Ugh. Wasn't for me but I'm glad I watched it. It was slow but I didn't mind that as much as I minded the hopelessness of it all. It was certainly thought provoking. The inside sets were finely detailed and were wonderful. I didn't notice the warnings until later in the series, but the warnings here were for hunting violence and suicide themes.

After watching two episodes, I had no idea where it was going.
It ended up being quite foreboding and oh so heavy and bleak and there was a sense of it never going anywhere, never ending. Earlier on in one of the episodes a character says what I've typed below and that's how the poor sad characters lived their lives.

"Everything in this universe repeats itself
The sun comes up the sun goes down
The sun comes up again
We’re young, we’re old,
We’re born, we die.

Everything goes round and round and it’s absurd

But who am I to accept the nature of things,
I just have to accept them"

I'm thinking it verged on genius, but in a twisted genius type of way. Very interesting show all in all however I had to go mow a couple of acres of grass just to throw off the heaviness of life that I was left with after watching it. lol.

Yes Richard and Linda Thompson Dimming of the day tho I will look for the Gilmor version. On occasion I sink into a version of Comfortably Numb with Benedict Cumberbach sharing stage. I am struggling with TV because of my deepening cognitive changes likely from poor oxygen. I like sci-fi especially Deep Space 9 version Star Trek. I like thoughtful movies. There is one I just watched called Radium Girls on Netflix. It is the true story of women who painted the dials on watches and were poisoned by the radium. Sculptor 44

I agree it was dark and bleak but at the same time wonderfully optomistic. The function of changelings were to cast a different light on how to view the world. They were effectively a metaphor for stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. There is a scene where a character, the one you quote above, tells a woman her baby had genetic defects. She had thought her attempted abortion had caused his condition. You could feel the weight of guilt lifted from her shoulders on the news. It was so emotional.

Okay another Scandi programme, not bleak or dark, apart from the oil industry, is State of Happiness, set in Stavanger 1969. If anyone gets the chance visit the Norweigian coastal towns, they are so beautiful, especially Bergen. Everything is pretty much double the price of the UK but it is worth it.
I watched State of Happiness on BBC i player during Lockdown and I believe a second series is about to be made. Its well worth a view.

Hi Atticus,
I hope you're doing well.
In Katla, something I didn't ever understand was the "sci-fi" references I found online. I recall that the vulcanologist or geologist mentioned this at one time too but that story line didn't ever seem to materialise.

edited to add: It made more sense to me that the changelings more as part of their folklore than as aliens/sci-fi. Much like a lot of shows from Iceland I've found.

I just found "State of Happiness" on our SBS on demand. Thanks for the tip.

I've not been to that area sadly but had online friends in a support group many years ago who were from Bergen. It really looks very pretty.

Sculptor,
You may enjoy The Bletchley Circle if you've not seen that already.

"State of Happiness" is a gem.

Loving it. Great sets, music and acting as well.

I have a distinct liking for the mid-century, particularly 60s and early 70s, Scandi charm.

I even saw a few household items that I've actually owned at some point in my life long after that era and wishing I still had them. I'm not fond of holding onto lots of objects but some nostalgia did creep in.

I actually visited Stavanger in 1979. It was on board a Russian Cruise Ship the Mikhail Lermantov that eventually sank I think off NZ in about 1981. I still have my Mockba 1980 Olympic shirt ... it doesn't fit! I love all things Scandi, I'm currently getting underfloor heating fitted and then a Scandi style wooden floor on top this week!! State of happiness is such a beautiful story and I agree top end production values and acting. I was watching "Eyewitness" a Norweigian Police Procedure which has one of the actors from State of Happiness, but don't have access to a TV right now. It's very good, but does contain violence. Do you or does anyone have any top tips?

The little boy in Katla should win an award for his acting. I'm sure the director had his best interests at heart, but while I was watching him I did worry about the type of scenes he was doing and how that would impact him.

How interesting about your journey on the Russian ship. What an amazing trip that would have been for you. You could always frame the Mockba shirt I suppose. Under floor heating would be wonderful in a cold climate. Great for sore feet too. How exciting to get new wooden floors as well.

We don't watch television at home here but it's just my daughter and myself and we use our computers. I own a tv but it's not plugged into antenna. People think it's strange, but that's OK, I don't mind. I sometimes watch dvds on the actual tv set. I haven't done it recently but I used to put on surfing dvds with full soundtracks and have it playing in the background when I was cleaning or working nearby. That's very relaxing.

Some documentaries I enjoyed were ---

Joan Dideon - the centre will not hold

Kiss the Ground - Documentary science and nature. It's about the quality of soil and how it affects the food chain etc etc

The Staircase - crime drama US

The Long Way Round - Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman motorbike from London to New York. Going east through Europe, Asia and then to Alaska.

Long Way Down - Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman continue their travels from John o’Groats in Scotland through eighteen countries in Europe and Africa to Cape Town in South Africa.

Some more of the Nordic Noir with a few favourites although I've watched dozens and dozens.

Deadwind (Karppi) - Finnish
Bordertown - Finnish
The Bridge - Swedish Danish
The Killing - Danish
Wallander (several incarnations)

Borgen - Danish

I liked Line of Duty but haven't watched the last season.

Fringe I really loved. 100 or so episodes. I have the boxed set.

Random others include
Seven Years in Tibet. Movie 1997 Brad Pitt
Mindhunter - US psychological crime FBI
Fargo
Bloodline

I hope others have been getting some joy from watching bits of the Tokyo Olympics as much as I have. I watch it on my laptop. I just watched some incredible equestrian events and then super swimming. Watching BMX right now. Pretty cool. It's nice to be able to watch so many events live this time.

The Bridge is the ultimate Nordic Noir drama especially the first two seasons. I first came across the The Øresund Bridge in an episode of Top Gear and they have a way of making landscapes and seascapes look so dramatically strikingly beautiful that when I made the car journey across it myself, I was almost disappointed.

However the introduction music and the filming of The Bridge in the opening credits, makes me want to go again!

Bordertown is on my saved list on Netflix but I would like to recommend another Netflix series. Its a Belgian police procedural drama called The Break. It's set in a rural village and what's different is that none of the cops are TV cool, in fact they are flawed and some are barely competent. However they are oh so real, and well portrayed. It's a complicated tale and well worth the time. There is a second season that I haven't yet seen.

Hi Lara
The explanation of the emergence of the Changelings and the scenes of investigation in an active volcano were the weakest part of the programme. Better to have left it unexplained. I wonder if that little boy will win any awards? His performance was extraordinary.