Lykkeland

This series is set in the Norwegian city of Stavanger in the late 1960s. As the story starts it is a fairly quiet fishing town with a reputation for being rather religious. There are Americans in town looking for oil in the North Sea but it looks as though they are about to wind up their operation... then a massive oil field is discovered; this will affect the lives of our various protagonists. Throughout the series we see events through the experiences of a group of characters; most importantly Anna Hellevik, a young woman who works as a secretary to those making the decisions. Her fiancé is a diver working for an oil company; his father owns a struggling fishing company; she catches the eye of an American initially tasked with shutting down their Norwegian operation; and one of her friends is pregnant by an American working for another company.

I really enjoyed this Norwegian series; it made a refreshing change from the, admittedly excellent, 'Scandi-nior' we've been treated to over the last few years. The way Anna was involved with people from so many different groups may seem contrived but it was an effective way of showing us how the changes were effecting the various parts of the community. The story proved to be gripping even though most viewers will know, or at least guess, which city will ultimately be selected to be Norway's 'Oil Capital'; there are enough unknowns to maintain the viewers' interest. The cast does a fine job making the characters feel real. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to people looking for something a little different.

These comments are based on watching the series in Norwegian with English subtitles.