Spiral

[NV Whino]

Here's a chance to brush off your French and enjoy a three-season series from France. Or you could just turn on the subtitles.

Even the good guys are bad guys. Of course, the bad guys are badder, and sometimes you just want to reach through the screen and whap 'em upside the head. But seriously, excellent ensemble cast and good stories. There's a major story arch throughout each season with minor ones in each episode.

One of the things I liked was seeing how France handles crime investigation and prosecution. Seems they have an investigative magistrate, a judge who actually goes out on calls and participates in the investigation. Then there are the prosecutors, the defense lawyers and other magistrates. I didn't quite understand the entire structure, but it was interesting.

I wish the series had gone on a bit longer. There were still some issues left hanging.

[bettyellen]

1. season four is coming- and I cannot wait.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. I found the French really hard to understand

The characters would say something that sounded to me like "shwanh-shwanh" and the translation would be a whole sentence.

This is despite the fact that I find the French on MHz Worldview programs such as "Maigret" and "Blood of the Vine" to be quite easy to understand. I get about half of it without the subtitles. On Spiral, I get nothing without the subtitles except an occasional "oui" or "non."

I think it's because the language of "Spiral" is slangy Parisian French.