Borgen: not exactly Sherlock...

I’m afraid that I missed out on the phenomenon that was The Killing so I was eager to watch the BBC’s newest Danish import Borgen. Produced by the same broadcaster as The Killing, Borgen is a political drama about Birgitte Nyborg whose small Moderate party’s massive election gains, following damaging revelations about her rivals, has made her Denmark’s first female Prime Minister.

As could be expected the show has two strands – the political drama and the personal lives of Birgitte and those around her. The political element is certainly entertaining but also completely unrealistic and over the top. Every major political development seems to happen during live television interviews and debates – in the very first episode Birgitte immediately cuts the Moderate’s ties former allies Labour after an interviewer suggests that the latter has changed their policies. Admittedly the show recognises that this wasn’t exactly the cleverest thing for her to do – we get to see a rather amusing shot of her exasperated spin doctor standing behind the cameras – but something like this happens almost every episode. Not that this does the Moderates any harm – despite the election results they are still not the largest party but Birigitte’s political manoeuvring gets her the top job.

This doesn’t get any better once Birigitte does get into power. While she often has to use clever political tricks to get her way there is no sense of any deeper exploration of the nature of power or of politics. Almost all of the Birigitte’s problems have clear, black and white solutions. This reached its ridiculous height in the latest episode broadcast here in the UK, ‘100 Days’, in which she has to decide whether to grant yet more autonomy to Greendland – despite its corrupt government, failing schools system and alarming suicide rate. It doesn’t take her long to decide that the national pride coming from more autonomy will somehow help the Greendlanders solve all their problems.

The personal elements are handled somewhat better. There is no melodrama for its own sake and every character is well developed and acts like a real person. Birgitte’s family in particular is a joy to watch – they are clearly under the strain of the difficult and unexpected situation but remain supportive. There are no massive contrived arguments that are conveniently solved by the end of the episode – just a very relatable and sympathetic family trying to get on with their daily lives.

The show is certainly a mixed bag. It’s very engaging though unfortunately I’m hard pressed to say it’s anything special. The characters may be well rounded and likeable but there just isn’t any depth to the plot. This is nothing more than an enjoyable, middle of the road drama.