Yes, we discovered the Swedish-Danish tv series “The Bridge” a bit late, as it first aired back in 2011. It’s a Nordic Noir crime show, and the star is Saga Norén (Sofia Helin), a police detective in Malmö, Sweden who presumably has Asperger’s Syndrome, or so it quite obviously seems. Well, Saga is fab, and she’s beautiful too, but the rear star of the show for me was her Jäger Grün (Hunter Green) 1977 Porsche 911S. Saga has style, including her trademark leather pants, and this color 911 is just perfect for her. And she drives it the way her mind works: fast.
Of course I love classic air-cooled Porsches, but it’s the color on this one that rather slays me. So 1970s; so German. And quite uncommon; I want one just like it.
Somewhat surprisingly there’s no videos on Youtube of Saga driving her 911. It appears often in the show, as Saga is always rushing off to the latest crime scene, which might be on either side of the bridge that connects Copenhagen with Malmö, as the essence of the show are very complex crimes that invariably involve both cities. Thus she has to work with a partner from Copenhagen.
That was Martin Rhode, in season 1 & 2, until Saga had to bust Martin at the end of season 2 and send him to prison. Saga is a very gifted investigator, but her very blunt manner and lack of empathy and people skills is a challenge to her boss, coworkers, and the public. She would fail on an emotional intelligence test, but she’s wickedly good at her job and sexy too. And yes, she’s as direct and objective about her sex life as she is at work: (walking up to a stranger in a bar) “Do you want to have sex?” If so, as soon as they walk in the door of her place, she says: “take off your clothes“. No flirting, no foreplay, no messing around. All business. That makes her very effective, but more than a bit challenging.
And there’s a lot of skeleton’s in Saga’s closet too; they come out in full force in season 3, putting her behind bars too, having been accused of killing her mother. Unfortunately, Amazon Prime is not currently streaming season 4, and we refuse to watch a dubbed version on another streaming service. We do not like dubbed shows and movies, and Saga’s speech patterns are a key part of her persona. But after a year in prison, she gets out on a retrial and returns to work, but apparently things in season 4 are more complicated than ever.
The Porsche was sold for charity at Bonhams in 2018 after the end of shooting season 4, and it fetched a cool $125,000. Sofia Helin showed up to motivate the bidding, and it seemed to work. The Bridge was a big hit in Europe, and Saga’s Porsche was right up there with other famous tv cars. It’s my current favorite, and Stephanie’s too. She wants me to buy a 911 and paint it Jäger Grün. Why not?
So what’s your favorite tv show car?
Been catching up on Better Call Saul lately, the cars of Mike Ermantrout are perfectly cast. Most scenes its a faded out burgandy Chrysler 5th Ave. Hes driving a light blue 1995ish LeSabre in one episode when he has to do a job where somebody might recoginze the Chrysler. Hes riding in a 1992ish Sedan Deville when he and Jessee get ripped off in Breaking Bad. Anyways he looks like an unsuspecting old man driving the type of 15-20 year old geezer mobile that a pensioner keeps until they die. Not exciting cars, but perfectly cast.
Also Nacho’s beautifully restored red/white 1971 Javelin AMX deserves a nod.
If Sofia’s car is Jaeger Gruen, doesn’t she wear lederhosen vice leather pants?
Don`t forget she is Swedish, not German. By the way: not all Germans are Bavarians either.
The Bridge sounds like The Tunnel, an English series. Same format English and French cops having to work together.
“The Tunnel” was the english language remake.
Thanks for the recommendation, Paul. I find those Nordic Noir shows quite compelling, and this one seems to have multiple reasons to watch.
Yes, you should buy a 911S. Definitely a green one. 🙂
Once, you could have purchased exactly the feature care over there in the States. Following the Swedish car registration info board, CKK 511 was imported from the US to Sweden in April 2010:
https://www.car.info/sv-se/license-plate/S/CKK511
Yes, I forgot to mention that this car was bought in the US. But that’s not uncommon; many desirable German imports have found their way back to Europe because the ones sold in CA are rust-free.
The British adaptation on PBS “The Tunnel” was equally excellent, the same concept and starring Stephen DIllane and Clemence Posey as the detectives called in when a body is found on the line dividing England and France in the Chunnel. Elise the French cop is clearly autistic and drives a 944. Great series and a real cliffhanger.
I don’t mind subtitles, some of the best TV I’ve ever seen is PBS’ “Walter’s Choice” all Euro series. One of the best was the German “Line of Separation” set in E Germany 1961. The original Belgian “Professor T” (another autistic, OCD guy) and current “Seaside Hotel” are 2 other current favorites.
As for cars, it’s Emma Peel’s Elan in The Avengers!
I love the TR7 coupe in The Detectorists (the “Banana”), and it’s actually a key item in some scenes. Also the S3 Jag XJ6 or was it a 12 in the 80s series The Equalizer.
Jäger Grün is a fine color, better even than Ferrari’s Verde Medio Nijinsky (medium green Nijinsky (Italver)); it’d be fun to get an obstetrician’s opinion on which is closer to a healthy infant’s meconium.
Agree on the color of that 911S. Didn’t see many in that shade of green.
Favorite TV show car? Jim Rockford’s 1977 Firebird. Also liked the Dodge D-300 rescue squad from Emergency!
Honorable mention Jim Lahey’s 1976 Chrysler New Yorker, before he cut the roof off.
Or Ricky’s flat black ’75 Newport with the missing door… yeah!
That car has become an icon in Canada.
The Bridge was remade in the US with Damian Bashir and Dianne Kruger. I think it was on FX. The US version was set between El Paso TX and Juarez, Mexico and the female detective drove a 2nd generation Bronco that she had inherited. Very good show
The black ‘61(?) Corvette in “Lucifer” was a sweet car and a perfect choice for the driver.
Then there is the Bounder RV in “Breaking Bad”. Whenever I see an old Bounder on the road, my mind instantly goes back to the early episodes of that show.
Being a Certified Volvo Nut™, I’m sticking with Roger Moore as The Saint. The series starts with a Jensen-built P1800, then later switches to a couple of Swedish-built 1800S models.
But in a similar vein, it’s hard to choose between that and Diana Rigg as Emma Peel in “The Avengers” and her Lotus Elan.
I’m a fan of Lotus, so I should give Emma Peel’s Elan from the Avengers the nod, but I’m going for Patrick Mcgoohan’s Super 7 in the Prisoner.
He also drove a Mini in the intro? and a ’59 T-Bird in the Secret Agent intro with Johnny Rivers singing in the background?
No mini in the tnto but they did use Mini Mokes in the Village https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRPDO63rI1E
In the mini-series “River” from a few years back, the main character drove a 90s S-class.
It fit his character – solid, complicated and a bit tattered, like himself.
Gotta be the Ford Consul GT from “The Sweeney” – a UK TV series of the ‘70s. Remember watching it as a young kid with my father, who I sadly lost around that time. John Thaw, more famous in the U.S. for his role in “Morse” was great in this gritty series. My dad worked with members of the Flying Squad – “Sweeney Todd” in the Cockney rhyming slang spoken where he grew up and assured me that Jack Reagan, the character played by Thaw was typical them.
The amount of MK2 and S Type Jags destroyed in this series is legendary, as they were the bank robbers’ cars of choice…
Can I also include Harry O’s old and unreliable Austin Healey Sprite? William Holden was one of my favorite actors and I loved the way he lived right on the beach in San Diego.
Rockford’s Firebird and is also an obvious choice – another favorite actor and series when I was a kid….
Speaking of Porsches in TV, a brown ‘75 911 is the ride of choice in Germany for the Stuttgart detective Torsten Lannert in the long running German “Tatort” series…
Broken record here, but I’ll take Rockford’s ’74 Firebird (one of the reasons I bought one of my own) or one of Simon Templar’s 1800s, doesn’t matter which one.
And another German one – the silver CX in Shimannski – totally suited to Gotz George’s character of the same name….
The green “Dodge convert”, that “Mannix” drove. Think it was a “69 Dart”.
There’s another vintage 911 on the show, Will Trent. I’ve never been a 911 fan, but over the years have come to admire them.
A lot of great British and Euro ‘70’s and 80’s cars in the British show Sex Education. It mostly seems contemporary (smartphones and social media) but the cars and some of the clothing are more retro.
Magnum’s Ferrari still does it for me, even after all these years.
The 1941 Packard convertible driven by George Peppard in the tv show “Banacek” will always be one of my favs.
I can’t believe no one has mentioned the Coyote in the TV series Hardcastle and McCormick. Or Jim Rockford’s Pontiac Firebird from the Rockford Files, my personal favourite (I’m a sucker for any GM car with a set of Rallye II rims). On a side note and while not an actual production vehicle the TV series Ark II showcased a remarkable mobile home that would still look modern today, good thing too seeing as the series was set in the 21st century, there’s not a lot of information on it but I believe it was built on a truck chassis of some sort, the jet pack and dune buggy options are outstanding must haves for any series post apocalyptic wayfarer.
In “Deadwind” a Finnish TV cop drama series on Netflix, one of the detectives drives a black BMW 850 CSi … in the snow !
Robert De Niro drove a white BMW E31 in “The Score”, a heist film.
The Kenworth K-100 COE from B.J. and the Bear
The W-100 from Movin’ On got me hooked on US Class 8s.
I did mention the Rockford Files Pontiac. Loved that show! Does the Airstream trailer he lived in count, too? How many TV series have an automotive maneuver named after their main character? Mr. Garner was also a petrol head, doing some of the stunt driving himself and insisting that the different years of Firebird Esprit used were all painted the same shade of gold. He actually refused to use one model year as he considered it too ugly! Great guy who was also a war hero…The Rockford files was shown at prime time in the UK and very popular.
Used to love Rockford files on TV in the UK, and the Firebird.
Also Cannon with the big Lincoln in the car chase, wallowing around but always getting the bad guy.
Favorite TV show cars:
Get Smart: Max’s ’63 Sunbeam Alpine. With fins!
Route 66: George Maharis & Martin Milner’s ’61 Corvette.
Superman: Clark Kent’s ’53 Nash-Healey.
Burke’s Law: Amos Burke’s ’62 Rolls Silver Cloud II
Car 54, Where are you?: Toody & Muldoon’s’61 Plymouth squad car.
Highway Patrol: Any of Dan Mathews’ ’54-’57 police cruisers.
Fury: Jim Newton’s (Peter Graves) ’55 or ’56 Chrysler wagon.
Beverly Hillbillies: Mr. Drysdale’s ’62 Imperial (While Miss Hathaway only got a Valiant)
All in the Family: Edith & Archie’s old LaSalle (it “ran great” 😎)
Rockford Files: 1974-197? Pontiac Firebird Esprit.
Starsky and Hutch: 1974-ish Gran Torino.
Charlie’s Angels: 1976 Ford Mustang II Cobra. Well, mostly Farrah Fawcett… She could have been driving a Yugo and would have made it look fantastic.
After I got out of high school and went to university, I really didn’t watch a lot of series TV. It seems like using a car as a character or character foil was no longer done in TV shows after a while, too. I know there are some recent TV shows that have a car as a character of sorts (Supernatural) but these really don’t appeal to me. It seems to me the golden age of car as character or a companion has passed.
Neat all these cool memories .
-Nate
Loved the 911s from 67-78. Too bad fitting in my legs, once in the driver’s seat, was a problem. This show sounds like one I would like so all I have to do is locate it.
Not exactly rare, but I like Billy Bob Thornton’s nicely patina-ed Mustang convertible in Goliath. It suits him and his motel digs perfectly.
On the more exotic side, there’s the Ro-80 driven by a Stasi agent in West Berlin in the Netflix German series ‘The Same Sky’.
I still have a perverse love for the Antichrist from the Gods Must Be Crazy (old Land Rover). For an actual TV Series, the Citroen XM station wagon John Thaw drove in Kavanagh QC or the GSA wagon Dom drives in Madam Blanc.
Stu’s Thunderbird convertibles in 77 Sunset Strip
Scotty’s 1965 Jensen C-V8 in British TV series London Spy
As an 80s kid, some of my favorites were:
KITT
MacGyver’s Jeep Wrangler
Dodge Daytona on Hunter
The ’80s show “Crime Story” had a lot of great period cars, but I’ll take the ’57 Chrysler 300 convertible that Dennis Farina’s character owns.
A great question, this.
For me, it’s Arthur Daley’s Jag XJ6’s in Minder, the English comedy series about a dodgy used car dealer (Arfur) and his “minder”, or “muscle”, Terry. I say this because of the perfect fit: I do believe that mustard yellow XJ’s were built only to order, for used car barons. Also a lovely old show.
As for The Bridge, it was one too far for me. I’d sat thrilled through the whole of the original Scandi-noir, The Killing from about ’07 (where Sarah Lund memorably drives the same jumper the whole series) and couldn’t take any more dead Scandis. In fact, I don’t believe the collective populations of Scandinavia are high enough to support the number bodies this genre suggests as possible. I mean, there must be the odd natural death, surely?
I’m afraid the green on that Porker looks to me like ’70’s color-matched toilet bowl.
Here.
The original “Scan-noir” series would be “Wallender” ca. 2005.
Both it and the later British version with Kenneth Branagh were fantastic.
Here’s one for our man in Indiana, JP Cavanagh, a series starring Guy Pierce as a former lawyer turned private detective – he drives a 1960 Studebaker Hawk for a lot of it (and later, an odd-but-nice convertible version of about a ’63). It’s called “Jack Irish”.
Actually, I highly recommend it to anyone, if you can track it down Stateside or elsewhere, as it’s beautifully written, and after years in Hollywood, I reckon Pierce has found his perfect role back in Oz.
“The Tunnel” was well done, but the murders were far too elaborate for the pedestrian motives eventually revealed–big letdowns. And you just know if a detective’s family appears, one of them is going to be kidnapped or whacked. 99.44% of detective shows degenerate into soap opera around the detectives, it’s The Law.
‘And you just know if a detective’s family appears, one of them is going to be kidnapped or whacked. 99.44% of detective shows degenerate into soap opera around the detectives, it’s The Law’.
Very well put! Late in the evening, there’s a rerun here of all Law & Order: SVU episodes. I watched a few of them, later ones, I think. There’s clearly a competition going on between the detectives. Best described as ‘Who Of Us Wins The Most Tormented Soul Award’.
For the exact same reason I don’t watch any car, bike, or truck show on Discovery (or an alternative station name) any longer. What an utterly staged and horrible TV-garbage they’ve all become.
Rant over.
As for the TV detective cars: I quite liked Der Alte’s W124.
Columbo’s 1959 Peugot 403 Cabriolet. 😎
My favourite car from a TV show: The Aston Marin DBS from the series “The Persuaders”. A British TV series from 1970/71. Roger Moore und Tony Curtis playing the main parts.
If memory serves well, it was up to Sir Roger to drive the DBS.
(Image taken from the www)
Btw: Even the theme wasn’t bad at all:
And Tony Curtis’s character Danny Wilde, drove the Dino 246 GT.
Is the show playing on anything like Acorn or BritBox? Definitely intrigued, this is my idea of proper television.
We watched it recently on Amazon Prime, but they are not currently streaming season 4. Bummer. A dubbed version (a no-no for us) is available on another service, but I can’t remember right now. Google it.
On most week nights in the UK on Freeview channel 50 / Sky Channel 157.
The DBS in The Persuaders has a bit of a story – it looks like a DBS V8, but Aston wasn’t confident of that about to be introduced model’s reliability, so the car in the series has the old straight 6….
The car still exists in the UK.
And yes, I am a nerd…
Forgot about
Vengeance Unlimited – Dodge Charger (1968)
The Avengers – Lotus Elan & AC 428
Their are so many cars I like,
The Persuaders – Aston Martin DBS6 & Dino 246 GT
The Magician – Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C3
The New Avengers – Broadspeed Jaguar XJ12 Coupe, Triumph TR7, Rover (SD1) 3500 and Range Rover.
Rockford Files – Pontiac Firebird
The Sweeney – Ford Consul GT & Ford Granada (Mk2)
Vega$ – Ford Thunderbird (1957)
The Professionals – Ford Escort Mk2 RS2000
Hart to Hart – Ferrari Dino 246 GTS & Mercedes-Benz (R107) 450 SL
Magnum P.I. – Ferrari 308 GTS & Audi 5000 (C2)
Miami Vice – Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spyder* & Ferrari Testarossa *(okay it was a Corvette wearing a bodykit, but)
The Saint (series 3, Simon Dutton) – Jensen Interceptor
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries – Jensen FF (later he has some sort of Bristol)
Dalgliesh – Jaguar E-Type (Series 3)
****
Out of all of them, probably John Steed’s Broadspeed Jaguar XJ12 Coupe
Any one of Ward Cleaver`s early `60 ish Plymouths on ‘Leave it to Beaver.
The Batmobile from the campy ‘Batman
The Black Beauty from ‘The Green Hornet’
The `49 Mercury woodie wagon from ‘The Mod Squad’