Most of the reviews below have previously appeared on this Blog. They have been consolidated here for the sake of clarity. More than anything, I love the location photography on all these series. From the back streets of Paris, to the wilderness of Arctic Norway, and the coast of the Baltic Sea and Landes in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south western France. And so many more.
Wallander
The Killing
In 2007, following the Swedish crime dramas "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" trilogy and the "Wallander" series, comes the Danish 20 part police investigation into one murder called "Forbrydelsen" or "The Killing". It is slow, sombre, bleak, moving, powerful and brilliant. I only caught up with it following a couple of reviews in the press, and have watched the first four episodes on the BBC iPlayer before recording the latest episodes on BBC4. The story revolves not only around the police investigation, led by the terrific Sofie Grabol as detective Sarah Lund, but also the effects on the dead girl's family and the politicians involved. Each episode covers one of the consecutive days, a bit like "24" but one day instead of one hour. Series 11 came in 2011,
The Bridge
This excellent Danish/Swedish production came to British TV in 2012 with the second series in 2014. The first series was far superior as a body is found exactly in the middle of the bridge that connects Malmo and Copenhagen. Sofia Hellin was good as the Swedish detective, but I found Kim Bodnia from Denmark just annoying.
Beck
I think it must have been in 2016 that I caught up with another Swedish detective series on BBC4. I certainly have not watched every episode of the eight seasons. They have never before been mentioned on this blog.
Philharmonia
You wait years for one decent French TV series to come along, then three turn up together. In 2020 Philharmonia is an over the top melodrama about an orchestra, or more crucially about their new conductor. Something is wrong with Helene (Marie-Sophie Ferdane) despite the chic outfits and hair. Playing out over six episodes, the only slightly boring bits are when the orchestra starts to play. We just want to get back to the back biting and intrigue. Lots of twists and turns. Oh yes, and a weird young lead violinist. Superb.
Also in 2020 on All 4 comes A Deadly Union, a six part crime melodrama set on the French Riviera where the sun always shines. Forget the predictable plot and just watch the scenery. Lannick Gautry plays the police detective out to solve the death of the bride. Alexia Barlier is Alice, his ex just returned for the wedding. There are secrets galore, all conspiring to thwart the investigation.
And in the same year The Last Wave started on BBC 4. it is a supernatural fantasy involving some good looking surfers. Very early days, so not sure if I will stick with it.
Two weeks later, I did. Mainly because the location photography was so gorgeous. The sensational location is the Landes in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south western France. And notable for surfing, sand dunes and the glorious beaches. The story was just intriguing enough to keep me watching. It turns out to be a type of modern science fiction. The last part of the penultimate episode was particularly spectacular when something happens that is one of those memorable moments. Here the special effects are pretty stupid but gob smacking. I was waiting for the twist at the end of the final episode, like all good scifi should have, and thank goodness we got one. Well done France for three great series.
The Valhalla Murders
First from BBC 4, also in 2020, comes The Valhalla Murders, set in Iceland and notable for the parachuting in of a detective from Norway, the tall guy at the back. Not my favourite of these recent series, I found it hard to keep up with the plot.
DNA
Much better was this mystery detective series, also from 2020, this time from Denmark. And again on BBC 4. Set in Copenhagen, Northern Jutland and Poland, Yet again it does have yet another specialist drafted in, this time Charlotte Rampling as French detective Claire Bobin. And as well as the French Connection, there is also a link to a convent in Poland. And of course DNA. There were eight episodes, although it should have been less, it was too slow at times. But the last two episodes were exciting even if the conclusion was identical to a thousand thrillers that have gone before.
The Nordic Murders
On Channel 4 at the end of 2020 comes The Nordic Murders, and we are off to Germany. Actually the action is set on the Island (peninsular?) of Usedom in what was the north of East Germany on the Baltic Sea. Just over the border is Poland (again) where we visit on occasions. This location is therefore one of the best things about the series, great photography and visually stunning. Each episode is a separate story so that was good. Not a lot of plot, more a character study of investigator Julia and her ex-con mother Karin who was the district prosecutor. Yes! However, the series soon disappeared from Channel 4 so will wait for it's return?
Monster
Into 2021 and Channel 4 again and we are in Arctic Norway near the Russian border. Once more it's isolation leads to a detective arriving to help. But he doesn't. Poor Hedda, (the most unglamorous and unlikely female tv detective ever) out of her depth and with boss Ed soon to retire (both above) she finds it hard to communicate with the new Dreyer. It takes the difficulties of new partners to a whole new, violent level! A complicated plot, not a lot of dialogue but it's all about the scenery. I didn't have a clue of what was going on half the time, but it was curiously addictive.
Rebecka Martinsson: Arctic Murders
This was weird. I came across the second series of this Channel 4 series (it is also on Sky so will be there for ever) , and having watched the first episode, I found that Series 1 was on catch-up. So back to it's first episode. But the lead detective (Rebecka) seemed different, very weird. But investigating on Google, I found that the actress had changed for Series 2. The setting is the far north of Sweden, is everybody trying to get more north that the other? So we have snow and ice in the depths of winter as lawyer Rebecka returns to her home town of Kiruna. And murders.
Spiral
I think I must have watched all the series of Spiral, the French crime series on BBC 4 that started in 2006 and set in the dark side of Paris. We have now reached the final series and the team is in trouble after the disasters of the previous episodes. It seems a long time since we last saw Laure and Gilou. But the photography of Paris is as great as ever especially the chase sequences with a hand held camera.
The final series, in my opinion, was the weakest of all. Saved only by the last couple of minutes when, at last, we see Laure smile!
Thou Shalt Not Kill
I’m now watching the second series of the Italian drama Though Shall Not Kill set in Turin in Italy (I couldn’t get on with another Italian series Inspector Moltanbano so I don’t watch everything). It stars Miriam Leone as Valeria Ferro as the detective, The Italian title is Non Uccidere which has not been perfectly translated.
Also on record is the current BBC4 series Blinded Those who Kill. However, I missed it’s earlier incarnation Darkness: Those Who Kill shown in 2019. This is currently on Catch Up and iPlayer so I will watch this first.
No comments:
Post a Comment