Better Times

I've seen the whole of the first series and I think it is just superb. It had been billed as a successor to " Matador" which in my view is one of the best TV series ever made.

All expectations have been fully met. Although it is fiction it gives one an insight into life in post-war Denmark , the way people lived a the attitudes that prevailed.

The series is based around a company that produced radios and then very reluctantly , had to accept that television had become a fact and had to start making televisions in order not to lose ground to it's competitors. For those who enjoyed Matador and the British series Upstairs Downstairs , Kroniken is an absolute must.

This is an absolute must see for lovers of top class drama. I have watched the whole series twice now and love every second of it. The acting is first class. In 22 episodes there are about two suspect deliveries in my book. I think the script is brilliant. I speak Danish, so I'm spoiled there, but even translated, the script should be great. It's just such a riveting story. The attention to detail with the sets, clothes and everything else is really well done, but above all, the characters are so real, so human, so tragic and so utterly convincing. This is television at its best. It has been compared to the great series Matador. I say it is even better!

The story revolves around Ida who comes from the country to the city and gets drawn in to the world of the Nielsen family, an upper class family who own a radio and later television factory. But at its heart, it's a story about the Nielsen son, Eric, and his struggles in life getting acceptance and love from his father. There are many sub plots about Danish politics and everyone's lives and loves and the growth of the television industry etc, but it is a great human drama about how we need to love and build our children up not tear them down.

I can't understand anyone thinking the script is bad, unless they are maybe reading bad subtitles. Obviously to get the most out of it, you'll need to be fluent in Danish :), but hopefully there are good subtitles around for this show. I don't think I've ever seen a series that is clearly better than this. If you're into humanist dramas you should track this down! TV doesn't get any better.

I have seen the whole of the first series and I think it is a very worthy successor to Matador.

Although fictional , the series gives one an insight into life and the prevalent attitudes in post-war Denmark. It is very realistic with excellent characterization

There are really two stories side by side. One is the coming of television to Denmark and how the various radio manufacturers adapted to it and the other is the development of the characters and the events that transpire in their lives.

A gripping series and I'm just waiting for the second series to be broadcast.

Krønikken starts were Matador, the immortal Danish TV classic, ended. While it does not reach Matador's level, it certainly is an important contribution that vividly describes the culture of the Danish society from the postwar period, to the beginning of the modem times.

Unlike Matador, Krønikken, (the Chronicle) takes place in Copenhagen, and not in a province town; therefore its focus is a little narrower, and it has more supporting characters that are only seen in a few episodes. Its primary focus is the capitalistic family, whose patriarch owns the radio, and later, TV factory Bella, but it also has a strong focus on the development of the Danish social democratic party. This is because, that the Social Democrat was the primary architect for the modem Danish welfare state, which was created in this period.

It is a story, but it describes the history of that period better, then mere facts ever could.

If you are interested in the Danish culture, then Krønikken, is a must see.

Why, why why?

The concept is great, the acting decent. Even the cinematography works. But the scriptwriting is so sickening that it the whole series deteriorates into a painful farce of both glorifying and gratifying tributes to the great achievements of the Danish Social Democrats and an almost obsessive description of the moral decadence, corruption and demise of the "upper" classes.

Had this production come out of North Korea, the DDR or even the Soviet Union, I could have lived with it. Had it been a 90 minute film, I could have forgiven the producers, but this is 22 torturous episodes of badly scripted, incredible and immature propaganda that is unlikely to have exceeded even Stalin's or Goebbels' quality bars.

My advice is fairly clear: Unless you are either very bored or very brainwashed, don't bother with it. Re-arranging your sock draw is more thrilling!

Danish Television and cinema can do and has done far better than this. Why did they ever produce Kroniken with such a cheesy message?