Hard to rate! Season 1 is a huge "10." Season 2 is a bit of a let-down, maybe a 7? Season 3 starts so dreadfully mediocre and tedious it is easily a 3, but the last few epis bounce back up to an 8 or 9. I gave it a generous 5, because despite the first season's excellence, the subsequent uneven quality is, let's face it, a "fault" and shortcoming of the production team.
2 or 3 so years ago I watched the first 7 episodes of season one ("series" one for British readers). I absolutely loved them, and was hooked. So I bought the entire 13-episodes of that first season, and it seemed as if each episode I saw was better than the last one. I waited impatiently for 2 years for the Swedish folks to get season two subtitled, and snapped that up as well, the day that second set became available.
I am watching the 3rd episode of season two right now - and am torn between wanting to gobble them all up and watch them all in a row, immediately (!), and hoarding the treasure and stretching them out, watching them as slowly as I can manage, making them last, to extend the pleasure. The third season is in the mail to me as I write. Knowing I'll have 16 more episodes to see after the current episode I am viewing gives me the comfort one only gets from contemplating a secret stash of joy. My only wish is that they were high definition Blu Ray, and not just DVD - but the Swedish Wallander is so good I can overlook that.
One word about the BBC version. I admire Kenneth Branagh a LOT, but do NOT like the series he stars in. I don't intend that to be any disrespect of Branagh at all; but it is important and needs pointing out. If you've seen the BBC version and found it dull and depressing - don't give up! Try the "real" version, the one from Sweden. You'll notice it stars Krister Henriksson - an unusual name for English speakers that will easily stand out for you.
The BBC take is completely different from the Krister Henriksson Swedish version. The BBC shows feel as if they missed the point - or at least got such a radically different point from the Wallander stories that it well could be from a different literature.
For me the great joy of Wallander is not the plots or the "exciting" police action, although they are interesting enough. Rather it's the tone. The shows have a "meditative" quality - at times even existential. They are very evocative. Certainly seeing these more personal views of Sweden and the people delight me, and engage me in a way few TV series can.
