NorsePlay.

In Neil Gaiman 's American Gods the operating premise for the divine is that the Gods are regionally bound and that their existence & power depends upon those who believe & worship them. In Starz' TV adaptation, Season 3's opening addresses Viking Metal 's celebration & reclamation of Heathen Nordic contexts by kicking off with this scene of faux band Blood Death lead by Johan Wengren (Marilyn Manson!?!): As the story of the ancient Old Gods versus the emergent New Gods of Technology unfolds, we see the Old Gods adapting some of that technology in order to garner digital followers, and Odin (the venerable Ian McShane) connecting with metalheads, bikers, and aggro  fans , which seems appropriate for Mr Wednesday who banks on & rewards those of the warrior ethos. The teleplays expands in notable degrees upon the book, backgrounding & filling out minor characters into fan favourites, and giving us such clever lines as Wednesday's:  "Ask and y...

David Lynch's cult phenom Twin Peaks  has summoned much extrapolation, and while revisiting the quirky town full of beloved characters and dark doings, we've noticed some NorsePlay hiding in the pines. Note that Lynch's maternal grandparents were Finnish-Swedish emigrants, so our following speculative observations may very well come from our auteur director perhaps being storytold Norse Lore in his childhood, which might explain alot about his amazingly strange vision. First & foremost, we realized the Log Lady bears a prophetic godpole that speaks to her, which in turn makes her  the town völva . There is an insistent "Would you know more?" seeress-ness from the  Völuspá in her pressing of needed but unwanted & doom-filled knowledge on those she talks to. Larger than this, the whispering of the trees being the voices of the Gods is an ancient idea at play as Tacitus' Germania speaks of sacred groves and later sources talk about specific holy trees...

Gathering from online reviews, previews, and our personal powers of speculation, the Nordic Netflix show Ragnarok harnesses elements from the reincarnation & self-discovery of the children's book series The Blackwell Pages and the New Zealand TV cult favourite The Almighty Johnsons of gods into mortals, and partly the contemporary fantasy of American Gods  and tabletop RPG Scion , into what seems to be a teen fantasy drama. Headed by Danish writer Adam Price (of the successful Danish political series  Borgen)  and Danish editor-turned-debut-director Mogens Hagedorn, the show's set in the pointedly named town of Edda (actually shot in Odda, Norway). The description colour text: " In a Norwegian town poisoned by pollution and rattled by melting glaciers, the End Times feel all too real. It’ll take a legend to battle an old evil. " So it appears literal & figurative corporate giants are intentionally ruining the environment in order t...

Okay, total spoiler which we dislike doing, but there's no way around it: While not the best episode of The Librarians , "And the Reunion of Evil" (season 3, 2016) includes a surprising jotun NorsePlay element where two librarians stumble from the heart of a snowstorm into a Swedish ski lodge hotel while possessing an artifact that a trucing private reunion of giant clans have gathered to consume. The jotun are presented as troublemaking descendants  of Loki, who instead revel in causing the ills of the world (disasters, plagues, insurance fleecing, etc), which is something of a downgrade as major adversaries of the Gods, but then it would explain how they've stayed under the radar for so long. The giants wear Scandinavian patterned sweaters, and some fur accent garments, while overdrinking and playing hnefatafl and k ubb in displays of oneupmanship. [watch in mirrored format here .] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something spe...

With the prevalence of fandom for Tom Hiddleston's portrayal of the God of Mischief (just search "Loki's Army" for the depth of it), Disney will be producing a dedicated series for their Disney+ channel. Most Disney TV shows are too over-the-top and the acting style is nearly always "on" in a bad way ( Descendents for a somewhat villain-centric example). Also the two Asgardian-related episodes of Agents of Shield really could've been better. Word is that the show will follow Loki through the Endgame timeline, but we feel it would be more of a hit to do the Kid Loki storyline from Journey Into Mystery . Maybe for second season, if this slated for 2021 show gets proper treatment. [Loki from the fun 1966-7 The Mighty Thor cartoon series.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's b...

Gaïa Weiss kitted out as shieldmaiden Þorunn from Vikings Season 3's an obvious NorsePlay choice, and we're taking a moment to admire the detail in her costume. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Rheda rules Herot as Jarl in Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands .   At left of Rheda sits the shield  where axes are thrown  into the black or red sides to vote on decisions.  The famed hall's interiors featured gilded carvings and Klimt -esque golden curtains. This 2016 show only ran for one season, yet it set up enough material for at least two more, which it should've gotten. [Actress Joanne Whalley ( Willow & Scarlett ), Herot's exterior, obligatory composite cast shot with, yes, William Hurt second from left.  Give it a watch  here . ] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearhead...

Not that we were ever charmed by the cult of Xena to watch in the first place, but NorsePlay recently heard of a three-episode stint in Season 6 where the warrior princess goes into the "Norseland" and moonlights as a Valkyrie. Any of you ever watch these? #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

NorsePlay had hoped for more of a Sherlock Holmes-related entry , and while we love Elementary to pieces, we feel that there's more than one reference to be mined from this possibility. [And Kim Newman, if you're reading, we'd like a StormPunk Moriarty & The Jötnar of Kensington Runestone book, please & thanks.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

In the American Gods ' extras, Mr Nancy's Orlando Jones forgoes his sartorial best to pay homage to Ian McShane by sporting this sweet "I Am Odin" t-shirt. [Addenda: Note that since we posted this Orlando Jones was fired from the show. We don't know the details, but we had to swap the original image of him in the shirt since it disappeared.]  #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

"I have as many names as there are winds, as many titles as there are ways to die." This is the reveal we all know ahead of time on American Gods : that Mr Wednesday is Odin, but it takes a seasoned actor of Ian McShane's caliber to drive it in like a spear and make it feel like we didn't know that in the first place. And in this clip he reveals many of the Allfather's names with gravity & power. [from season1, episode 8, directed by Floria Sigismondi.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field ...

In 1967's Lost In Space episode The Space Vikings , Dr. Zachary Smith inadvertently summons Thor's gauntlets, Járngreipr, and later Mjölnir , by reading a Wagnerian -style play with the crew's kids. It's total farce with valkyrie Brünnhilde taking him to Asgard for an uncomfortable feasting and other martial shenanigans. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

While Hercules: The Legendary Journeys was a totally rubbish show (and we detest Kevin Sorbo's absence of talent), there were two episodes in season 5, " Norse by Norsevest " & " Somewhere Over the Rainbow Bridge " in 1998, that had a Norse Mythology crossover. They were still total rubbish as they pretty much clown the Gods (Hercules could never defeat Thor!), but Odin was played by the distinguished Peter McCauley , cutting his teeth on a badly scripted Allfather before his awesome turn in 1999-2002's The Lost World as Doyle's visionary scientist Professor George Edward Challenger, a character & role quite possibly moulded from Odin's unending quest for knowledge. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passiona...

What if the Norse Gods moved to New Zealand, fell out with the Norse Goddesses, reincarnated as mortals for a few centuries, thus diminishing their powers, which they later want back? Then you have the contemporary fantasy com-dram that is The Almighty Johnsons . Running three seasons, and itself successfully reincarnated by a fan campaign between seasons 2 & 3, this much loved NorsePlay is worth watching not only for its man & lady candy , but for the nuances of kiwi culture. Note the promo Last Supper-style cast shot done a few years before History Channel's  Vikings used the same idea. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project...

The Aesir at the feasting table in Jul i Valhal ( Yule in Valhalla ) , a Danish holiday advent television series from 2005 about two kids' adventures involving the Norse Gods! Any of you know where we can watch this with English subtitles? #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .