The Night Shift (Næturvaktin) (Icelandic petrol station based comedy)

[I accept the terms of the]

The reasons for Georg's personality are addressed fully in the film, which anybody who is curious about the character could (and should) watch at any point during the series.

[vrailaine]

Just watched the film, liked how they addressed his baldness, don't think they mentioned it during the television series. Definitely worth watching, although it certainly feels like it spoils a few things from the next 2 seasons, can see why it didn't get much of an international release or anything though.

[Jim Jarmusch]

If the episodes have now aired in this country how is it any different than discussing last night's Psychoville?

I object to the overuse of spoilers. Once you're past the first few replies of a thread looking for an indication if this is any good you shouldn't go further. They're all on iPlayer, get yourself update before entering. Spoilers only apply to the film with being a separate entity and mentions of the next two in the trilogy.

I'm going to watch the film last, in the order they were made.

[vrailaine]

It would hardly be overuse, you can't hold the same attitude to spoilers for every show, this thread is never gonna have hundreds of posts blacked out full of spoilers. There isn't alot of places to read about whether the show is any good so people are more likely to trudge through the whole 35 or so posts to form an opinion.

This site has a decent spoilers system too, just highlight the text.

[23 Daves]

Watched the lot now.  This has been brilliant overall - twelve episodes, only a couple of which have been humdrum.  The rest are beautifully done, and the series actually works astoundingly well as a coherent whole.  The personalities and character flaws drip out slowly over the course of the shows, rather than establishing themselves in episode one or two then being milked for repetitive laughs thereafter.  There's more to Georg than just being a fascistic boss, just as there's more to Oli than being an approval-seeking simpleton. 

Oli is arguably one of the most sympathetic sit-com characters I've come across in years as well.  Georg treats him in the manner that an unsympathetic comedy writer would, aping his poor education and daft ideas, but the side of him that's presented to the audience is incredibly well-meaning and sensitive.  That's a really interesting about-turn - the easiest thing to do would be to present him as the clown, and whilst the funniest moment in the series for me is Daniel

Spoiler alert

getting him to tell Georg he raped him in a former life just to milk the situation for laughs

[close]

, there are sides to his character which are more indicative of the kind of community-orientated, kindly person Georg would like to be in principle but clearly isn't.  It's a strange comedy series for the present day in that the least sympathetic person and the biggest ogre is actually the intellectual character (and even then, as I've established, the situation isn't really as clear-cut as all that).

Really deftly done, the whole thing.  It's up on iPlayer for another two days, and I'd strongly urge everyone to watch it while they can.  It's definitely something that you become more and more fond of as the episodes slip by - if you've only seen a couple and merely rated the show as quite good, keep going with it.  It has a strange way of worming itself into your heart. 

A friend of mine also made a comparison between this and "Fifteen Storeys High" and "Nightingales".  Can see where he's coming from, but it's an even slower, darker pace than the former, and lacks most of the surreal moments of the latter. 

[vrailaine]

Someone uploaded it onto one of those filesharing sites so you can get it from there instead afterward.

23 Daves summed it all up quite nicely there in my opinion.

[Kishi the Bad Lampshade]

Just watched all of it, it really is a grower. I'm a sucker for comedies set in a world as isolated and weird as Iceland a night-shift, the atmosphere is eerie yet comforting. It does actually remind me that I must watch Nightingales, a show with a similar concept that I've never got round to. It's hard to describe what's good about it as a sitcom because there's almost never any actually funny lines (I'm selling this so well), but the characters start out as stock characters and just end up slowly becoming these fully-realised, beautifully observed people. (Of course it's hard to tell how good the lines actually are and how well they're delivered because of the language barrier). At the same time though I'm not sure how it would sustain itself over two other series. I'd definitely like to see the film though, I'll be getting hold of that. It was weird to see Georg's development, as he started out as seeming like a David Brent type, full of hot air but ultimately well-meaning, but turned out to be more and more genuinely nasty with only hints of goodness - the episode with the Japanese woman in particular he seemed to show a level of racism that just seems impossible for a supposed intellectual (or pseudo-intellectual as the case may be). It was kind of an interesting turn to take to make one of the main characters so utterly unlikeable, I think there's only so much of that one can take, especially when he's one of just three characters in a claustrophobic setting.

Spoiler alert

One other thing that bothered me at the end was Ylfa, it didn't seem to make any sense that a modern and totally blase-seeming girl who was quite happy to talk about her friend's cock-ring would get hugely clingy and pretty much ask Daniel to move in with her after one shag. Maybe that's the joke, I don't know. It was good just for Daniel's reaction face though.

[close]

Anyway, count me a fan.

[confettiinmyhair]

Ah, I only thought the series was 8 episodes long, but I've caught up with the remaining four today. It was a real bittersweet ending,

Spoiler alert

Georg being homosexual

[close]

, was a great twist, though there was a strong hint

Spoiler alert

when he denied that Flemming was his son

[close]

.

Kishi is right about Ylfa, though the lonely nature of her job is liable to make her latch on to whatever knight in shining armour rescues her from the shop.

I've actually never heard of Nightingales prior to this thread, but a few YouTube clips have wetted my appetite, is it worth checking out?

As a guy that does a boring repetitive job, the only thing that gets me through the shift is a sense of humour and the awkward camaraderie between my team. The Night Shift nailed the love/hate relationship many have with working a Dead End, yet easy job.

[23 Daves]

Kishi is right about Ylfa, though the lonely nature of her job is liable to make her latch on to whatever knight in shining armour rescues her from the shop.

This is the key factor, I think.  Plus, it's a common problem with night shift work that people engaged in it tend to have fewer opportunities to meet partners.  They're working when everyone else isn't, and vice versa.  Therefore, it's possible that Georg, Daniel and Oli are among the few constant companions or familiar faces in her life, and of those three only Daniel really presents himself as a realistic option.  Also, with long hours spent doing nothing except waiting for the next pre-dawn chorus customer, it's possible she's prone to unrealistic flights of fantasy about the object of her desires (I've been guilty of similar behaviour myself during dull periods in my life).

There's an episode of "Nightingales" that touches on the above as well (and yes, it's well worth checking out).

[Kishi the Bad Lampshade]

Just watched, and loved, the film. Almost teared up a little at the end and all.

[I accept the terms of the]

Spoiler alert

I love the punchline to the entire thing: I'm Georg Washington!

I found it really touching.

[close]

[23 Daves]

So then... with it seeming as if BBC4 may be ceasing any involvement with comedy shows, is there any likelihood that series two and three of this will be shown in the UK? And is there a way we can perhaps make our feelings known?

[Famous Mortimer]

It seems to not be on the iPlayer, at least not in the comedy section. This is clearly a message to me to get my finger out and watch these things quickly.

[I accept the terms of the]

Well, I've just spent £90 on the DVDs for this series, the sequel, the threequel and the movie (all with English subtitles), so I hope to be able to fill in some gaps regarding Day Shift and Prison Shift soon (nicely spoilered, of course).

[vrailaine]

Cool, let us know what the dvds are like and such too (eg. Easily navigated menus, bonus features, etc).

Mind you, £90 is a LOT, surely one of those world movie dvd companies would be interested in releasing it, could see it doing well from curiosity alone.

[I accept the terms of the]

£90 is a lot. I didn't have to buy Næturvaktin and Bjarnfreðarson, but since it seemed wrong to just buy the ones I haven't seen.

They're around £20 each from nammi.is, plus extortionate P&P (£12 min, £22 default!). Perhaps they could be found cheaper, but this site made promises about English subtitles.

I'll quite happily let interested people "borrow" them. On DVD-Rs. That they can keep. You know, "borrowing".

[I accept the terms of the]

Nasty tabloid stuff, but the idea of Georg working in Morrissons now amused me.

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/871645-drunk-stroke-victim-ignored-by-shop-staff-for-two-hours

So did the victim's name. But not the names of her daughters, those are just depressing.

[Jim Jarmusch]

I would seed the bejesus out of them if you borrowed it out.

It's strange BBC 4 haven't starting airing any of the rest.

[abbot lau]

Big bump (but I've only just watched this)

Loving it, to the extent that I've made my ringtone Georg's bark of 'Personnel on the forecourt' which has led to a fair few enquiries from people.

I was given DVD rips by a friend and I don't know if it's inept ripping or codec issues but the subtitles in Prison Shift sometimes come and go too quickly to read. That and Olafur's name sometimes being spelled Ilafur.

Other than that I'm having as much fun recommending it as one of those people who go all misty eyed over The Killing and other such Scandinavian fare.

[mikeyg27]

I watched The Day Shift recently. I loved it, but it definitely had a noticeable shift in tone halfway through. Everything got darker and bleaker. Gugga made for an interesting character though, far more likeable than I was expecting. Also, the scene where

Spoiler alert

Georg has his flashback to his mother demonstrating female genitalia

[close]

was probably the loudest and quickest I've ever recoiled away from a comedy programme ever.

[KLG-7C]

Hello Jim Jarmusch. Could I have my DVDs back please. Understandably I haven't made this easy by repeatedly making new accounts. Also you making new accounts. I can't remember what your current username is. Something all in foreign. But my address is the same.

[KLG-7C]

Two things that really let down Day Shift:

* Writers thinking that being gay is the funniest joke ever (and also the terrible actor playing the gay guy)

* Bjork's celebrity cameo

[BPFHAY]

Hello Jim Jarmusch. Could I have my DVDs back please. Understandably I haven't made this easy by repeatedly making new accounts. Also you making new accounts. I can't remember what your current username is. Something all in foreign. But my address is the same.

give my DVDs back you cunt

[Ron Superior]

Big old bump here.

Was thinking about this today, remember seeing a few eps on BBC4. Wanted to watch them, but can't find the episodes, or the DVDs of either the series or the film for sale anywhere.

Is there a way of getting them that anyone knows about?

Any similar recommendations?

Thanks.

[Dewt]

Yes.

[Dewt]

Rewatching these after a long time and having played Undertale since, I'm loving seeing Georg and Ólafur as Papyrus/Sans-style characters and Daníel as the player

[wasp_f15ting]

I can't believe this was 9 years ago.. I remember only having an iPhone 4 in a bedsit I'd moved to in London. My family were still oop norf, this was the only thing that kept me company. Only watched the first season - it was so good. Shame it isn't widely available. I'd love to finish it off whilst rewatching that amazing first season.

[Dewt]

I am really on to something here

[peanutbutter]

give my DVDs back you cunt

Did you get them back?

[Dewt]

No! 😠