Rejseholdet
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Rejseholdet is a fictional, Emmy Award winning dramatic television series produced by Danmarks Radio (DR) with 32 Episodes spanning four seasons.
Rejseholdet (or Unit One/Unit 1 in English releases; Mordkommissionen in Swedish release) is an elite mobile task force that travels around Denmark helping local police solve serious crimes. Cases portrayed in the show are loosely based upon actual incidents with sensational crimes such as murders, kidnappings, cross-border sex traffic and child pornography featuring in various episodes.
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[edit] Themes
The central character, Ingrid Dahl (Charlotte Fich), is an ambitious detective who has been promoted into command of the unit at the beginning of the first season. The drama is balanced between the forensic process and an unfolding backstory that includes the sometime ambivalent relationships existing between the unit members, their families and those outside the Unit. The series regularly touches on social issues including the insularity of police work, the social and emotional impact of brutal crime, as well as political and press involvement in the justice process.
[edit] Locations and awards
The Danish landscape features extensively as the unit moves to a new location for each story. Action has ranged between Denmark, Germany, Iceland and other regional locales.
In 2002, the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded the Best Drama Series Emmy for episodes 20 & 25.
[edit] Distribution
The series has been televised in Denmark (DR1), Sweden (TV4), Germany (ZDF), and in Australia (SBS).
Each episode is titled with a reference to an Assistancemelding which roughly translates to English as "Request for Assistance"
Region 4, English-subtitled DVDs of Unit One are currently available for all seasons. The series includes "adult" content with occasional nudity, graphic violence, sexual situations, strong language and adult themes.
[edit] Episodes
| Season 1 | Title | First aired (Denmark) | Synopsis |
| 1 | Assistancemelding A-15/99 | 1 Oct 2000 | |
| 2 | Assistancemelding A-21/99, del 1 | 8 Oct 2000 | |
| 3 | Assistancemelding A-21/99, del2 | 15 Oct 2000 | |
| 4 | Assistancemelding A-6/00 | 22 Oct 2000 | |
| 5 | Assistancemelding A-11/00 | 29 Oct 2000 | |
| 6 | Assistancemelding A-15/00 | 5 Nov 2000 | |
| 7 | Assistancemelding A-17/00 | 12 Nov 2000 | |
| 8 | Assistancemelding A-19/00, del 1 | 19 Nov 2000 | |
| 9 | Assistancemelding A-19/00, del 2 | 26 Nov 2000 | |
| Season 2 | |||
| 10 | Assistancemelding A-24/00 | 11 Mar 2001 | |
| 11 | Assistancemelding A-25/00 | 18 Mar 2001 | |
| 12 | Assistancemelding A-26/00 | 25 Mar 2001 | |
| 13 | Assistancemelding A-28/00 | 1 Apr 2001 | |
| 14 | Assistancemelding A-30/00 | 8 Apr 2001 | |
| 15 | Assistancemelding A-31/00, del 1 | 15 Apr 2001 | |
| 16 | Assistancemelding A-31/00, del 2 | 22 Apr 2001 | |
| Season 3 | |||
| 17 | Assistancemelding A-2/01 | 30 Dec 2001 | |
| 18 | Assistancemelding A-3/01 | 6 Jan 2002 | |
| 19 | Assistancemelding A-4/01 | 13 Jan 2002 | |
| 20 | Assistancemelding A-6/01 | 20 Jan 2002 | |
| 21 | Assistancemelding A-7/01, del 1 | 27 Jan 2002 | |
| 22 | Assistancemelding A-7/01, del 2 | 3 Feb 2002 | |
| 23 | Assistancemelding A-9/01 | 10 Feb 2002 | |
| 24 | Assistancemelding A-12/01 | 17 Feb 2002 | |
| 25 | Assistancemelding A-13/01 | 24 Feb 2002 | |
| 26 | Assistancemelding A-15/01 | 3 Mar 2002 | |
| 27 | Assistancemelding A-16/01 | 10 Mar 2002 | |
| 28 | Assistancemelding A-17/01 | 17 Mar 2002 | |
| 29 | Assistancemelding A-19/01, del 1 | 24 Mar 2002 | |
| 30 | Assistancemelding A-19/01, del 2 | 1 Apr 2002 | |
| Season 4 | |||
| 31 | Assistancemelding A-05/03, del 1 | 25 Dec 2003 | |
| 32 | Assistancemelding A-05/03, del 2 | 1 Jan 2004 |
[edit] Cast
| Character | Played by | |
| Ingrid Dahl | Charlotte Fich | Central character, appointed commander of the Rejseholdet unit at the beginning of the first series, holds rank of Detective Chief Inspector. Single mother of Tobias (by former husband) and guardian of Gry, the daughter of her late partner, who dies in the first season. Promoted into a leadership position, she initially struggles to gain the respect of the team and her superior, Ulf Thomson. During the series it is revealed that Ulf had been a close friend of Ingrid's (deceased) father when he forms a friendship with Ingrid's mother. Ingrid comes to suspect that Ulf is her father but he persuades her that this is not the case. |
| Allan Fischer | Mads Mikkelsen | Detective Inspector. The sometimes "problem child" of the unit, Impulsive and emotional, Fisher has been frustrated by a lack of advancement, as he is seen by Ulf and Ingrid as "difficult to manage." Despite his rough edges his persistence, physicality and willingness to bend the rules often produces results and he is thus highly valued as a member of the team. |
| Thomas La Cour | Lars Brygmann | Detective Inspector. The most cerebral member of the unit, La Cour is noteworthy for his highly intuitive investigative approach that often plays a key role in solving an episode's mystery. Most episodes include a sequence where La Cour seems to mystically "channel" the victim and/or perpetrator in order to re-create the crime event. The portrayal of these moments sometimes suggest the supernatural, such as an episode when an off-duty La Cour leads local police directly to the murder scene and thus places himself under suspicion for the crime. |
| Jens Peter "I.P." Sørensen | Waage Sandø | Detective Inspector. The senior member of the unit, who has been passed-over for promotion when Ingrid is appointed commander. Partner to Kirsten. A world-weary but trusted and quietly supportive second-in-command to Ingrid. Has been with the force for 40 years. |
| Ulf Thomsen | Erik Wedersøe | Senior police official, under whom the unit operates. Appointed Ingrid to command position. This promotion seems at least partially the product of political pressure to elevate a female. Ulf frequently challenges Ingrid's decisions but his respect for her is revealed over time. Ulf's affair with Kirsten and promotion of Ingrid has complicated his longstanding relationship with colleague I.P. |
| Gaby Levin | Trine Pallesen | Junior member of the unit. Develops relationship with Johnny Olsen. Gaby is portrayed as the "glue that often holds the unit together" managing unit logistics and she is heavily relied upon by Ingrid and other unit members. |
| Johnny Olsen | Lars Bom | Contract truck owner/operator. Responsible for moving the Rejseholdet mobile office between locations. Partner of Gaby. Former Danish national football (soccer) star, frequently "unofficially" involved in the unit's police work. |
| Jan Boysen | Michael Falch | Forensic pathologist working with the Danish Police. Pursues Ingrid romantically. |
| Tobias | Sebastian Ottensten | Ingrid's teenage son. Tobias's brushes with the law (smoking hashish and joyriding in a stolen car) has been used to illustrate Ingrid's conflicted state as an ambitious career officer and a single mother. |
| Kirsten Jørgensen | Lisbet Lundquist | Actress and I.P.'s partner, but they separate during the first season. A successful stage actress, we learn that she is struggling with issues pertaining to ageing and alcoholism. Develops an affair with Ulf. |
| Gry | Lykke Sand Michelsen | Daughter of Ingrid's late partner. |
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