endymionng
Although I have previously seen the topic of a female coach/manager been tackled (cough), by the British way back in 1989 ! in "The Manageress" with the always lovely Cherie Lunghi, it is safe to say that we haven't gotten much further in this development. Therefore this new Norwegian show is a welcome addition to the discussion of egalitarianism in sports management.The female protagonist here is surely competent and well aware of all the pitfalls and opposition she faces during this first season.
Personally I found the subplots involving her daughter a bit off, as if they couldn't really figure out what she wanted - which is probably realistic enough, but makes for bad storytelling.
Also it is glaringly obvious that Jon Carew is a former player and not an actor :-), however most of the rest of the cast is really good and the location scenery is just beautiful. Norwegian fjords, I mean - come on...
NRK (Norwegian PBS) is on a hot streak with their TV-shows these days - good on them.
pastafrolla
Marvelous cast, very well scripted and directed, delivers on every level with a diverse, fascinating cast of characters. There is also the extra bonus of the show being filmed in the magnificent town of Ulsteinvik, Norway
The only thing I found a bit tiresome was the predictable adolescent drama of Helena's daughter which was by no means the fault of the actress. Everyone involved did a stellar job. Would love to see a second season!
smblindheim
Fresh, joyful, exciting, emotional, proud.
This one has it all, and set in the beautiful scenery of Norway's mountainous west coast fjords, in the small town of Ulsteinvik, the setting brings it all together. Beautifully! Ane Dahl Torp delivers a solid, credible and relatable character in "Helena Mikkelsen" through all 10 episodes. While she starts out a bit flat and mysterious, she let's both us, the viewers, and her team mates in on who she really is and what makes her tick. There are many other good characters with great character development through this first season, which makes this show good and relatable, also for those completely uninterested in football.The show focuses on some topics that have quite recently been in the media, with both "Me-too" relatable content, as well as stereotypes towards women and how they cope in male dominated fields of work. The show takes all of this on head-to-head without ever becoming too politically correct, educating, or in any way trying to preach any one message to the viewer. It also opens a window into the mind of someone struggling with obsessive compulsive disorder, for those of us lucky enough to never have experienced mental illness first hand. Heimebane made me laugh, cry and stand up and cheer. Objectively it's probably an 8,5 or something, but who ever heard about an objective supporter?
As the locals in Ulsteinvik would have said: "Great", or "Steikje bra" 10/10 !
