Irene Huss: Episodes 1-3 [Import]

Angela Kovacs stars as Inspector Irene Huss of the Gothenberg Police in this DVD series. I'm a big fan of the books by Helene Tursten. Irene is a smart, athletic woman; she's married to a hunky chef and has twin teenage daughters.

The three episodes are The Torso where a torso is found. This mystery involves something rotten in Denmark and a charismatic Asian tattoo artist(based on Tursten's the Torso). The second show is The Horse Figurine which deals with the murder of one of the richest men in Sweden. This is based in Tursten's Detective Inspector Huss. The third episode The Fire Dance deals with a serial arsonist, a murder on an isolated island, and crimes from the past. The book this was based on isn't out in the U.S. yet.

The other cops in Irene's unit are also well portrayed from Fredrik, the computer guy, to ambitious young Birgitta, to old school cop Johnny who can be counted on for sexist or racist comments.
If you like mystery series with female leads this is a winner.

I recently finished the Danish crime series THE KILLING. That was an absolutely perfect series which we (Americans) recently remade. We started out well on the remake but then completely mangled it by rewriting it to fit our kind of series tv. I'm really glad I stuck with the Danish version because everyone is pitching a fit about the American version's ending with a cliff hanger instead of a resolution. So I vaulted right into that part of the world again, this time with this series, which is Swedish, and like THE KILLING, also has a female lead. This is every bit as good as THE KILLING, although it involves more than one crime.

The female lead for this series as well as the one for the Danish one, are very believable as working women and working police. Although the picture you see here is very attractive, this is Irene at her best. She just as often looks bedraggled and heading for middle age. She has two teenage daughters who drive her nuts, a husband who may or may not be straying (he's a chef) and there's no doubt that she likes the gritty cases. This gal, like her Danish counterpart, will never be sitting behind a desk for the police. In her spare time she masters the marital arts but, just like an American cop, she really likes her gun. Frankly, I prefer these police shows where the police are allowed to confront some ruthless, deadly criminal with a gun. I don't understand the countries where they are not allowed to carry guns. Who in their right mind would try to bring in a multiple murderer with no gun to use as protection? I certainly wouldn't attempt it. And Irene certainly encounters some very nasty criminals.

What is it about Sweden and sex crimes? If you are a MILLENIUM fan, you are very aware of Sweden's violent sexual crime. This show is every bit as knee deep into it and the opening episode involves not only murder but evisceration plus head and limb removal. The show also deals with the daughter being recruited to the whites for Sweden movement, which is an enormous backlash against people of all colors from elsewhere in the world flooding into Sweden. This movement is of course not unique to Sweden. However, Sweden is known as being so tolerant, so enlightened, so socialist, that it is with a shock one discovers the kinds of crimes going on there and that there is an Arayan movement afoot.

Give this one a look.

I admit it. I am a bit surprised by how much I like this series. I was prepared for another cliche-ridden plot, peopled with stock characters and predictable conclusions, etc. After all, who hasn't seen this sort of series in some other iteration before? Let's face it, the concept of a female detective, going toe-to-toe with chauvinistic colleagues and hardened criminals -- while simultaneously juggling the demands of a family -- is not exactly a new theme. And yes, the series has some flaws. Irene has a improbably supportive (not to mention, gorgeous) husband who not only does all the cooking, but sets out vintage wine with cheese and fruit when she come home after a long and stressful day(Really? In my house, I'd be lucky to be pointed in the direction of the bag of chips); her teenaged daughters are pretty, talented, and generally well-behaved; Irene moves effortlessly between languages (she even has a smattering of Chinese); she has earned a black belt and spends hours in the dojo; still, she manages to fit in her morning run and apprehend the bad guys. Where does she find the hours in the day? Further, she is surrounded by some fairly stock characters: for example, the hard-bitten Jonny, a cop of the "old school" who, despite his predictable run of politically incorrect declarations, still seems to respect Irene and works well with her; the gruff but supportive boss, the ambitious younger female, just waiting to step into Irene's shoes, etc. Somehow, though, this series is ultimately compelling. It rises above the cliches that have weighed many another series down. Irene does have doubts (worrying that her husband is a bit too good to be true). She loses her cool demeanor occasionally. She doesn't always get things right -- at home or at work. Angela Kovacs plays Irene with great subtlety and that goes a long way in making her character seem real, despite the improbabilities. Furthermore, the ensemble acting is equally excellent; the plots are inventive; and the settings are fresh and intriguing. Overall, it's a very good series, indeed.