The BEST episodes of Matador season 1
Every episode of Matador season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Matador season 1!
The series follows life in a Danish provincial town from 1929 to 1947. Mads Skjern arrives in Korsbæk in 1929 and opens a modern clothing store, which creates conflict with the town's old upper-class families, especially the Varnæs family. When the bank director Hans Christian Varnæs refuses to support Skjern to protect his friend, the clothing merchant Arnesen, Mads Skjern challenges the established hierarchy and takes over the market with his business methods. Set in the 1930s and 1940s, the series follows both the bourgeoisie and working class in Korsbæk, with characters like the pig trader Oluf Larsen, waiter Boldt, and the communist Lauritz "Røde" Jensen. We see how social ties, romance, and class struggles unfold in the town, and how the conditions of the working class, particularly in wartime Denmark, become a central part of the story.
#1 - The Neighbor: 1929
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 11/18/1978
The town's bourgeoisie watch with judging and disapproving eyes as Mads Skern opens his new shop "Tøjhuset" (lit.: "The Clothing House" but also "Arsenal"), in direct competition with Arnesen's. Oluf Larsen's daughter, Ingeborg, starts as a clerk in his store, much to Mads' pleasure.
#2 - One Man's Loss: 1932
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/9/1978
Arnesen is in the shambles, and even Varnæs cannot aid him financially any further. He knows he is ruined.
#3 - The Traveler: 1929
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 11/11/1978
Traveling drapery salesman Mads Andersen-Skjern arrives in Korsbæk with his little boy Daniel and sees opportunities when faced with the inept draper Albert Arnesen and this small sleepy town where the old families define the pace and virtue. Receiving only haughty condescension from the upper-class, Mads finds local allies in the family of pig trader Oluf Larsen and his wife Kathrine, who has more money than meets the eye.
#4 - The Maiden Aunt: 1931
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 12/2/1978
Mads' business continues to thrive and he even begins issuing loans to the locals. His younger brother Kristen, a banker, arrives in Korsbæk to assist. Kristen is quickly smitten with Maude's sister Elisabeth, who otherwise lives in the shadow of her sister. They fall in love, but their liaison is impossible due to the rivalry of their respective families.
#5 - Quarter Day: 1930
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/25/1978
Arnesen's store is losing money hand over fist, so when he learns that his manager, Mr. Schwann, has inherited a large sum, he persuades him to become his partner; the snobby Mr. Schwann gleefully throws his entire inheritance into Damernes Magasin, prolonging the inevitable for a few months.
#6 - Deployment: 1932
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 12/16/1978
To the horror of the bourgeoisie, Vicki, now a young widow, sells the shop to Mads Andersen-Skjern and moves to Copenhagen, against her father's will.