Vikings (2013– )

Vikings follows the adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok the greatest hero of his age. The series tells the sagas of Ragnar's band of Viking brothers and his family, as he rises to become King of ... See full summary »

Creator:

Michael Hirst

Stars:

Travis Fimmel, Katheryn Winnick, Clive Standen

Cast

Series cast summary:
Travis Fimmel	...	Ragnar Lothbrok (9 episodes, 2013)
Katheryn Winnick	...	Lagertha Lothbrok (9 episodes, 2013)
Clive Standen	...	Rollo (9 episodes, 2013)
Jessalyn Gilsig	...	Siggy Haraldson (9 episodes, 2013)
Gustaf Skarsgård	...	Floki (9 episodes, 2013)
Nathan O'Toole	...	Bjorn Lothbrok (9 episodes, 2013)
George Blagden	...	Athelstan (8 episodes, 2013)
Tadhg Murphy	...	Arne (7 episodes, 2013)
Jefferson Hall	...	Torstein (7 episodes, 2013)
Gabriel Byrne	...	Earl Haraldson (6 episodes, 2013)
David Pearse	...	Svein (6 episodes, 2013)
Diarmaid Murtagh	...	Leif (6 episodes, 2013)
Ruby O'Leary	...	Gyda (6 episodes, 2013)
John Kavanagh	...	The Seer (5 episodes, 2013)
Elinor Crawley	...	Thyri Haraldson (5 episodes, 2013)
Ivan Kaye	...	King Aelle (3 episodes, 2013)
Vladimir Kulich	...	Eric (3 episodes, 2013)
Maude Hirst	...	Helga (3 episodes, 2013)
Eric Higgins	...	Knut (3 episodes, 2013)
Peter Gaynor	...	Lord Edgar (3 episodes, 2013)
Jouko Ahola	...	Kauko (3 episodes, 2013)
Donal Logue	...	King Horik (2 episodes, 2013)
Trevor Cooper	...	Earl Bjarni (2 episodes, 2013)
Eddie Elks	...	Olafur (2 episodes, 2013)
Angus MacInnes	...	Tostig (2 episodes, 2013)
Will Irvine	...	Brother Cenwulf (2 episodes, 2013)
Sam Doyle	...	Saxon 1 (2 episodes, 2013)
Carrie Crowley	...	Ellisef (2 episodes, 2013)
Sam Smith	...	Edwin (2 episodes, 2013)
Jonathon Kemp	...	Wigea (2 episodes, 2013)

Storyline

Vikings follows the adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok the greatest hero of his age. The series tells the sagas of Ragnar's band of Viking brothers and his family, as he rises to become King of the Viking tribes. As well as being a fearless warrior, Ragnar embodies the Norse traditions of devotion to the gods, legend has it that he was a direct descendant of Odin, the god of war and warriors.

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Plot Keywords:

viking | monastery | saxon | monk | norse mythology | 

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Taglines:

The Storm Is Coming

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | War

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Details

Country:

Ireland Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Viikingid

Filming Locations:

Ireland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Irish Film Board, Take 5 Productions, World 2000 Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Loðbrók" is not a family name but a nickname meaning "hairy-breeches", presumably from a habit of wearing fur leggings. Vikings often acquired colorful nicknames derived from personal habits, characteristics or traits. The sagas and histories of Vikings are populated with such figures as Helgi the Leant, Ketil Trout and King Harald Finehair (formerly Harald Shag-hair). One can only speculate as to how difficult it was to be the follower of a man known as Eystein the Foul-Farted (a name recorded in the Icelandic Book of Settlements).

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Goofs

Throughout the series, people refer to Gabriel Byrne's character as "Earl (or Lord) Haraldson". The Vikings used a system of naming known as "patronymic" in which one's personal name was modified by the given name of one's father followed by "son" (for a male) or "dottir" (for a female). These modifiers were not in anyway considered family names and people were commonly referred to by their personal names regardless of their rank. Occasionally, "matronymics" were used, which are derived from the name of the mother. This custom has fallen into disuse in all the Nordic countries except Iceland, where the patronymic/matronymic system is still in use and the custom is to address people by what people in most other countries would consider their given names. For similar reasons, the Earl's wife, Siggy, would never be referred to as "Siggy Haraldson"; she would retain the patronymic inherited from her father. If, for example, her father's name had been Eirik, she would remain Siggy Eiriksdottir even after marrying. Bjorn, the son of Ragnar, would not be known as "Bjorn Loðbrók" but as "Bjorn Ragnarsson". Ragnar's wife, similarly to Siggy, would not be known as "Lagertha Loðbrók". "Loðbrók" is not a family name but a nickname meaning "hairy-breeches", presumably from a habit of wearing fur leggings. See also trivia.

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Connections

Featured in The Wright Stuff: Episode #17.196 (2012)

User Reviews

Something a bit different and very enjoyable.

There have been one or two negative reviews posted about this show and I have to say that after 2 episodes, I really like it... nit pickers may say that there are historical inaccuracies, but there are also many myths dispelled ... and with the appearance of Valkyrie on the battlefield at the very beginning of ep1 to take fallen warriors souls, unless you are deluded and believe in that being factual it was clear from the very outset that there was always going to be some dramatic license used. Others say the show is too Hollywood, this has to be the case to some extent but by no means is this another mass produced piece of garbage, unless you want the show cancelled after the pilot it must appeal to a mass American audience as entertainment it isn't a documentary. I personally feel that the show DOES have a European feel which is absent in many historical dramas, the locations are beautiful, the cast has been well selected and act their parts fantastically well. The good guys are instantly likable where as the bad guys you just can't wait to see them get whats coming to them, that is always a good sign as far as I am concerned as i want to see what happens to them and am looking forward to the next episode. So don't be put off by the pedantic armchair historians out there give vikings a chance.. it is what it is.