Trivia / Matador (1978)

• Actor Allusion: The big fight between Jørgen Varnæs (Bent Mejding) and Birgitte Graae (Susse Wold) in Episode 8 is very similar to the famous fight between Elyot and Amanda in the Noël Coward play Private Lives - signature roles for Mejding and Wold.
• Actor-Inspired Element: It was Bjørn Watt-Boolsen's idea to base Colonel Hackel's look and mannerisms on King Christian X.
• Beam Me Up, Scotty!:
  • Many viewers claim that they have seen Oluf Larsen's Kvik mount Arnesen's Daisy in the street, but we only see people's reaction to the sight.
  • Likewise, many are convinced that they have seen the scene where Professor Andersen is shut out on the balcony by Misse Møghe and freezes to death, but it is only recounted to Maude.
• The Cast Showoff: Kurt Ravn who played Lauritz Jensen is an accomplished singer and sings at a couple of points throughout the series, most notably at his wedding to Agnes, where a whole scene is dedicated to Lauritz singing a folk ballad.
• Celebrity Paradox: Fede lists his favorite actors, one of whom is Arthur Jensen, who plays Mr. Schwann in the series.
• Dawson Casting: In Real Life the actress who plays Misse Møghe (Karin Nellemose) was a year older than the actress who plays her mother, Fru Fernando Møghe (Karen Berg).
• The Danza: Benny Hansen plays the house painter Frede "Fede" Hansen.
• One-Hit Wonder: Jørgen Buckhøj spent almost his entire career as a stage and vaudeville actor. Mads Skjern was his only major screen role.
• Real-Life Relative: Bent Mejding (Jørgen Varnæs) and Susse Wold (Gitte Graae) are a couple both in the series and in real life.
• Riddle for the Ages: Did Arnesen commit suicide when he realized he was bankrupt, or did he die from a stress-induced heart attack, as Dr. Hansen told Ingeborg Skjern? Both interpretations are possible, and no Word of God has settled the matter.
• Shown Their Work: The crew were meticulous in getting the setting right for the time period. Newspapers, hit lists, fashion magazines etc. of the period were closely studied for authenticity to avoid anachronisms, and several of the props were originals, borrowed from various museums or helpful persons. For an episode where Laura, Agnes and Knud visit Copenhagen and watch the changing of the guards at the Royal Palace, a platoon of Royal Guardsmen spent a week practicing the correct marching style for guardsmen of 1940 (the style was changed after the war, because the old style was too similar to goose-stepping).
  • It caused a bit of a sensation when a mistake was finally discovered: During the Church scene in Episode 8, which takes place in 1940, the hymn numbers shown correspond to a hymn book not introduced until 1953.
• Word of Gay: Iben, Jenny and Mr. Schwann.
• Write What You Know:
  • Lise Nørgaard grew up in an upper middle class family, much like the Varnæses, in the Danish provincial town Roskilde in the Twenties and Thirties. While denying having used any Real Life characters or Author Avatars in the series, she has pointed to similarities between her and Regitze Varnæs.
    • Lise Nørgaard may have denied using any Real Life characters, but it was a standing joke in Roskilde that especially the older generation knew who was the inspiration for a number of the characters.
  • Karen Berg, the only writer on the series with a working class background, wrote the scene where Røde and Agnes celebrate their wedding.

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