Those blasted Vikings did it! They invaded our culture and sacked our imagination. They pillaged our entertainment. Like the real Vikings upon which they're based, the History Channel's Vikings hit us swiftly. They hit us hard. Then they left us as quickly as they came and all we can do is wonder when they'll come back to finish the job.
As you can probably guess, I don't think a mere nine episodes is enough for this series. The characters are too rich. The mythology is too vast. The history is too unexplored. If Vikings was a network show, we'd likely be treated to twenty-two episodes (a full season). Even a half season of eleven episodes would be better than a meager nine. But let's face it, the networks aren't likely to take a risk with a show like Vikings. From their perspective there's too much to lose in taking on such an ambitious and expensive production...namely their female audience. Vikings is aimed at a predominantly male audience. But that's fine with the brass at the History Channel because their main demographic is male. You're not likely to find Cupcake Wars or Fashion Star or any other estrogen-laced shows on the History Channel. It's mostly men who like history and it's mostly men who watch the History Channel. For that reason, Vikings is a perfect fit.
But only nine episodes? For an entire season? What else will save us from the nauseating programming that our wives and girlfriends subject us to? Of course, there are sports...thank God...and Game of Thrones, but we don't all have HBO. Spike TV can step in and the History Channel's other testosterone-fuelled shows like Mountain Men, Counting Cars, American Restoration and of course Pawn Stars can pacify us. But we need our fix of original programming that's not reality based.
Vikings is a smart, exciting, adventurous and...oh, I hate to use this word...educational show. It pulls us back into the 9th Century and lets us play warrior with larger than life characters. It introduces us to real history, real mythology and real people. For you purists out there, I know the show's main character, Ragnar Lothbrok, is largely perceived as a legendary figure, but the way he is portrayed on the show is quite realistic. Furthermore, the final verdict has not yet come in as to whether or not the Ragnar Lodbrok (I know, different spelling) of legend was also a real person. I, for one, like to believe that he was (I also like to believe that there was an Arturius of Britain upon which the King Arthur legends were based).
Anyway, back to my point...Vikings is such a great show, that nine episodes for one season simply isn't enough. I want to know how Ragnar will handle his brother's treachery, his pregnant mistress, his wife's fury over said mistress and the political entanglements he has found himself wrapped up in. As I said before, the show is rich and the possibilities for entertainment are endless. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait until 2014 to find out what will happen next. Of course, we could cheat and check our history books, but I have a feeling the show's creators will pull in a lot of extra material that the historical record and the legends leave out. No, there really isn't much we can do but wait for season two. We'll expect it to be as good as the first...and hope they give us more than only nine episodes.
But if Vikings wants to truly be like it's namesake, the 2014 season will raid hard, fast, then disappear again into the fog to leave us ravaged and anticipating season three. Are we to be like the villagers of old who took what the Vikings dished out, or will we convert them to our ways and make them live among us in more than nine episodes? Only Father Time and the Gods of Cable Television know the answer to these questions.
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