Vikings on History Channel

[Wodening]

What do folks think of Vikings on the History Channel. I am enjoying it thus far. There are several historical inaccuracies, but I feel these do not detract from it. I am mainly watching it for mindless entertainment and not for an education. The sets are interesting and I like the characters. I am interested in seeing where it goes from here.

[TinCow]

Good stuff, it's an auto-record for my DVR. Decent entertainment and, even with the inaccuracies, it's more likely to make people go out and learn about the period. Anything that promotes education of history is good in my book.

[Myth]

Well though the events are a bit messed up and some characters are clearly there to appear to the modern day audience (Loki for example), I still enjoy it quite a lot. It's dirty and gritty, the combat is more or less realistic - no over the top LOTR movie type choreography, but dirty, messy business of killing people. I like that the axes (and weapons in general) are realistic, there are no ridiculous double-bitted axes and such, and the one-handed weapons are the right size.

I liked also that our shieldmaiden protagonist didn't go smashing faces in left and right, she is good but she knows not to challenge clearly superior warriors. Some things stick out, like the monks having brand new ropes tied to their belts, but that's just nitpicking. Overall, I like it a lot - it's not comically overexposed like Spartacus for example (though I watch that as well)

[Wodening]

I noticed that about the monks too. Really their clothes did not show much wear at all, and I suspect in reality they would.

[TinCow]

They probably should have had more wear than was shown, but at the same time Lindisfarne, in that period, was one of the wealthiest and most important centers for Christianity in Britain. It makes sense that a place of such importance and (relative) wealth would have had monks who were a bit better clothed than average.

[Myth]

Anyone who has spent time in a country house - going about in a dusty yard, tending to livestock, collecting eggs, sweeping dust and shovelling manure, will know that there's no way for their garments to be so impeccable, unless they kept brand new ones in trunks and decided to don them for what they perceived was the Armageddon.

[Wodening]

Myth, those are my thoughts exactly. Even their indoor duties would be none too clean. I suspect many a monk back in the day got ink on their sleeves when creating documents, not to mention having to clean the monastery's interior. I suppose it is possible that they have several sets of robes. As someone else pointed out this was a very wealthy monastery. All of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were pretty wealthy at this time, and a lot of that wealth was tied up in the churches and monasteries.

[lars573]

What do folks think of Vikings on the History Channel. I am enjoying it thus far. There are several historical inaccuracies, but I feel these do not detract from it. I am mainly watching it for mindless entertainment and not for an education. The sets are interesting and I like the characters. I am interested in seeing where it goes from here.

Ragnar Lodbrok from this series is a fictitious character based on a fictitious character. Well the Ragnar Lodbrok from Ragnar's Saga is an aggregate of several real Norsemen. So the perfect character to build a series around. Since we know few actual Vikings in detail. Just push him into the past a few generations to have him be the anonymous Norseman who raided Lindisfarne.

Well though the events are a bit messed up and some characters are clearly there to appear to the modern day audience (Loki for example), I still enjoy it quite a lot. It's dirty and gritty, the combat is more or less realistic - no over the top LOTR movie type choreography, but dirty, messy business of killing people. I like that the axes (and weapons in general) are realistic, there are no ridiculous double-bitted axes and such, and the one-handed weapons are the right size.

Floki is nothing but a kooky man. Nothing supernatural about him. The most supernatural events in the show so far are Ragnar's visions of Odin. Which are pretty cool, and still believable. The company who produces this show also produces The Tudor's and The Borgias (a show I really enjoy).


And this is the show's theme song in it's entirety with some clips from later episodes. Where Ragnar and crew are fighting organized bands of Franks (I'm assuming since there are heavy cavalry) and Saxons.

[drone]

I caught most of the episode with the Lindisfarne raid, and part of another (late night HC filler marathon). So I obviously missed a lot of the plot, but it seemed fairly well written and acted. I blew it off originally since HC has been rather bad for the past 5 years or so, but I was pleasantly surprised from what I saw. I'll have to set the DVR to get all the episodes and watch them through.

Loved the sunstone.

[Arjos]

Wanted to thank you Wodening, for making me discover this serie :)

I'm enjoying it, appreciating particularly the cultural divide/clash portrayed. Although Haraldson wouldn't have lasted one assembly, in reality, behaving like that lol

[Lemur]

I'm digging it. I've set it aside as TV just for me, which is important, since so many good shows are committed to either the wife or friends.

The hell with all of 'em. When I'm stuck home with the baby, I'm gonna get my viking on.

[dge1]

I think it is a great show.

[The Stranger]

minor spoiler

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

would a viking warrior really invite a thrall (slave) into his bed to have sex with his wife?

[lars573]

It's not out of the realm of possibility.

[lars573]

The production company that produces Vikings is also behind Showtime's? (I have no idea who broadcasts it in Yank-land) The Borgias.

[Wodening]

minor spoiler

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

would a viking warrior really invite a thrall (slave) into his bed to have sex with his wife?

The answer is probably no. For another thing the show is contradicting its self from what was said earlier in the series about that sort of situation.

[Arjos]

For another thing the show is contradicting its self from what was said earlier in the series about that sort of situation.

Well the previous case was a bondsman with the Jarl's wife: quite the social gap.
I don't see how it would have strict rules: of course slaves won't have any saying nor initiative, but the freemen were masters of their household and they could do whatever they wanted with their thralls.

[dge1]

What little I've been able to see has been very good. I might even get the DVD's!

[The Stranger]

lol... spoilers

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

these 3 men on horse couldve turned the tide of that skirmish with 1 charge into the flank or rear... just LOL