RolyRoly

We live in horribly divisive times. Racially, politically, culturally, economically, Americans have rarely been more divided. Coltrane was a uniting force in America, a man who struggled with his own demons and emerged to deliver a message of hope and redemption - all through the most sublime music -a message that we would do well to remember today.

This film is a wonderful tribute to one of our greatest artists. When most of us were content to bask in his artistry, Coltrane was already 10 miles down the road to some other achievement.

We use the word genius too liberally, but Trane was a genius.

Having devoted two weekends to immersing myself in Borgen, I can only echo the pervasive sentiment here that this is the best political and media drama series ever made. No need for political rivals to be shoved under subway trains to sustain dramatic tension. No one-dimensional heroes and villains. Borgen achieves the almost inconceivable (at least from an American vantage point) by taking complex (Sudan) and even arcane (pig farming?!) political issues and presenting them with as much nuance as a 1-hour TV episode can allow.

The degree to which Borgen can interweave politics, journalism (TV and newspaper) and human drama is extraordinary. The characters are all complex, all flawed (as we all are) and almost all sympathetic, even when they are at their worst. The writing is sophisticated, leavened by the right amount of humour.

And the acting is uniformly first rate. It is unfair to single out just one from an extraordinary cast, but Sidse Babett Knudsen, as Birgitte Nyborg, really does merit some kind of lifetime achievement award for her role. I'm not damning with faint praise when I say that she is the most believable politician that I have ever seen portrayed on screen.

By the end of the third season I was genuinely saddened to think that we'll never see these immensely interesting characters again.