Toby Young Toby Young

What The Bridge tells us about Scandinavian social democracy – and why it’s not all good news.

The streets are cleaner. But the equality is corrosive

Martin and Saga (Photo: Carolina Romare/BBC) 
issue 01 February 2014

This Saturday night I’ll be staying in to watch the final two episodes of The Bridge, the Scandinavian detective series on BBC4. I missed the first season of The Bridge when it was broadcast on BBC4 in 2012, but have since caught up on all ten episodes, as well as the first eight of season two in the past fortnight. I highly recommend it.

The bridge of the title is the one that links Malmö to Copenhagen, and the two central characters, a Swedish detective called Saga and a Danish detective called Martin, flit back and forth between the two cities. It’s hard for English viewers to keep track of which country they’re in because the two languages sound so similar. Nevertheless, you come away with a strong impression of Scandinavian society, both its strengths and weaknesses.

The programme is beautifully shot and, visually, both Malmö and Copenhagen are attractive.

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