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From left to right: Runar Tvålfager, the corpse of Hilding, Lill-Snorre, Tyke Mörbult and Halvdan Glappkäft.

Hem Till Midgård (Home/Back to Midgard) is a Swedish historical sitcom, that originally ran on Swedish Television for two seasons back in 2003.

In the late 10th century, Midgård is the last Pagan stronghold in Sweden. Midgårds Chieftan is the feared badass, "Stor-Snorre"note  and it's the time of the season for him and his equally Badass sons to go raiding on the Eastern trail. Well all except one. "Lill-Snorre" note  is a miserable excuse for a Viking: he can't fight, he gets seasick and he can't stand the sight of blood. Or as Stor-Snorre himself puts it: He has inherited his "manliness from his mother"!

However, since Lill-Snorre has "always been like a little daughter to him", Stor-Snorre instead apoints him De-Facto Chieftan in his abscense, and also tasks him with guarding his greatest treasure: The Byzantine beauty Cassandra. To aid Lill-Snorre in his task he also gains the help of three unlikely companions: the womanizing "Runar Tvålfager", "Tyke Mörbult" the retarded Finnish Berserker, and "Halvdan Glappkäft" the obnoxious Butt-Monkey. 2 years later, Lill-Snorre is secretly involved in a romantic relationship with Cassandra and Stor-Snorre has yet to return. Will Lill-Snorre succeed as the new Chieftan of Midgård?

Most of the time, the boys can be found trying to compete (mostly unsuccessfully) with the evil Birka merchant "Rövhalt", or guzzling mead at "Balder's Inn".

Think of it as Astérix meets South Park. It was very popular with Swedish youth during it's original run. If you're a Swedish man between the ages of 23 and 30 you can probably quote it by heart.


Tropes

  • Amazon Chaser: Tyke meets the badass shieldmaiden Tuva-Lisa and falls instantly in love.
    Lill-Snorre: "It's just that none of us counted on you hitting puberty at 28 years of age, Tyke.
  • Artistic License – History: Sweden was not fully Cristianized until the 12th century, and even well into the 13th century Pagan rituals were common. So, to claim that Midgård is the last pagan stronghold of Sweden in the 10th century, is a stretch.
  • The Berserker: Tyke.
  • Berserk Button: Do not call Tyke "stupid" if you know what's good for you.
  • Butt-Monkey: Lill-Snorre, Petter Nicolaus and Halvdan. ESPECIALLY Halvdan.
  • Catchphrase: "Balders Dick!"
    • "Mimers Cooch!"
    • "Odins Dickhead!"
    • "Thors Giant Hairy Ass!"
    • "Tyke not stupid!"
  • The Can Kicked Him: Hilding dies here, in a most humiliating manner.
  • Dashing Hispanic: Rodrigo, a thrall that Lill-Snorre buys, turns out to be this. He turns all of the townsfolk against him and nearly robs Lill-Snorre of his Chieftainhood.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Several of the characters are this, like Lill-Snorre, Cassandra, Rövhalt and especially Halvdan.
  • Dumb Muscle: Tyke.
  • Dumb Blonde: Runar.
  • The Pig-Pen / The Dung Ages: Nearly everyone is covered in grease and filth. Also, Lill-Snorre seems to harbor an extreme phobia of soap.
    • The worst example must be "Gammelman" the 100 year old, senile Aesir priest. He's to senile to change clothes or wipe his own ass, and every scene with him in it is ** accomanied by the sound of buzzing flies.
    Gammelman: If this man's a Christian, then i smell like old ROSEY ASS!" (Drops pants, crowd backs away.)
  • This Loser Is You: Halvdan. Everyone is a loser to some extent, but Halvdan takes the cake with flying colours. EVERYBODY hates and disrespects him and it NEVER gets any better. And he's still the closests thing to the brains behind the group.
  • Henpecked Husband: Lill-Snorre.
  • The Starscream: Halvdan
  • Failure Gambit: In the "Ultimate Fighting" episode, the boys try to make money by challenging various Warriors and Berserkers to fights with Tyke. The idea is that the audience will bet all of their money on the more physically impressive challengers and then Tyke will win by exploiting his Berserk Button. It's works all too well, leading into ALL of the audience betting their money on Tyke. Faced with a much smaller share of the pot, they try to have Tyke lose instead. Tyke being Tyke, this naturally doesn't go well until Halvdan discovers that Tyke can be temporarily stalled by mentioning good food to him. All seem to go according to plan, until Halvdan makes the mistake of mention "liver pudding" causing Tyke to fly into a rage. Meanwhile, Rövhalt is paying a visit to Midgård to challenge Tyke to a fight with his new Champion. Lill-Snorre is overjoyed. Everything seems to get back on the right track, unless Rövhalt goes to Sibiria to find a giant monster, but that will never happen...
  • Insane Troll Logic: Gammelman is an expert if this trope.
    Lill-Snorre: "Can we really cure the kings toothache by dragging him under a windthrow?"
    Gammelman: "Well, if we don't, at least he won't mind his toothache, for his aching body, will he?"
  • Jerkass: Rövhalt.
  • Trial by Combat: Lill-Snorre has to go through this in the first episode. He loses horribly.
  • Slapstick: People get knocked around, punched, poked in the eyes and sometimes brutally murdered, all with hilarious, silly soundeffects.
  • Shown Their Work: Yeah, really. In one episode the boys are to be Christianized. They all wash their hair, spit, and blow snot into the Baptismal font, and then Tyke drinks it. The scene is played for pure Nausea Fuel, but it's actually based on Ibn Fadlans description of how Swedish Vikings on the Volga would wash themselves. You 'd probably recognize the scene from that other TV show about Vikings.
  • Meaningful Name: Well, they're not real names, but whatever:
    • Lill-Snorre ("lesser penis"): Because of his general unmanliness.
    • Tyke Mörbult ("Tyke Clobberer"): He loves to smash stuff. A lot.
    • Runar Tvålfager ("Runar Prettyboy"): Because of his pornomancer status.
    • Halvdan Glappkäft ("Halvdan Bullshitter"): An annoying and insufferable Deadpan Snarker.
    • Rövhalt ("Asslimp"): Lost one of his buttcheeks in a duel against Stor-Snorre.
  • Once Done, Never Forgotten: Rövhalt will never hear the end of the circumstances around his humiliating injury.
    Rövhalt: "I can't believe i lost to a fatass like you!"
    Lill-Snorre: "Hey now, better a few pounds to many, than one asscheek too little!"

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