo, so a full frontal might be a nice view. That said, I've not seen Fortitude, nor Breaking Bad nor the Walking Dead.

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  10. I have to confess there were bits of Fortitude that I watched with my fingers in my ears going lalalala :-) I'm a bit of a cowardy custard when it comes to watching creepy things by myself lol. I did think that the scenery was amazing and the cute little sugar cube-esque house was really nice (until the blood and guts and murder happened) and I have to say I'm really looking forward to the next episode.

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    1. I will reserve judgement until episode 3
      but i must admit my THE WALKING DEAD comes back on in a week or so!!

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  11. Reading your description of "Fortitude" made me think of another odd and quirky series of a few years back, "Twin Peaks". It was set in our Pacific Northwest. Were you able to watch it in the U.K.?

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    1. I hated Twin Peaks with an absolute passion.... i do hope Fortitude doesnt go this way!

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  12. Sounds very interesting. The first Scandinavian film I watch was "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" which I thought was a far superior film to the English version. I've only recently discovered foreign films (I was always turned off to using sub titles) and have found it refreshing to watch films that don't have the standard American Hollywood writing tricks and cliches. Thanks for the tip on this series, I'll check it out.
    Ron

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    1. this is British funded series..... with only a few swedes and Danes in it as actors.. the series i believe is set in Norway but filmed in Iceland

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  13. Are you collecting plot lines for Going Gently set in a small Welsh village?

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  14. This sounds like one of those British mystery plays where there are slamming doors.
    Fifteen people? That is scarcely enough for a church dinner.

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  15. Anonymous7:37 pm

    Full frontal male nudity and a whole lot of ice and snow is bound to lead to disappointment.

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  16. The reviews said it was a bit bleak and violent so I gave it a body swerve. Breaking Bad is both bleak in parts and very violent in others but the script and acting are by far excellent, akin to 'The Sopranos' or 'The Wire'. You'd be wise not to miss it.

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  17. I've watched the first episode of Fortitude and the hook for me is that mammoth storyline.
    I was given Breaking Bad box set and so far seen first 3 episodes. I hope it gets better. Not engaging me yet, sadly

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