History Series / Riget

The series ran for two seasons with a lengthy gap in between. It was never officially cancelled, but the deaths of the actors playing three significant characters prevented any continuation.

** The repeated motif of a concrete wall, which is breached by water, as an image of the spirits breaking into the world of mortals, was also used in Lucio Fulchi's classic surreal horror movie ''TheBeyond'' (1981).

* BunnyEarsLawyer: PsychoPsychologist Ole is a bizarre CloudCuckooLander, but his aggressive techniques work well.
* BrickJoke: When Stig takes over administration.

* LargeHam: Stig Helmer lives this trope ''combined'' with TheSnarkKnight. Actor Ernst-Hugo Järegård was a well-regarded ham of Swedish theatre and television.

** The repeated motif of a concrete wall, which is breached by water, as an image of the spirits breaking into the world of humans, was also used in Lucio Fulchi's classic horror movie ''The Beyond''.

* ShoutOut: The spiritist Mrs. Drusse is a character from Danish author Hans Scherfig's novels.

* LargeHam: Stig Helmer lives this trope and the actor Ernst-Hugo Järegård was a well-regarded ham of Swedish theatre and television.

* MyBelovedSmother: Mrs. Drusse.

* AuthorAvatar: Trier himself always appears doing the credits to give a closing monologue, in which he usually recaps the plot, delivers some ScriptWank and reminds everyone to: "Take the good with the evil."

--> "''No living persons know it yet, but the gateway to the Kingdom is opening once again''."
--> ''from the OpeningNarration''

--> "''DANSKJÄVLAR!''"
--> Dr. Stig Helmer

Mrs. Sigrid Drusse, an elderly lady with a keen interest in spiritualism, is trailing the source of the disturbances, begrudgingly helped by her son Bulder, who works as a porter at the hospital. Meanwhile war is brewing in the neurosurgical ward between the new, arrogant Dr. Helmer and the more down-to-earth Dr. Krogshøj (AKA Krogen (The Hook)). Helmer has recently botched an operation and is trying to hide the evidence, which will give Krogshøj the advantage. The Head of Department, Dr. Moesgaard is blissfully ignorant of all this as he is busy planning his great reform of the department "Operation Morning Air". Meanwhile his immature son Mogge runs afoul of his professor, the (madly) idealistic Dr. Bondo, after having [[spoiler: stolen a head and used it for a prank]]. Dr. Bondo wants to get his hands on a rare tumor in dying Mr. Zakariassen's liver. And when Mr. Zakariassen's family says no, the good doctor is driven to desperate action.

The setting for the series is the eponymous ''Rigshospitalet'' (The National Hospital) in Copenhagen, with focus on the neurosurgical ward and it's employees and their somewhat mundane everyday life. But, as the OpeningNarration expains, something strange is slowly infesting the old building, and it is growing stronger.

--> ''from the OpeningMonologue''

The series ran for two seasons before the death of two the main and one of the supporting characters's actors put the series to an abrupt ending.

Mrs. Sigrid Drusse, an elderly lady with a keen interest in spiritualism, is trailing the source of the disturbances, begrudgingly helped by her son Bulder, who works as a porter at the hospital. Meanwhile war is brewing in the neurosurgical ward between the new, arrogant Dr. Helmer ([[Creator/Ernst-HugoJäregård Ernst-Hugo Järegård]]) and the more down-to-earth Dr. Krogshøj (AKA Krogen (The Hook)). Helmer has recently botched an operation and is trying to hide the evidence, which will give Krogshøj the advantage. The Head of Department, Dr. Moesgaard is blissfully ignorant of all this as he is busy planning his great reform of the department "Operation Morning Air". Meanwhile his immature son Mogge runs afoul of his professor, the (madly) idealistic Dr. Bondo, after having [[spoiler: stolen a head and used it for a prank]]. Dr. Bondo wants to get his hands on a rare tumor in dying Mr. Zakariassen's liver. And when Mr. Zakariassen's family says no, the good doctor is driven to desperate action.

Mrs. Sigrid Drusse, an elderly lady with a keen interest in spiritualism, is trailing the source of the disturbances, begrudgingly helped by her son Bulder, who works as a porter at the hospital. Meanwhile war is brewing in the neurosurgical ward between the new, arrogant Dr. Helmer (Creator/Ernst-HugoJäregård) and the more down-to-earth Dr. Krogshøj (AKA Krogen (The Hook)). Helmer has recently botched an operation and is trying to hide the evidence, which will give Krogshøj the advantage. The Head of Department, Dr. Moesgaard is blissfully ignorant of all this as he is busy planning his great reform of the department "Operation Morning Air". Meanwhile his immature son Mogge runs afoul of his professor, the (madly) idealistic Dr. Bondo, after having [[spoiler: stolen a head and used it for a prank]]. Dr. Bondo wants to get his hands on a rare tumor in dying Mr. Zakariassen's liver. And when Mr. Zakariassen's family says no, the good doctor is driven to desperate action.

Mrs. Sigrid Drusse, an elderly lady with a keen interest in spiritualism, is trailing the source of the disturbances, begrudgingly helped by her son Bulder, who works as a porter at the hospital. Meanwhile war is brewing in the neurosurgical ward between the new, arrogant Dr. Helmer and the more down-to-earth Dr. Krogshøj (AKA Krogen (The Hook)). Helmer has recently botched an operation and is trying to hide the evidence, which will give Krogshøj the advantage. The Head of Department, Dr. Moesgaard is blissfully ignorant of all this as he is busy planning his great reform of the department "Operation Morning Air". Meanwhile his immature son Mogge runs afoul of his professor, the (madly) idealistic Dr. Bondo, after having [[spoiler: stolen a head and used it for a prank]]. Dr. Bondo wants to get his hands on a rare tumor in dying Mr. Zakariassen's liver. And when Mr. Zakariassen's family says no, the good doctor is driven to desperate action.

An American adaptation, developed by Creator/StephenKing and called ''KingdomHospital'', was created in 2004.

Riget ("The Realm") is a Danish TV-series created and co-directed by the avant-garde filmaker, Creator/LarsVonTrier. It roots in the MedicalDrama genre, but it also contains copious amounts of [[SurrealHorror surreal]] and ReligiousHorror, dark humor and supernatural events. Entirely filmed on location with hand-held cameras and grimy, sepia-tinted pictures, it has been described by critics as "TwinPeaks meets {{MASH}}".

** Lars von Trier actively tried to recruit as many Danish actors as possible from {{Matador}}, probably the most popular Danish television series ever. This includes the actors playing Mrs. Drusse, Moesgaard, Rigmor, and a lot of the supporting cast.

** Lars von Trier actively tried to recruit as many Danish actors as possible from [[Series/Matador Matador]], probably the most popular Danish television series ever. This includes the actors playing Mrs. Drusse, Moesgaard, Rigmor, and a lot of the supporting cast.

** The name Stig Helmer is the name of the meek protagonist of a Swedish comedy franschise.

** Lars von Trier actively tried to recruit as many Danish actors as possible from Matador, probably the most popular Danish television series ever. This includes the actors playing Mrs. Drusse, Moesgaard, Rigmor, and a lot of the supporting cast.