So of course once I found out that there was a television show based on Vernon Subutex, I wanted to have a look at it. But all I could find was a short teaser (HERE), so I went looking. Netflix? Nope. Kanopy? Nope. Amazon? Kind of. You can't buy it or rent it, but if you subscribe to Topic you can watch it. Just what I was looking for: another streaming service. This one has a pretty low price tag...$5.99 a month or $59.99 per year...and a seven day trial period. I was pretty sure I could knock out a 9 episode series (a grand total of only 315 minutes) in a week, though I'd want to time it right so as not to compete with the slate of CW shows I watch with Joe. In fact, I was pretty sure that I'd have time to watch another thing or two on this so-called Topic, so I poked around to see what else they had to offer.
Which is when the word Greenland leaped out at me. Through Greenland, to be precise. Well. I'd just finished a romp through four novels and four novellas primarily based in Greenland (by Christoffer Petersen), and they had most definitely piqued my interest in this God-forsaken place. (And yes, I did check to see what air fare and hotel accommodations would cost. But I think all of my pilgrimages are going to be in my head from here on out.) And good news: the first episode was free to watch. So I fired it up. (HERE if you'd like a look.)
The handsome fellow on the title page looked vaguely familiar, but I didn't realize that it was Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones) until the show got underway. And while I wasn't a big fan of the show (though I did watch all 73 episodes, I'm a bit sorry to say), I did like Nikolaj. And as Through Greenland unfurled, I liked him more and more. He seemed like a very regular kind of guy. He didn't seem to expect people to swoon at his feet (though they did), he didn't seem to expect any special treatment because he was a ⭐. He was just a guy exploring a country where his father had once served at an American Air Force base. (Thule.) And where his wife had been born. He even spoke a bit of Greenlandic. And when he was offered a piece of raw (in fact, newly slaughtered) Narwhal flesh, he ate it without a qualm, I was his. (Not in a gay way.*) And the show itself...wow. The incredible beauty of the landscape would be enough, but there was more. A major emphasis of the show was on the catastrophic effects of global warming.** And still there was more. There was a profoundly moving side-story about a group of native Greenlanders who were forced to move off of their territory with only a few days warning and no domicile to move into. It was a really great show. I was going to need the other four episodes of this one, to be sure, but only the first one was free. So let's see...the remaining four episodes clock in at 172 minutes, so yes, still do-able in that free week window, I'd say. But what ELSE does Topic have going for it? I forced myself not to look. But I'm sure I'll find something once my week gets underway.
Sigh. I'm going to end up subscribing, aren't I? News as it happens.
*Not that there's anything wrong with that.
** You can read a blog entry about this aspect of the show from Nikolaj himself HERE.
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