No more Borgen :(

Just finished watching all the Borgen episodes there are in existence. I frequently talk about being so bad at watching TV; I wander off and do other things on the Internet or lose the will to hunt down episodes all too easily. The flipside of that is that when a show grabs my attention, it really grabs my attention - I was up till 4 AM last night watching the brilliant finale and finally got what my good friend Max meant when he said the last five minutes of the season 2 finale was amazing. (Spoiler: it was.)

Borgen is also brilliant at anticipating all my narrative needs; frequently I'd come to the end of an episode and think, "That was great but what they really need to do is focus on Birgitte's personal life," or "Great political strategy but what about the stuff that actually makes a difference to people's lives?" or "What about more gender stuff?" and in the very next episode they'd deliver, it's kind of freaky and also great. This show juggles a lot of balls - in one episode alone they tackle about three to four heavy-duty issues in a smart and coherent storyline - and they never let a single one go for too often. It's ambitious and clever storytelling at its best; I can't help comparing it with Political Animals and feeling that in every respect Borgen comes out on top.

I... am also not entirely sure how many times in a row I can say "Call me, Birgitte", but there are not enough times in the world. Her clothes! Her smarts! Her everything! I have way too many torrid fantasies about either being a) an intern in the PM's office (somehow magically speaking Danish, of course) or b) Birgitte's au pair (again somehow magically speaking Danish). All of a sudden I have this incredible lust for office wear, impeccable makeup, and a ponytail. I haven't done ponytails since leaving high school; such is Birgitte Nyborg's power. BIRGITTE, CALL ME.

( One thing I didn't like: (spoilers) )

#109 - 112

My Name Is Red, by Orhan Pamuk.

( Fantastic. If you've read this, COME TALK TO ME ABOUT IT. )

The Burden, by Mary Westmacott.

I was looking forward to reading a non-mystery novel by Agatha Christie but this wasn’t enjoyable at all; I actually enjoy her take on romance and love a lot most days but she really needs a good plot to hang this on? She tried to structure it in three acts here but that didn’t really work either. I quite enjoyed the uncle figure who also provided good Toryish comic relief but that was about it, everyone else was so wet.

Democratically Speaking, by Chee Soon Juan.

( Mixed )

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, by Agatha Christie.

I’m not sure if this is because I read a blurb on Wikipedia years ago but for one of the very first times I can say I TOTALLY CALLED THIS. Not opportunity, but totally motive! That never happens! :D

… I don’t remember much about this, but it’s apparently one of Christie’s best and I can def. see why. Worth a read.