Hem till Midgård
Hem till Midgård ("Home to Midgard") is a Swedish sit-com which ran on TV4 in Sweden during 2003. It is currently being re-run on TV4 Komedi. The name is a pun of the classic Swedish TV series Hem till byn as well as Emmerdale which is known as Hem till gården (Home to the farm) in Sweden.
The series was created and written by Per Simonsson, Fredde Granberg, Johan Petersson and Stefan Roos. The later three also (among others) starred in the show. In total 2 seasons of 12 episodes each were produced before the show was canceled.
Plot
The setting is 992 in Sweden, in a suburb of Birka called Midgård, which is the last village in Sweden where people still believe in the old Norse gods. Meanwhile, the real chieftain Snorre den Store (Snorre the Great, but with the alternative meaning "big penis") is away plundering in the Mediterranean. His youngest son Lillsnorre (Snorre the Lesser or "small penis") is in charge of the village, and forced to guard his father's Byzantine thrall Cassandra, who Lillsnorre also falls in love with. The episodes usually feature Lillsnorre and his not so great men attempting a new scheme to get money (which they are notoriously short on), sometimes by Plundering and sometimes by more honest means, or Lillsnorre trying to impress Cassandra and outshine Rövhalt.
Style
The series are often considered childish as the episodes contain a lot of Toilet humor and vulgar language as well as plenty of face punches, groin kicks and eye pokes, often with an added sound effect. The swear words used are often with references to the Old Norse gods, for example "Baldur's balls", "Freya's boob" and "Ymir's giant ass".
Main characters
Lillsnorre
Portrayed by Fredde Granberg. The opposite of the stereotypical Viking; cannot stand the sea or see blood without vomiting violently. He is laughed at by his friends for the small genitals implied by his name. Although he is more intelligent than others, he is shy and cowardly, and cannot face an argument with Cassandra without stuttering,sweating and sometimes even crying. He is afraid to say openly that he and Cassandra are a couple, since his father would probably kill him if he found out. He has an ability to think up quick comebacks whenever Halvdan insults or questions him, often followed by a groin kick.
Cassandra
Portrayed by Sara Sommerfeld. A beautiful slave from Byzantium (although her former boyfriend appeared to be Spanish). She is Lillsnorre's girlfriend, and although she often assaults Lillsnorre when he does something stupid or appears (mostly by mistake) with another woman and bullies him about his penis size, they are in love. When Lillsnorre tries to argue with her, he shutters and barely succeeds in saying what he wants. She is very spoiled and must always have what she wants.
Tyke Mörbult
Portrayed by Marko Lehtosalo. His namn means "Tyke Clobberer". Raised in Midgård, although from his accent he appears to be Finnish. The resident berserker, he seems to have a learning disability as he is often drooling and does not use words such as "you" or "I" (basically speaking in Third person). Calling him dumb or insulting Lillsnorre (or annoying Tyke in general) is not a good idea as he may hit his adversary with his club. Lillsnorre does not look down upon him as he does with Runar or Halvdan, as he knows that hitting Tyke will result in fighting back, unlike Halvdan and Runar who only take their punishment. Instead Lillsnorre favours him as his best ally and because of this Tyke is very loyal to Lillsnorre.
Runar Tvålfager
Portrayed by Johan Petersson. His name means "Runar Pretty-Boy". Blond, tall and strong, he is known as the "sex machine from Mälaren", and prone to jumping into the sack with anything female (including the Queen of Sweden and Lillsnorre's mother) but he is utterly unintelligent. Lillsnorre often beats him when he asks stupid questions. Runar is the member of the group who ruins Lillsnorre's situations the most.
Halvdan Glappkäft
Portrayed by Stefan Roos. His name means "Halvdan Blabbermouth". He is the considered the most annyoing member of the group, and his laugh sounds like a goat. He is the member who is least respected, Lillsnorre neglects to refer him as a member of the crew, and calls him Gunilla. Halvdan competes with Runar for his rank as sex machine, and Lillsnorre's rank as a chief because he is weak as a chief. However, Halvdan is the only member of the group that Lillsnorre can feel superior to, and is most often on the receiving end of his eye-pokes and groin kicks. Tyke also beats him up on a regular basis.
Gammelman
Portrayed by Rolf Skoglund. Gammelman (name meaning "old man") is the (somewhat senile) elder of the Midgard village, he is an Aesir Gothi aged around 100. He is sexually kinky and often refers to the gods' sexual parts when he is talking about them. He uses unrecommended methods to heal people, such as pouring hot water in the anus of the king when he has toothache. He often intends to sacrifice the monk Peter Nicolaus.
Rövhalt
Played by Per Morberg. A rich trader from Birka and an old "comrade" of Lillsnorre's father, he often tries to charm Cassandra. He received his name (which means "ass-limp") because Snorre den Store cut his left buttock off when fighting over Cassandra in Byzantium. He often makes fun of Lillsnorre, but Lillsnorre does not dare retaliate because of Rövhalt's position. On the other hand, Gammelman, who is not afraid of anything, has called him "the man who takes half price for ham'" (due to the Swedish word "skinka" meaning both "ham" and "buttock" in English).
Peter Nicolaus the monk
Played by Mikael Riesebeck. Nicolaus was sent to Midgard by the Pope as a punishment for having sex with his younger sisters. He is picked on and threatened by Gammelman that he will be made a sacrificial victim. Cassandra is apparently his only defense, because she wants a Latin teacher. He is called "Petter-niklas" (which is a nickname for "Penis") by Lillsnorre and the other Vikings.
Recurring characters
Snorre den Store
Lillsnorre's father, and portrayed as being extremely masculine, and the exact opposite of Lillsnorre. He is famous for have set fire to Paris singlehanded, and raped half of Rome. He has set to sea with his seven strongest sons, leaving Lillsnorre to guard Cassandra in Midgård.