Its third series is on now.
Unless they plan the plot arc over multiple series [a la The Wire], the first series is good, so they think they will make another, which usually stretches credibility, then the follow up with a third and further series which get increasingly stupid. Let’s see if this one can buck the trend.
I watched the first episode of Clean Sweep. It’s in English, but very Irish.
If only we were equipped like Charlene McKenna to handle a bloke who’s spouting born-again bullshit at us.
Bit of a pity her policeman husband is assigned to deal with the aftermath.
There’s a new season of Valeria. I thought it had finished!
Liking Babylon Berlin
There are 3 or 4 books so I’d expect one series per book.
Don’t forget that Covid put a lot of production out of whack.
With regard to Babylon Berlin, someone here was saying the new series was being subtitled, but that was maybe 6 months ago. We should be getting right into the Nazi period by now, seeing the third series ended with the 1929 Wall St crash.
I watched the first episode of Valeria this morning. That picture of Asturias was very much like I experienced in 2016…although we did have one sunny spell in either Asturias or Cantabria. But it rained solidly all the way from Santiago de Compostela to Pamplona.
Being a fairly hilly part of Spain, it’s fair to say that the rain in Spain does not fall mainly on the plain.
Good start to the series though.
I’ve seen the theme song and video on youtube. Definitely on my list.
4 books on Kindle…no English translations.
Translated literally, but there could be Spanish idioms that I’m unaware of. Well, apart from changing “white and black” to “black and white” because that’s how we always say it.
I’m already onto the final episode. Haha.
Episode 4 was really good. The young Valeria was very like the normal one.
The others not so much…Lola certainly had a major growth spurt.
It didn’t have a good enough storyline for an 8 episode series.
Here’s a few of the better SBSOD series I’ve either watched recently or currently viewing
Manayek (Israel; 2 seasons) - Very good.
An internal affairs officer verging on retirement is shocked when his best friend is accused of being corrupt. Some of the Israeli reviews mention that the show could’ve been ripped from their headlines. As excellent as Line of Duty was, this is probably more realistic, as political machinations and self-interest play a big part. Based on how S2 ends, I presume a 3rd is in the works
Phantom (Russia; 8 eps; expires in 2 weeks) - Enjoyable without being outstanding. Self-contained outside of 1 loose thread that they left for a season 2 that never happened.
An obsessed cop confronts a local drug dealer only to be shot dead by an unknown assailant. On the verge of passing over, he stays on earth to save his wife after receiving visions of her being shot by his killer.
Unit One (Rejseholdet; Denmark; 4 seasons - 32 eps; expires in a month)
Excellent Danish police procedural from 20 years ago with a cast largely unknown internationally aside from Mads Mikkelsen
The King of Warsaw (Król; Poland; 8 eps; expires in 2 weeks) - 3 eps to go but very good so far.
Based on a Polish book. Set in late 1930’s Warsaw where the Jewish mafia runs the streets, much to the annoyance of the local Fascists. Borys Szyc as “the Doctor” gives one of the most chilling portrayals I’ve seen in quite a number of years
Thin Blue Line (Tunna blå linjen; Sweden; 1 season with a 2nd coming) - Very good
Gritty Swedish cop drama set in Malmö, possibly inspired by a recent lift in crime since the pandemic there. It touches on a lot of social issues like racial profiling, religion and the integration of refugees into the wider social fabric, as well as the social and psychological aspects of policing in a social media world - so it undoubtedly won’t be for everyone.
Unit One is great. Mrs S and I watched all as it originally came out, and we recently re-watched a couple of eps. It is just as good second time around. The cast is extremely strong, and it’s not only Mads Mikkelsen.
SBS announced that new series of Sandhamm Murders and Paris Police 1900 have dropped.
Concur with Manayek. Excellent series. Very realistic portrayal of crime and corruption. I assume S3 is a given.
Watched all of Unit One at least 15 years ago. Recall it being my first venture into a foreign language series. Never looked back.
Not seen Thin Blue Line. Will add it to my list.
Finished Blue Lights yesterday. Another gritty police drama that I’d highly recommend. Set in West Belfast, very clearly the wrong side of the tracks.
Well, I enjoyed it. And I think Val made the right choice in the end.
PS a lot more rangas in Madrid that you’d expect. Val, Borja, Borja’s dad and the girl with the pigtails who had a crush on Rai.
That’s 2 of my series finished now. Thankfully , there are plenty more. Started on No Traces on Amazon last night. Surprised to see Camila Sodi from False Identity appearing in a series in Spain. And watched the first episode of Surrograte (the Spanish titles translates as Mother For Rent). That has Luis Ernesto Franco, the male half of False Identity.
Yes, Diego! So excited. He’s hot.
So, you can’t watch SBSOD without seeing ads for the Czech show “Rats”
And despite that and even more despite the supporting quote from Rupert’s propaganda broadsheet, I finally gave it a try
Central Europe has a distinct sensibility that one needs to adapt to. It would be easy to dismiss this after the first episode or two. It is worth persevering with.
If you don’t like episode one, maybe just jump right to Episode four and try to catch up from there.
Also, one of the best TV series I have seen was the Czech “Good Soldier Schweik” from the late seventies/early eighties as it was shown on SBS back in the day. I don’t know of any sites that have this for d/l but maybe someone else does
He’s also in the later seasons of Señora Acero, as an American immigration agent, hunting down the gorgeous Carolina Miranda (Who Killed Sara?, Malverde, Fake Profile).
I gave up on False Identity knowing that Camila Sodi was going to be murdered, having signed up for Wild District (SBS).