Vikings - The Complete First Season

In 793 CE, appropriately filthy farmer/warrior Ragnar Lothbrok has the stones to contradict the regional lord by asserting that there are indeed lands to plunder in the West, not just their usual rape and pillage outings in eastern destinations.

Review: In case you fell asleep while traversing Beowulf's whale road, you can catch up on your epic Nordic heroes via the History Channel series "Vikings," the first season now available right after the second season has been announced.

Creator Michael Hirst, in an Irish-Canadian co-production, takes viewers to the Eastern Baltic in 793 CE, where appropriately filthy farmer/warrior Ragnar Lothbrok (braid-mohawked Travis Fimmel) has the stones to contradict regional lord Earl Haraldson (a Macbeth-like, mulleted Gabriel Byrne) by asserting that there are indeed lands to plunder in the West, and they need not confine themselves to their usual rape and pillage outings in eastern destinations such as Russia.

In episode one, Ragnar has a beta-version water compass, some rudimentary celestial navigation notions and wackadoo ship builder Floki (Loki-like Gustaf Skarsg�rd) to help him and his brother Rollo (Clive Standen) go a wandering. Their small crew leaves Ragnar's famous shield-maiden wife Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick), son and daughter, to make their way toward England.

As the luck of Odin would have it, the Anglo-Saxons keep their gold, silver and precious jewels in an ocean-adjacent monastery, and out in an open sanctuary for looting and plundering ease. And the monks are easy prey, as they only pray.

The series will probably produce boners for Ren (or, more accurately, pre-Ren) Faire aficionados, due to the high-def slaughters using swords and arrows, and more often than not, hacking with axes. It's a gory production, with lots of jump cuts and streaming blood in the battle (well, massacre) scenes. Turns out the Vikings are basically assholes who are all about stealing and enslaving, so it's difficult to empathize with the characters (who also seem to have a penchant for m�nage � trois, which doesn't fit into their �ber-patriarchal system).

The three-disc set contains nine episodes: "Rites of Passage," "Wrath of the Northmen," "Dispossessed," "Trial," "Raid," "Burial of the Dead," "A King's Ransom," "Sacrifice" and "All Change." Featurettes include "A Warrior Society: Viking Culture and Law," "Birth of the Vikings," "Forging the Viking Army: Warfare and Tactics," plus deleted scenes and audio commentary on some episodes. Exclusive to the Blu-ray are the interactive "The Armory of the Vikings" and "Conquest and Discovery: Journeys of the Vikings."

A character notes that "All things begin and end with stories," which is a far different thing than actual history.

"Vikings: The Complete First Season"
Blu-ray Set
$29.99
http://www.history.com/shows/vikings