Hem till Midgård ("Home to Midgard") is a Swedish sit-com which ran on TV4 in Sweden during 2003. The name is a pun of the classic Swedish TV-series Hem till byn as well as Emmerdale which is known as Hem till gården (Home to the farm) in Sweden.
The series was created and written by Per Simonsson, Fredde Granberg, Johan Petersson and Stefan Roos. The later three also (among others) starred in the show. In total 2 seasons of 12 episodes each were produced before the show was canceled.
Plot
The setting is 992 in Sweden, in a suburb of Birka called Midgård, which is the last village in Sweden where people still believe in the old Norse gods. Meanwhile, the real chieftain Snorre den Store (Snorre the Great, but with the alternative meaning "big willie") is away plundering in the Mediterranean. His youngest son Lill-Snorre (Little-Snorre or "little willie") is in charge of the village, and forced to guard his father's Byzantine thrall Cassandra, who Lill-Snorre also falls in love with.
The episodes usually feature Lill-Snorre and his not so great men attempting a new scheme to get money (which they are notoriously short on), sometimes by Plundering and sometimes by more honest means, or Lill-Snorre trying to impress Cassandra and outshine Rövhalt.
Style
The series are often considered childish as the episodes contain a lot of Toilet humor and vulgar language as well as plenty of face punches, groin kicks and eye pokes, often with an added sound effect. The swear words used are often with references to the Old Norse gods, for example "Baldur's balls", "Freya's boob" and "Ymir's giant ass".
Main characters
Lill-Snorre
Portrayed by Fredde Granberg. His name means "Little-Willie". The opposite of the stereotypical Viking; cannot stand the sea or see blood without vomiting violently. He is laughed at by his friends for the small genitals implied by his name. Although he is more intelligent than others, he is shy and cowardly, and cannot face an argument with Cassandra without stuttering, sweating and sometimes even crying. He is afraid to say openly that he and Cassandra are a couple, since his father would probably kill him if he found out. He has an ability to think up quick comebacks whenever Halvdan insults or questions him, often followed by a groin-kick.
Cassandra
Portrayed by Sara Sommerfeld. A beautiful slave from Byzantium (although her former boyfriend appeared to be Spanish). She is Lill-Snorre's girlfriend, and although she often assaults Lill-Snorre when he does something stupid or appears (mostly by mistake) with another woman and bullies him about his penis size, they are in love. When Lill-Snorre tries to argue with her, he shutters and barely succeeds in saying what he wants. She is very spoiled and must always have what she wants.
Tyke Mörbult
Portrayed by Marko Lehtosalo. His name means "Tyke Tender-Pounder" or "Tyke Mauler" (mörbulta = "to maul", from mör = "tender" and bulta = "to pound"). Raised in Midgård, although from his accent, he appears to be Finnish. The resident berserker, he seems to have a learning disability as he is often drooling and does not use words such as "you" or "I" (basically speaking in Third person). Calling him dumb or insulting Lill-Snorre (or annoying Tyke in general) is not a good idea as he may hit his adversary with his club. Lill-Snorre does not look down upon him as he does with Runar or Halvdan, as he knows that hitting Tyke will result in fighting back, unlike Halvdan and Runar who only take their punishment. Instead Lill-Snorre favours him as his best ally, and because of this, Tyke is very loyal to Lill-Snorre.
Runar Tvålfager
Portrayed by Johan Petersson. His name means "Runar Pretty-Boy". Blond, tall and strong, he is known as the "sex-machine from Mälaren", and prone to jumping into the sack with anything female (including the Queen of Sweden and Lill-Snorre's mother) but he is utterly unintelligent. Lill-Snorre often beats him when he asks stupid questions. Runar is the member of the group who ruins Lill-Snorre's situations the most.