 |
|
| Title: | Vikings: The Complete First Season |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Starring: | Travis Fimmel, Gabriel Byrne, Donal Logue, Katheryn Winnick, Gustaf Skarsgård, |
| Certificate: | US: Not Rated UK: 18 |
| Picture: | 1080p (1.78:1) |
| Audio Format: | DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
| Subtitles: | English |
| Runtime: | 9 Episodes, 6 Hours 30 mins |
| Extras: | Featurettes, Interactive modes, Season mode. |
| Studio: | Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment |
| Release Date: | USA: October 15 2013 UK: February 3 2014 |
| See If You Like: | The Tudors, The Borgias |
For hundreds of years people the world over have been fascinated with Vikings, and Viking culture; their clothes, their weapons, their way of warfare and warrior culture and, equally as important, their Gods; and now a new TV show (coming from the History Channel, and appropriately called Vikings) aims to unearth the truth behind the legends, and introduce us to the real Vikings, with a good dose of sex, violence, and intrigue along the way.
Created by Michael Hirst (the man behind The Tudors TV show, producer of The Borgias, Camelot, and the writer behind both Elizabeth, and Elizabeth: The Golden Age) Vikings is the History Channel’s first attempt at developing a serial drama, and one which has proved to be a success; headlining Travis Fimmel (The Beast) and Gabriel Byrne (The Man In The Iron Mask) and re-telling the tales of legendary viking raider Ragnar Lothbrok (Fimmel).
A series of two halves, Vikings tells the tale of how Lothbrok defied the odds, the Gods, and the doubting notions of those in power to sail West and discover rich new lands to plunder (those lands being the kingdom of Northumbria in England), whilst rubbing up against the Earl of his community (Byrne) in the process, bartering with the King of Northumbria, and battling on foreign soil, before meeting a Viking King (Donal Logue, the Blade star recently seen in Sons of Anarchy Season 6), and becoming an envoy in the hopes of stopping an impending war between two Viking Kingdoms.
Fimmel is excellent as Lothbrok, as his performance is simply so unusual; he’s got this strange sideways glance, half-smile, and piercing eyes which burn with hidden ferocity and mean you can never tell if he’s seeking peace, or about to snap; perfect for a legendary Viking as his intensity holds the entire show together, and it’d be easy to see how men would follow him to death or glory. While Gabriel Byrne is also well placed as the stoic Earl who needs to assert his authority; delivering a layered performance which has him always appearing regal enough, world-weary, and hiding an understandable fear about losing his position.
Supporting stars also fare well, as Katheryn Winnick (Killers) does a fantastic job as the strong matriarchal shield maiden Lagertha (Ragnar’s wife); believably fulfilling all of the roles the character embodies (including wife, mother, confidant, warrior, and even political stand-in when needs be); Gustaf Skarsgård (The Way Back) is immensely strange as the crazed Viking warrior Floki, and everyone from Clive Standen (the Hammer of the Gods star who appears as Ragnar’s strong, yet jealous, brother Rollo) and Donal Logue, to Jessalyn Gilsig (The Stepfather star who plays the Governor’s wife) and Nathan O’Toole (The Borgias star who plays Ragnar’s annoyingly headstrong son Bjorn) bring their respective characters to life brilliantly.
Action is top notch as well, and even though Vikings may not have the budget for any Game of Thrones style battle sequences, the skirmishes it does feature are big, brutal, and unrelenting in their fierceness (not unlike the Vikings themselves). It’s also a pleasure to see a show which doesn’t shy away from history too greatly; an allowance for dramatic license is always forgivable, yet Vikings shows the invaders to be vicious (an early attack upon a monastery filled with unarmed monks proves as much), rather than making them true heroes as is the temptation when making any show of this kind.
It’s also a fascinating insight into Viking culture, and touches upon things most non-historians won’t realise were part of Viking culture; not only further exploring the relationship the common people held with their Gods, and their priests, but their sense of community, attitudes towards women, and a number of other factors which actually make the raiders seem far more cultured and modern than you may have otherwise realised.
But at the heart of the show lies the drama, Ragnar’s journey, trials, and tribulations, and it’s a journey which is handled exceptionally well. While the pacing may seem a touch fast (they do seem to cover an awful lot of ground pretty quickly), and most supporting characters are basically ignored throughout, it’s still constantly engaging, well acted, well written, and different enough to keep you gripped throughout.
Well shot, well acted, with fierce action and a gripping story which provides a number of interesting insights into a period of history most people know little about, it’s hard to believe Vikings is the History Channel’s first foray into the world of serial drama; it’s simply so well produced you’d swear it’d been devised and commissioned by a major cable network; and is a series well worth checking out.
Picture:
With brightly lit luscious landscapes providing a stark contrast to the dimly lit interiors of Vikings, it’d be easy for the video quality to provide substantial dips and differences, yet everything seems to hold up extremely well with this release; exteriors looks bold, inviting, and suitably stunning (something helped in-part by the emphasising of certain colours; the greens of the Scandinavian grass etc.) with impressive levels of detail, while the naturally lit interiors lose little detail, are well delineated, and showcase very strong black levels.
Likewise textures and small details are excellent, the colour palette, though intentionally desaturated, it strong, felshtones appear natural, and there are no visible compression issues or anomalies to be found; making the Vikings Season One Blu-ray video extremely impressive.
Audio:
Coming to Blu-ray with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, Vikings’ sound is similarly impressive; the music playing during the opening credits is excellent, and instantly proves your in for a run of strong audio; with a broad range, strong and weighty bass, and effective use of the rear channels effectively creating an engaging mix which feels natural, and makes battles, sessions at court, and intense storms sound all the more real, and close. Dialogue is also always crisp and clear, and there’s really very little to gripe about with this immersive audio presentation.
Extras:
One of the most welcome special features on the Vikings Season One Blu-ray, which includes the likes of audio commentaries, deleted scenes, and a worthwhile featurette discussing the birth of the series and its leading characters (told by creator Michael Hirst, and principal cast members), is a 20 minute featurette where Hirst, cast members, and most importantly a number of professors attempt to provide an overview of Viking society; in a interesting manner, which explains many details you may have missed during the show, and explains how different the real-life Vikings were, to the stereotypical images of marauding savages we know so well.
Also included is the always welcome season mode (an option which should be included on all new TV Blu-ray releases), a featurette covering Viking warfare and tactics (based around the training needed to have the cast battle-ready for the show), and interactive modes involving pop-ups explaining various aspects of Viking culture and weaponry as you watch; combining with the rest to make a suitably impressive concoction of bonus materials which are well worth a look for fans of the show, and anyone with an interest in Viking history/mythology.
The Bottom Line:
Coming from creator Michael Hirst (the man behind The Tudors and The Borgias) it should be no surprise that the first season of Vikings is a great piece of television; well shot, well acted, and not only telling a tale we’re largely unaware of, but providing insight into a period of history, and a fantastically interesting culture, most people have little-to-no knowledge of, Vikings is certainly worth watching.
And coming to Blu-ray with solid picture quality, brilliant audio, and a selection of special features which truly do justice to the show (the historical featurettes being a particular favourite), there’s simply no excuse not to pick up Vikings Season One on Blu-ray. If you enjoyed The Tudors, and were gripped by The Borgias, you’ll love Vikings; pick it up now, and you won’t be disappointed.
Matt Wheeldon – @TheMattWheeldon.
