We finally sat and watched the second part of Matador and we talk about our impressions of the show. Instagram - / travelinyoung00 Facebook - / travelinyoung Website - Merch - travelin-young-merch.creator-...
I’m a “Matador” freak and have watched the series multiple times, but one thing that still impress me is the quality of acting. To see Jørgen Buckhøj playing Mads Andersen-Skjern where much of his acting is a small twitch of the eyebrows or just the mouth which could show an emotion, a reaktion to something. Just superb acting. Matador IS the light pole that all other tv series is measured against, and, as far as I’m concerned, no one has come close yet.
Here here from Sweden! Since I have Danish roots this series gives me an idea of what life was like for my relations. I have loved it all my life and always return to it. Love them! One of the absolute best TV-dramas ever. Thank you DK! ❤
What springs to mind, when thinking of a US series, is Little House on the Prairie, which obviously is a different time period, but also follow some families and characters in a very similar way. They also spend a lot of time referring to and talking about people and things which are not actually shown.
Onr of the reasons "we" like to rewatch the series is because we also discoverer new nuances and storylines every time. Or we notice how superior the staging was... the houses, the clothes, the decor.
One of my friends shows it to his children. And he say. Write down what you see. And then he hid it for them. Then he will let them see the shows again and let them write down what they see. And when they are adults he will see it with them again and show them what they have written as a child.
Matador is a bit like the danish version of Downton Abbey. Only it came out before Downton Abbey, so it’s more the other way round. I only just saw Matador in December of last year, but I really love it.
The story from when the 1940 start and the occupation starts is in my opinion some of the best parts. It also holds some personal meaning for me. My great grandma was a young girl in the house (a girl similar to a maid of sorts, helping with household stuff, kids etc.) in Copenhagen, around the time the Nazis invaded. I remember her telling stories about it. Like how she could her them marching in the streets at night etc.
You can't avoid getting an integration star when you, as an immigrant, throw yourself at Matador :-). That series means an incredible amount to a large part of the population because it functions as a living history of Denmark about the life many Danes lived at that time. The series was furiously expensive and it gave rise to a lot of debate in connection with the first 6 episodes. BUT then the Danes were also on the bandwagon. It was almost a national sport for a period of time to find faults and shortcomings, and no Danish produced series has been scrutinized so thoroughly. When the series was rebroadcast for the first time in 1986, DR had 3.6 million viewers. The stories are many and if you have some questions, there are certainly experts present here in your comments. But thank you for taking the time to learn a little about life in Denmark around the time that is still in many areas defining for our nation. 🙂
It is interesting to see that you are beginning to understand the Matador series. There is humor, fun and intrigue in the series. you should watch the series again in a few years, then I think you will enjoy it more. I also remember the series North and South very well. It was broadcast on Danish TV many years ago, and I thought it was fantastic.
The land note was indeed that Aunt Møghes late husband bequethed the plot next to the railroad to the town on the condition that it would be developed into a park with a bust of him. So the town couldn't sell the land legally to Mads Skjern, so the portrait of the vain mayor convinced him to have this note disappear, which the town secretary made happen. They banked on Møghe not having a copy or simply having forgotten about it. North and South is probably the closest comparison. It has been shown on TV here multiple times as well as being on streaming, and I'm sure it'll be back on TV again.
Matador is a danish treasure. Thanks for explaining you naming it as "season 2". It makes perfectly sense. We are just used to watch the 24 episodes as a marathon and kinda forgot the original way it was broadcasted 😊
There have been 3 dvd releases of Matador through the years, but only one of the box-sets have english subtitles, and that is from 2006 called "Matador Kollektionen 1929-1947" (A green box-set with 13 discs) And the blu-ray box has eng. subtitles too.
People still watch Matador today. It gathers all generations in front of the tv screen when it’s on, and you often hear people quoting lines from the 24 episodes. It the most watched, most loved Danish TV series of all time. It has become a deeply ingrained part of our culture in the way Star Trek has become a deeply ingrained part of the US culture.
North and South has been aired on Danish TV3 channels almost annually, for several years. Latest was last year, so it's definitely a series many has seen, despite it being a classic series. I must have seen it around 10 times through the years.
You're wrong about M*A*S*H. I watched all episodes last year, as a Dane. Loved them. I was only a boy, when the series ran on television, in the 70s & 80s. I would love to watch some of these old series on TV again, if they were aired. M*A*S*H, Cheers (Sam's Bar), etc. So many great series of those days, including a lot of great British series.
M*A*S*H is undoubtedly one of the finest TV shows ever made, and it certainly deserves mention in this discussion. However, I'm afraid it is probably true that the younger generations generally don't know it even exists. Yes, many of us older folks will still happily watch it, but I do think it is sadly fading away.
North and South is great! And M*A*S*H is still one of my favourite shows ever. I love that they dared to not just be funny in a show like that. It gets pretty dark and even heart-wrenching at times.
A 'fun' fact about Hans Christians affair is, when it was broadcasted the first time many people contacted the actor on the street and told him he was bad. At first he tried to explain why Hans Christian is having the affair and then people got offended that he defended his actions with Ulla. At the time many people identified so much with the characters in Matador that - even today - many people call the actors by their 'Matador' name and not their real name, but it was really bad back then. Ghita Nørby who plays Ingeborg has told in a TV show that a woman once approched her and told her to divorce her husband. At first Ghita was confused because she was very happy in her marriage, then it appeared to her that the woman meant Ingeborg had to divorce Mads.
I think there is one translation of the word matador that hasn't been brought up yet. In Danish, matador can also mean a tycoon. This is an obvious reference to Skjern because while he does come off as a protagonist, his business-ing is quite ruthless and thus calling him a tycoon isn't too far fetched. You know, when I watched Part 1 of this I did have North and South on my mind as it too dealt with a historical period (pre Civil War and Civil War) similar to Matador (Interbellum and WWII) but I feel like Matador does a little bit better with all the social issues. So I am stoked that you guys with watch 13-18 and 19-24. There are a lot of interesting things coming up.
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The Matador series is worth watching until the end, as the characters continually evolve over time, providing insight into Denmark's development. If you decide to rewatch the series in the future, you'll uncover new angles and details that you may have missed the first time.
Well done! As the series goes on you will see the women get stronger while the men get weaker. Powerful women is a Danish thing I guess, going back to Queen Thyra and the Viking age. The series will move into the 40s with the German occupation of Danmark. We basically surrendered on day 1, because there was not much we could do about it. This effects Korsbæk too. Some people like the Germans, some don't. Most people just said "Let's keep a low profile until this is over".
Apropos scenes happening in the background. Most danes remember a particular scene from Matador - Overlærer Andersen at the balcony. The thing is - that scene does not exist. It is only talked about. Yet most danes imagine they remember it. It is the so-called Mandela effect. Try to notice. It happens in the later part of the war.
I have watched North and South several times. It was aired many times in my youth. It is part of the reason I think I understand US history and culture better than many younger americans can these days. I wonder if that show could even be made in modern day US?
It's interesting to hear an "outside" perspective on this. I never really thought about it, but you are absolutely right: a lot of things _quite_ important to the story happen entirely offscreen. It's funny that I never really thought about it actually, because later in the show (no spoilers, I promise) an event takes place offscreen that many many Danes will _swear_ they saw happen on the show, even though it was never even filmed. It's a uniquely Danish example of the Mandela Effect. Also, please keep going. In my opinion it just keeps getting better as the story moves along. It has the best character development I've ever seen in a TV show, as well as simply the best characters. Almost all of them are... _human,_ for lack of a better word. They mostly don't conform to shallow stereotypes, but are complex people with shifting motivations, with virtues and vices, and they change over time, shaped by their experiences.
I'm impressed that you watch Matador. It's old, it's slow, it's in Danish. I like Matador, but I'm so old that I watched it the first time on TV and of course loved it. But if I had to watch it now as a first time viewer I think I would die a little.
I do have some honourable mentions for Your own US canon! Lonesome Dove, Centennial and one I think is giving a good view of the American spirit...... Dallas!! Just like Your lovely intro!!! By the way I grew up on these series and loved them!! Kind regards the Danish Viking
I dont know if someone has already suggested this, but when you are done with this show, the next television show (a contemporary show from the 1970s) is "Huset på Christianshavn" by the same director, but quite different
The only American series I can compere to Matador is Mad Men, it also tell the story about the US though common people and they are very particular about the details like they are in Matador
It isn’t wrong to refer to the 4 parts of Matador as Seasons. Originally, they filmed the first 6, and weren’t sure they’d ever make more. It was like a prolonged pilot in a way. But then it was popular, and the rest was made, but still in bits. So no, it wasn’t all filmed in one go. It was however almost always filmed either very early morning, because most of the actors had their regular work on various theaters and had to be there dor rehearsals and whatever show they were in at the time. You may also notice that it’s never really summer (though birdsong is dubbed on to make it seem like summer) That is because Matador was filmed during the colder season, and Balling (the film director) made the Olsen Bande films during the summer. There are some very nice Facebook Groups about Matador, some very nerdy and nitpicky (in the good way), some more for casual viewers. You might find them interesting.
not many drama series is worth watching 40 years on from its release, but matador is one of the few that does.. It doesn't feel old, its still fresh and crisp, being it productionwise, the plot, the acting, the dialogue and so on .. episode 18 is the king episode, which I whatch at least once a year.. enjoy
The Director made many of the the actors play against their personal character. Mads Skjern and Overlærer Andersen actors where actualy commedians. But very, very good actors.
I know it's not a 1:1, compared with Matador or North & South. But, I think "The Men Who Built America" mini series could in some way be included, as to show a drama about family & money in a historical setting.
Matador is kind of the essence of danish culture, but for conversations one could argue that Morten Koch movies and Olsen banden is more viewed and remembered ind Denmark.
4:00 I love North & South Book 1+2. Watched it multible times. Book 3 I first saw recently and I absolutely hated it. I don't consider it a part of it. Just want to forget it ever existed basically :D
Totally agree! Love 1 & 2, book 3 awful and ignore it. To bad when they can't respect their own story/characters. Matador was the same quality from start to finish, they didn't let it slide at all, but sadly not all productions are that perfect and/or know when to stop.
I think "Olsenbanden" is more mandatory than "Matador" I was pretty old before I watched "Matador" the first time -> it gets better nearing the end, but it is very conversation heavy
The Olsen gang is a group of extremely special people who come up with fantastical coups, but it is not about the lives of the Danes. Therefore, there is quite a big difference between the value of life as a Dane and where we come from compared to the matador. Matador is a kind of visually compressed history of Denmark for the time the series describes.
@@TheKIMANO Yeah I know - but lets pretend TravellingYoung were Danish - would it be more or less weird if they had watched "Matador" but not "Olsen banden" or the other way around - I know what my answer would be -> thereby one of them is more part of Danish culture than the other in my book (and Olsen banden would be way better if you didn't understand all the conversations etc. - first of all the dialogue is more advanced in Matador and they also refer to stuff happend long ago or off camera - way more than Olsen banden - so it is also harder to follow along if you don't understand Danish that well)
@@caspermatthiesen2434 From a purely linguistic point of view, we can easily agree that the Olsen gang is easier. If the perspective is to learn something about Denmark and the life of ordinary people, the Olsenbanden cannot be used for so much. But all languages are made up of sounds and we have many of them, so it's just a matter of hearing some Danish 🙂
North And South is one of my favorites. I watched many years ago, and then I read the book. And the book actually is more captivating in my opinion. There 's a deal of 'prologue' you don't really get from the TV series, about how the colonies were settled, how the native Americans were pushed gradually out of South Carolina (I guess it was already going on when the book begins). The conflict in the two protagonists between their deep friendship and their loyalty to their families and land is just palpable Great writing! Matador I only watched when it was aired on TV some 40-45 years ago, so I don't remember it much. I do remember Buster Larsen's character having a picture of Hitler inside the toilet lid in the outhouse.. Nevertheless, it was great writing, and according to my late parents does depict the provincial life and society back then very spot on!
10-15 years ago me and my wife got all 24 dvd's in November, and then used them as a Christmas callender from 1st to 24th of December. That went on the nemt 6 to 8 years. We are great fans, problery because we are born in 1944 and 46 and Korsbæk look very much like Denmark in the fifthies.
A "fun" thing is, all episodes are filmed early in the morning. The actors were all engaged on diffrent teaters, so the filming of Matador was made before the actors went to their teaters or film settings.
Like others have mentioned. I can highly recommend Centennial (in danish Colorado Sagaen). Is a 20 hours mini series about Colorado from mid 1700 to 1970's. Really really good. I have it on DVD and have watched it several times.
I watched it as a kid, and didn't get all the technical sides of the scheming 😆 And all the board stuff and all that grown up stuff. Because of my age, of course. You are grown up, but have the language barrier! I think it's great that you are doing this! I think it will leave you with a better sense of Denmark, in some way or the other 😊 And it must be hard in a language that isn't your mother tongue! Cudos for that! 😊👍 If you have the courage, I would rewatch it in sole years (as someone else says too). You will find more and more nuances. At least that is what I have watching this thousands of times during my childhood/teen years 😅 When I rewatched it, a while ago, after like a decade of not seeing it, I suddenly got things I didn't as a child/teenager 😊 Also.. The war changes a lot in Korsbæk. In good ways and bad ways. But I especially love the growing of Agnes' character! She is my favorite character! ❤ I also love Katrine and her straight way of seeing the world, and saying her mind. But the journey of Agnes through out Matador, I really love ❤
The interesting thing is, that today it would be concidered completely wrong on all accounts to imagine an entertainment tv-show taking place in an old worn out housing, where the only solution is to shout at each other and solve any crisis by going to the pub. Unless it’s “Paradise Hotel” of course.
@@kasperkjrsgaard1447 ... Huset på Christianshavn was actually a Danish version of the English series 'Coronation Street', or at least highly inspired by it.
In a scene it is told that a, lightly dressed, nasty person becomes locked out on a balcony during frost, and dies! And this is never - actually shown, though many "remember" seeing it! This is part of the High Quality of this series! An American Producer also visited Denmark and by then claimed that a Series of this quality couldn't have been made in the US!
Did you know that the actor doing this “nasty person” was seriously ill from cancer? He either went straight from either radiation treatment to the studios or from studio to radiation. And yet had the power to make such performance.
@@kasperkjrsgaard1447 No I wasn't aware of that!! But I know that the very strict Officer (Actor) was taken from a Mental Hospital, to do his acting!! And that the Daughter, "Misse", pushing her Dominant Mother in the wheelchair, was actually the oldest of the two, but Erik Balling found this to be right!!! This is part of the extreme quality of this Series!
I er fantastiske danskere/amerikanere altid glædeligt at følge jer. Et godt fif vil være "Blinkende lygter", har set den mange gange, men måtte se den flere gange før jeg forstod det, all the best
Okay, so you got me intrigued and interested... only to find out it isn't (legally) available in The Netherlands 😆 I'll keep an eye out for when it pops up on Netflix or one of the other streaming services over here.
It's not very likely to ever appear on Netflix. There is a box with english subtitles, viaplay which is a streaming service in Denmark, apparently had it some years ago or some such. But it's not likely to be on services outside Denmark, you might be lucky with a VPN, but I wouldn't count on it. Your best bet, is to get the physical box with or without subtitles if you feel like it :)
Matador is kind of a fusion between the English series 'Upstairs, Downstairs' and 'When the Boat Comes In', because it both follow the everyday life of the rich and the poor.
Try DR ( our public service in Denmark ) - it is even freely available from abroad there ( I have just checked from "The Netherlands" 😉 ) , but unfortunately only with subtitles in Danish However you will probably be able to make good sense of a lot of it via a combination of Dutch, German & English, since there are a lot of very similar basic words - and the grammar is fairly simple as well ( like a simplistic older English in many respects ).
Well - I've watched Matador 5 times over the years - and I can assure you, that even we Danes notice more and more details every time. I recognize that you have an extra challenge with the language. Do you know that in a corner of "Bakken" (The amusement park) they rebuild part of Korsbæk - complete with Laura's kitchen, Jernbanecafeen, some shops, The toilet of the pig-dealer (with the pictures of Hitler and others) and Postgaarden - and during the summer season very often you will see actors acting out important scenes from the tv-series.
North & South was actually reaired in DK only last year - not sure which channel? Another really great US series of this type ( families and their intertwining stories developing over time ) was "Centennial" aka. "Colorado-Sagaen" in Danish ( c. 1979 ) - do you guys remenber that one? Australia also had a fantastic series around the same time called "Against the Wind", which followed some Irish & English convicts, who were deported to the penal colony around Sydney in the late 1700s, as well as their new overlords. It has been reaired on Danish TV 5 times or so and also on the TV channels of our Scandinavian neighbours. It was hugely popular, and it also had a really great intro tune / song - one of those that you will get on your brain and spontaneously hum, whistle or sing at all times 😂 So if you are ever on the look out for another great and very catchy TV classic of this type, then I can highly recommend "Against the Wind" - I think it was finally rereleased on DVD or BluRay only a few years ago (10 - 15 or so? ). The original production company was called Pegasus, I recall, if that is any help in locating it.
i think i giant reason why matador and other series like it has become such a cultureal tradition is that we dident have more then 1 tv channel until the 1980s and then it was 2 and then we got a few more in the 1990s. so it was what was there. alot of it is nolstalgia and growing up with it. im so sad that so much of the danish series and films dont have english subtitles. there is a huge lack of consitteration for english/non-danish people.
It's really the worst isnt it? This one is really hanging on and it has flared up my asthma. I have managed to hide it well enough on videos but I sound like I have tuberculosis most of the time 😂. - M
I highly recommend you checking out these two of one of the best Danish comedy shows ever made, unless if you're already seen them: - 'Langt Fra Las Vegas' (Far Away From Las Vegas) - 'Klovn' (Clown)
Some American movies has a time continuum over a number of years. 'It's a wonderful life.' is like Matador. Imagine that film being serialized in 6 to 12 episodes. 'Penny Serenade' about what a childless couple adopting a baby girl goes through only to... Spoiler.. A lot of Gold is found in the Silver Screen... Most TV series are stuck in one time frame without character development. Friends excepted though. Rachel and Ross.
The cultural importance of "Matador" IMO lies heavily on the fact it was shown way back when we only had one (1) national TV channel. It's great scripted, great acted and EVERYBODY saw it, as there was nothing else to see 😄 The same applies to "Roots", "Upstairs & Downstairs" "Against the Wind", "When the boat comes in" and "Colorado-sagaen". Great series, but there was nothing else to see. So in the 70ies and early 80ies, most danes grew up on the "BBC style" chamber dramas, with a bit of US drama thrown in for variation. "Matador" wouldn't fly in todays TV market, sadly.
I don't know how much the American English language has changed, in the last 80-100 years, but the Danish has, and the language in Matador is very much spoken, as they did back then. Btw., how do you watch the episodes? If you have the files offline, I'm pretty sure, you can find English subtitles, and add to the video files.
And yet, as a new dane, you could have worse language teachers than Helle Virkner and Jørgen Buckhøj. It may be “old” danish, but it’s perfectly spoken danish.
Have you picked up on any of the catchphrases yet.? You still hear people say.. DET ER EN TYSKER sometimes... But the big one is JEG GÅR OP OG LÆGGER MIG! when something ridiculous happens like something Mette Frederiksen says, or the Karlson på Taget clone Rasmus Paludan that was always on tv not too long ago, a lot of my friends will write JEG GÅR OP OG LÆGGER MIG! with a Paludan video... So that's funny to see that still being a thing.
Also calling someone "Maude" is the danish version of "Karen". And you can call both men and women "Maude", when they complain about something ridicolous.
@@billigmad3720 Maude is not aggressive, though. The world just easily gets too much for her and she leaves, and it is supposed to give the whole world a bad conscience, but it won't get anybody jailed, fired, or beat up. And most people have reached a point with her where they just roll their eyes, more or less. It's this "Oh no, something modern and unexpected is happening, I need to go away and pretend the world doesn't exist, poor me" thing.
I can understand that it is hard to understand something from the plot that is no shown but just told in a conversation. Some Danes have the opposite problem, a lot of people have seen the scene where Misse lock the door for Andersen, but it have newer been shown :)
Do you guys ever reflect over that we share the same history. That we may have had the same king at some point or our ancestors might have meet or lived in the same village?
You can use some of the lines from Matador, when You talk to your danish friends. Example, Hans Christan, do something - jamen Hans Christian, så gør dog noget. It is good for a laugh and good practice. Most kids and young people may not know the lines, but some may. Have fun with Matador. :)
What did you think of the abortion scene? I think it is the best scene from any TV series I have watched. Skjold-Hansen's daughter is named Iben, by the way. Some people have recommended the Olsen Gang series. So do I, but do not binge watch.
If you ever need some great laughs you should really watch the classic English comedy series Fawlty Towers (John Cleese of Monty Python as a "somewhat misplaced" hotel owner 😂, 1970s ( they are still hilarious to watch! ), "Yes, Minister" ( 1980s satire about British politics, but easy to understand as a foreigner ) and "Blackadder" - a dynasty of scrupleless scoundrels through English history and their BEEEP incompetent helpers - with Rowan Atkinson of Mr. Bean fame playing the lead(s) alongside other familiar actors.
I think part of why you might find it hard to concentrate through Matador is simply because it's an old show. The pacing is different to modern shows and can feel a lot slower. Couple that with fewer camera cuts/angles, different use of music, ect. And it can be hard to stay focused. I know I complained about the perceived slowness a lot when my mother made me watch it years ago. On the flipside, my mother can't stand watching most US American shows since the music is too over powering, loud and aggressive, and the amount of cuts, camera angles and light flares are dizzying. "And they keep repeating things again and again, like they don't expect us to get it the first OR the second time. Are Americans slow in the head?"
I was thinking North and South just before you said it. I loved the series and it´s the only series or movie that I would love to watch a remake of. I think it would be shown more today with a better script, director and actors. The story deserves better, sorry.
