VICTORY!!!

Viking Quest might be a fictional show, but if it weren’t, we would definitely watch it. Why? Because it’s about Vikings, greatly underappreciated in this ‘all ninjas and pirates, all the time’ culture of ours. Where are the epic movies about lone Vikings rebelling against the masters that raised them and setting out on their own quests? Or sailing the oceans, going on magical quests and fighting Kraken? Nowhere, that’s where. This is despite the fact that Vikings could easily do these things as well as ninjas and pirates, if not better. Do ninjas drink funeral ale and cremate themselves in goddam burning boats? Did pirates have their own afterlife featuring buxom women and beer? No, they did not.

These days, the closest we have to Viking-centered entertainment is this Viking vs Samurai fight.

Many things could be behind this dearth of real TV shows and movies about Vikings. Maybe all the rape and plunder of other sovereign nations is a sensitive issue in today’s PC-sensitive world. Maybe everyone is caught up over the fact that Vikings didn’t really wear those helmets with the horns stuck to them, and the technical quibbles are holding up production. Maybe they are holding out until the pirate craze finally dies down, and Vikings are destined to be the next Big Thing. Or maybe it’s a sensitivity related to football teams. But let’s face it: the most likely explanation is that the movie and television industries are run by a secret cabal of samurai, reacting against their natural enemy.

In the meantime, encourage Viking pride by celebrating Entourage’s portrayal of Vikings with this fine T-shirt.