Haven't watched the show, but it sounds interesting. How do the writers rationalize the Russian invasion of a NATO country without kicking off WWIII?

Easy. In the series, Norway decides to invest in Thorium nuclear power to get out of oil. We basically decided "we'll be environmentally friendly". Suddenly powered by nuclear in addition to hydro - and having a hefty petroleum fund - we get by without exporting oil.

The EU, and NATO, kinda depends on oil, and kinda asks Russia to invade. ;)

Excellent summary.

I've wondered about that, too. Probably came at the wrong time, with the Crimean thing, and so on. IIRC Russia even protested officially, via diplomatic channels, whatnot, while the series aired.

But yeah, it's an OK show. Not mindblowing, but OK to watch.

You are a strict grader! If you have a minute, suggest shows/movies you consider "mindblowing." Thanks!

I see nothing strict in here. It is an ok show, I watched it. "Mindblowing" would be something like "breaking bad" but this is of course to my taste. Others are different.

By "strict" I meant nothing negative; rather, I meant that I thought "Occupied" was mindblowing, so I naturally would like suggestions from someone who thinks it is "ok."

The recommendations of others oftimes guide our choices of what to watch. "Breaking Bad" = "Mindblowing?" OK. How about a few more of that caliber. Thanks!

Not GP but I also find it somewhat hard to like a TV show, so hopefully that qualifies me :)

The last one that blew my mind was "Severance", and before that "Devs". Both have a very different mood/aesthetic than Breaking Bad, though.

If you liked "Devs" a lot, I believe you will like "Halt and Catch Fire."

Hrrm yaaa, that was acceptable.

I'm not IMDB.

Seriously, it's a matter of taste, which things/themes are interesting to you, and how they have been put into the product which 'occupies' your screen ;->

While Okkupert's technical production values were excellent, the pilot and first few parts were interesting because of the novelty of the EU sending the Russians to occupy arrogant Norway to ensure continuing streams of oil and gas, the rest wasn't IMO. Some some police procedural, some secret agent, polit crime thrill thing with some personal/family trouble under said occupation at length. Yawn.

What's blowing my mind? Not much TBH. I'm rather bored and jaded by most of it.

Fair enough.

Edit: Movies, unsorted, from the top of my mind:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Limits_of_Control https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Origins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_East_(2013_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter%27s_Bone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contagion_(2011_film) , seen before Covid, deemed to be realistic, and therefore better than stuff like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Andromeda_Strain with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warning_Sign_(film) somewhere in between. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase_IV_(1974_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizards_(film) The remakes of the Planet of the Apes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_Days_Later , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_Weeks_Later a little less so, though it had some great scenes of flying into London City Airport and the modern parts around that. Bladerunner in the original versions, the remake not so much. 2001: A Space Odyssey, the intro and first parts, spaceflight to the moon and such, the rest not. Too boring. I liked the sequel 2010: Odyssey Two better, actually. Avatar. Part one only. All of this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(franchise) with the exception of the crossover stuff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elysium_(film) for the almost cyberpunkish fuckedupness of it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula_Untold https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beach_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Bergeron_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WALL-E https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_(2005_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/THX_1138 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan%27s_Run_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropia_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollerball_(1975_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_Dealer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southland_Tales https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Live https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendence_(2014_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_for_Vendetta_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Puppet_Masters_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Survivalist_(2015_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova_(2000_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_(2007_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hidden_(1987_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient_Zero_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capricorn_One https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangar_18_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_One_(2001_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timecop Ron Silverman Badass! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_(2014_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_Blonde https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_the_Night_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_(1997_American_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truman_Show https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombiana https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowing_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dead_Zone_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphere_(1998_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adjustment_Bureau https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrival_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifeforce_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fourth_Protocol_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Machine_(2013_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_(2009_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Final_Countdown_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paycheck_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypher_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigger_Point https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echelon_Conspiracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anderson_Tapes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Parallax_View https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Seduction

TV-Series: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivors_(1975_TV_series) and the remake linked from there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Train_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jericho_(2006_TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Strain_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayward_Pines https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silo_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_All_Mankind_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_(American_TV_serie... and its prequel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1883_(TV_series)

WESTWORLD!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_100_(TV_series) Praimfaya! Yeehaa! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterpart_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ark_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altered_Carbon_(TV_series) All of Black Mirror! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_Experiments_Lain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travelers_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falling_Skies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devs_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Peripheral_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expanse_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helix_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incorporated_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raised_by_Wolves_(American_TV_... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_from_the_Loop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutschland_83 and sequels. ÄXZÄLLÄNNT! JAWOLLJA! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humans_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Night_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Worlds_(2019_TV_ser... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Nova_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Gods_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozark_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_High_Castle_(TV... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascension_(miniseries) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Person_of_Interest_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Event https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_One https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_(American_TV_seri... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvation_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Dome_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_(2009_TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caprica

This all began about 2006 with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlestar_Galactica_(2004_TV_... after having abstained from possessing a TV, or watching that by other means (with some exceptions for news and documentaries) since 1996, and mostly no cinema either.

That stuff rehooked me in a binge-watching session. Shit happens :-)

Do yoo vanna häff fries wiff thät?

/nerdsnipe off

This is GOLD. Thank you!

Actually I've watched much more, be it movies, or TV-Series. It's just that the ones I've listed above left a more lasting impression on me, than some blockbusters I didn't mention, or that I'd consider them 'rewatchable' (Which I rarely (want to) do anyways).

Let's take Breaking Bad for instance, I did binge-watch that (while being stoned) and remember it as cringe-worthy. Nope, won't watch again. Then there was Continuum, which I know I've watched in full(sober, this time) and I can't even remember anything. Had to be too generic for me, I think?

What else, the Sarah Connor Chronicles. Mostly boring, except the scene where some hispanic Chica outstared her, and she learned that from her. That was funny for me :-)

Oh, one more, because I sometimes felt like that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falling_Down

I'll bite.

Two masterpieces with Alec Guinness - Obe Wan Kenobi.

Tinker tailor soldier spy. Smileys people.

Forensic accountancy with violence W/ Roy Marsden

The Sandbaggers

Based on your suggestion of the two spy thrillers, both of which I loved, I'm gonna watch "The Sandbaggers," which I'd never heard of till you mentioned it.

One more reason HN rules.

What's the US's take on it? We don't import much oil from Norway, and we're not historically big supporters of Russian aggression.

Let me guess -- Russia successfully lays the groundwork by co-opting one of the two major US political parties?

Sounds like it was that Norway stopped exporting oil which western nations depended on and then asked Russia to invade Norway to get it going again.

Point being, the US wouldn't care about the oil. We don't import much if any oil from Norway.

Yes, the loss of Norwegian exports would have had the effect of raising oil prices globally. But not by enough to make the US stand by while Russia starts mowing down NATO countries. That would be considered a Big Deal over here, even in light of pro-Russian GOP sentiment.

It depicts a fictionalized story. The premise doesn't need to be 100% fleshed out in terms of geopolitical realities.

Yeah, but there's such a thing as suspension of disbelief.

The idea that we'd chill out while Russia invades Norway... I mean, you could come up with a way to make that sound plausible, but it would almost have to be the central theme of the whole show.

I recall that it’s depicted as a kind of bloodless coup / occupation.

This is so funny. Rosatom operates at least 35 nuclear reactors only in Russia, whilst Norway operates zero production reactors of any kind.

Yeah. Norway has insane hydroelectric resources thanks to the glaciers (the fjords), so the irony is that they don't even use oil to power the country.

>> they don't even use oil to power the country

Well, maybe not in terms of energy, but it definitely "powers" the country in the sense that's where the money comes from.

And again, tell that to Russians, who operate the third in the world by energy production dam, Sayano-Shushenskaya.

Part of the premise is that Norway shuts off oil production. Everyone looks the other way when Russia invades because they'll keep suppyling oil.

Yup, the EU is aware and complicit.

Any idea how to watch that as an American?

It was on Netflix at one point...that's where I saw it at least. Great show, highly recommend.

Piracy.

Science!

It's available on Netflix with English subtitles.

Justwatch.com is great for checking if a movie or show is available on any of your streaming services (also handy for keeping a cross-service watchlist that will notify you when something becomes available). No relation, just a happy user.

In this case: https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/occupied