99 Words About … History taking the wrong Nordic track
Your first clue something’s lacking?
It’s a drama about Vikings. Called “Vikings.”
Good luck telling whom to root for on History’s first dramatic series (10 p.m. Sunday).
The “villainous” chieftain, Earl Haraldson (Gabriel Byrne), murders his own people.
The “heroic” Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), meanwhile, defies Earl and leads a band of rapists and marauders west for the first time, seeking new lands to pillage.
Their first conquest? Terrified, defenseless monks.
It’s like watching crocodiles loose in a kitten store.
Fingers crossed, by season’s end, the proud warriors could work their way up to a nursery or leper colony.
— CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE