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Murder in Provence (2022)
Hilarious nonsense, excusez le mot.
Another example of a crime series, set outside of UK, but played by British actors. Like Inspector vd Valk.
But this one is still fun, because it is hilarious and nonsense. I cannot stop laughing when I watch British people act like they are French, and have French names. Imagine you turn this around and let French actors play a crime series in UK pretending they are British, with British names, but speaking French. It really makes this a parody.
But funny enough pleasant to watch. Very light stories, but beautiful images of the lovely south of France.
There is no depth in characters, but that fits well with the lack of depth in the script.
If you just want to watch something light and easy, i can recommend this series.
Crime (2021)
Not for me
This seems to be a love it or hate it series. I am of the last category.
Let me not spoil things, but in short this could have been done in 3 episodes.
The last 2 are really unbearable, an end after episode 4 would heve been better.
It paints a disgusting picture of Scottish police, with one unhinged racist character and a detective with serious mental problems, addicted to alcohol and cocaine.
Really nice if you are a hardworking cop in Edinburgh.
Fortunately this series is a long way from the truth and no self respecting police force would ever let guys like those 2 get anywhere near police work.
About police work, the "detective" makes a mess of it in this series anyway, no wonder.
DNA (2019)
Mixed feelings
This was interesting, I would score this series a 4, my wife scores it an 8. So we settled on 7. To explain my score let me spoil just the opening episode.
A girl gets abducted. The detective for the case is home alone with his baby daughter as his wife, a stewardess, is on a flight. The investigation shows a very vague clue that the girl might be in Poland. Nevertheless the detective immediately decides to drive to Poland. But the babysitter does not show up, so he takes his babygirl with him... A colleague volunteers to join. They board the ferry during a storm that, judged by the animation, is like the mother of all hurricanes (mind you this is the ferry from Denmark to Germany in the Baltics...). The detective gets seasick and goes outside to throw up. He takes his baby with him instead of leaving her with his colleague. Get it?? Let me stop here, after this scene I could not seriously watch this any longer.
My wife thought the theme was really good, despite the numerous stereotypes going forward.
So, enjoy watching, but be aware that if you are a catholic, you may be offended.
Mar de plástico (2015)
Intriguing theme but too soapy
This series had great potential. The theme is intriguing and revolves around the social differences within the worker community in "Mar de Plastico". I guess most people had no idea that this "Sea of Plastic" actually exists. It is the Campo de Dalias in South-East Spain near Almeria and the immense area covered with plastic can be seen from space. It would be worth a documentary so that people realize where their veggies come from and how they are produced, "Veggiespiracy" maybe?
Anyway, the series. I could not bring myself to watch all episodes. Each one of them is 70 minutes long and it takes 13 episodes to finally get to a clue. If you are a soapy, this is for you and you would probably rate it 10. For me, it is just too long, everything drags out beyond what my patience can take. Too bad.. .Other than that let me assure you that Spanish people and also the Guardia Civil are much friendlier in real life than how they appear in this series.
Shetland (2013)
What an excellent series this is
Shetland is a truly great series. From the very first episode it sets a high standard. The stories are realistic, the various characters fit seamlessly, great acting and on top of all wonderful scenery. None of the over the top stuff or psycho-drama you get in so many detectives. Henshall is the perfect choice for the lead role. Some great guest appearances like Brian Cox, one of my favorite actors, in Episode 2.
A pleasure to watch, makes you want to visit the Islands.
La trêve (2016)
As so often, intriguing Season 1 and below-standard Season 2
Maybe we should put a ban on adding a second season after a first was successful. With this series again, I enjoyed Season 1 which was dark, intriguing and intelligent. But Season 2... I can only hope never to confront the Belgium police force because if this is how they act that is very scary.
The main character is no longer with the police force, he is clearly mentally ill, addicted and has an agression problem. Nevertheless the local police office gives him a free hand to act as an inspector. The second police office is filled with people that go to great length to make a conviction, including harassment of suspects and falsifying evidence.
Anyway, I wondered if this was meant to be a comedy or parody, because we have a Mr.Bean look-alike appearing as well...
Confusing story, many loose ends and way too lengthy. This story could have been told in 4 episodes if they had simply cut out all the unnecessary scenes.
I'll score a 7 as the average of 10 and 4...
Inspector Morse (1987)
There is simply no match for Inspector Morse
Not everyone will be a "Morse fan", especially if you prefer fast, violent series. But for the more classical viewer there is nothing that matches this series. There are so many highlights in all these episodes, so subtle. I guess I watched all episodes about 5 times by now.
Beautiful music if you are into classical. And some priceless conversations.
My favorite is when Morse tells a woman he likes music and she says he must be a jazz fan. Morse looks up in dismay and simply says : "music..." .
Another classic is when he asks French aristocrat Paul Earl if he commissioned a painting by Harry Field and the answer is "The last member of my family to commission a painting was my grandfather. The painter was ... Cezanne.."
If I need to give my top 5, well 6 episodes (in no particular order) they will be :
- Fat chance
- Death of the Self
- Masonic mysteries
- Day of the Devil
- Who killed Harry Field
- Deadly slumber (with Brian Cox)
Hinterland (2013)
A good series, with Episode 1-1 standing out
I like crimi series that are set in remote areas, like in this case the beautiful West part of Wales. For me, the very first episode was superb and not matched by any other subsequent one. Fascinating scenery. Main character is a bit dark. Intriguing to watch.
Midnattssol (2016)
If you ever visited the region, this is good to watch
Having traveled through this magical part of Sweden many times, I found this series great to watch. If alone for the amazing scenery. The story I think is over the top and unrealistic. I am not sure if it pays enough tribute to the Sami people, but at least everyone now knows what a noaidi is and how singing a joik sounds.
I guess few people realized how much iron ore the Kiruna mine-complex produces. So, I liked this series, made me remember the many days in the wild I spent out there.
Van der Valk (2020)
This crew knows nothing about the Dutch
If you do a Dutch crimi, then use Dutch actors please. For whatever reason someone thought it was a good idea to locate a crimi in Amsterdam with a Dutch detective. Sounds fun, but it is a British series played by mainly British actors, which makes this hilarious and horrible at the same time. The Detective (van der Valk played by Mark Warren) is as non-Dutch as you can imagine. His methods and behavior are miles off normal Dutch characters. If you are Dutch I guess it is fun to watch if you consider this to be a parody...
Ófærð (2015)
Superb series, especially Season 1
I did not know what to expect, but this Islandic police series is truly excellent. The characters are very "normal" and convincing, the location and scenery are wonderful, the story is good and realistic. No fancy, high-tech, high-budget police staffed by super-models, but normal people doing their job the best they can in a low-budget police station in the middle of nowhere. Fascinating, I watched season 1 twice. Season 2 story is a little unrealistic but acting and filming are high standard. If you look for another great Icelandic crimi, try "The Valhalla murders" aka "Brot"
The Team (2015)
Season 1 excellent, Season 2 needed a better script
I thoroughly enjoyed Season 1, good script, acting and filming. Season 2 has good acting and filming too, but the script is, sorry to say, a complete joke. Whoever wrote it had no clue about police procedures and even less about SWAT teams. The lack of competence and erratic decisions displayed by the forces in Season 2 is laughable. Imagine scores of people are killed in a country with low crime rate, who would you assign for the investigation? Denmark sends the local version of Tomb Raider's Lara Croft, Germany a womanizer with tattoos who has no clue about policework, Belgium gives the lead to a young nerd. No wonder there is a growing number of casualties... The further I got in this season, the more nonsensical it became. Let me give 3 examples (sorry for the spoilers) : There is a scene where criminals are in a warehouse and a heavily armed 20-strong SWAT team is going for them. They break into the front door, take a few people only to find out the main suspect simply walks out the back door, that nobody apparently thought of covering. He is then chased by 2 ill-equipped detectives while the SWAT team seems to have vanished... Other than that everyone (police, criminals and illegal immigrants alike) travel unrestricted through Europe at warp speed but when the detectives need to go to a building a few blocks away it takes them forever. And the main suspect has telepathic vision given that he knows all the hidden entry and exit points of buildings he never visited. Hilarious, sorry.
Which is a shame, the theme is very contemporary, this could have been a strong story. So a 7 for the overall series, Season 1 is a must see. Very good choice to have people speak their own language instead of everyone speaking English.