I once heard a TV executive say, more or less, at the network you always want more. A US TV exec, that was, but the prinicple can apply across the pond. It's become a bit of a problem, shows that exeed their natural life span on account of the network's greed and the audience's apathy/addiction. Sadly, Engrenages (Spiral) cannot be exempted from the category of shows that ought to have quit while they were ahead.
There were eight seasons of Spiral. All have merit, but some have more merit than others. Cut it in half and you have the best of things. But then eat the other half too, piggy.
Spiral focuses on violent crime. Season 1 has a brutal murder. Season 2 has an equally brutal murder to get things cooking. Literally. Season 3, another murder. And the pattern continues. What makes Spiral interesting, or one thing, is the way it bounces between the police, the judiciary, the criminals, and the ordinary citizens, all of whom are capable of nefarious behaviour. No-one is exempt. There are no white-hat cowboys and black-hat baddies. Everyone is corrupt to varying degrees. Everything is interconnected.
Shall we bring up the spectre of Jennifer Lawrence, more specifically her legendary and fatuous interview where the conceited clown claimed she was the first ever action heroine? Naturally all the male half of the species fell off its collective chair laughing at her self-aggrandizement, and then began listing all the much-loved heroines. They focused on movies, naturally, but what about TV? For Engrenages has a terrific female lead, a heroine leading her team from the front, working tirelessly, and fighting like a wild cat to protect those who matter to her. I refer, naturellement, to Captain Laure Berthaud (Caroline Proust). She's an extraordinary character, tough, uncontrollable, resolute, ruthless, but also capable of being confused, ambivalent, vulnerable, even cowardly when it comes to her personal life. An amazing blend of heroism and fragility.
There's also her antagonist, the brilliant and bloodyminded lawyer, Josephine Karlsson (Audrey Fleurot). Unusually, they are not divided but brought together, albeit temporarily, by love for the same man, prosecutor-turned-lawyer Pierre (Gregory Fitoussi). Other recurring characters include the vulpine judge Roban, the machiavellian Machard, Berthaud's two deputees, Tintin and Gilou, and the hot-headed chief of CID, Herville.
I love the way the design for the opening recap changes with each season. And what about the unusual camera angles and puddle reflections in Season 7? This is a terrifically compelling drama, with plenty of heart despite all the nefarious goings-on. However, once Fitoussi's Pierre is written out the show does start to get lost in the streets of Paris. The finale of Season 5 is absurd, Season 6 is built on improbabilities, even as the personal life angle on Berthaud becomes more interesting, and there is an inescapable feeling from Season 7 that plot-armour and convenience - for the writers, not for realism - is driving plot developments; that things are made to happen just because it suits the format of the show, not because of plausibility.
Nonetheless, even on faltering form, Spiral is wicked television and well worth seeing to its slightly inconclusive and downbeat final minutes, if only to finalise its slow-burn love story. If artists no longer seek perfection for their work maybe it is because they have imperfect audiences?
There were eight seasons of Spiral. All have merit, but some have more merit than others. Cut it in half and you have the best of things. But then eat the other half too, piggy.
Spiral focuses on violent crime. Season 1 has a brutal murder. Season 2 has an equally brutal murder to get things cooking. Literally. Season 3, another murder. And the pattern continues. What makes Spiral interesting, or one thing, is the way it bounces between the police, the judiciary, the criminals, and the ordinary citizens, all of whom are capable of nefarious behaviour. No-one is exempt. There are no white-hat cowboys and black-hat baddies. Everyone is corrupt to varying degrees. Everything is interconnected.
Shall we bring up the spectre of Jennifer Lawrence, more specifically her legendary and fatuous interview where the conceited clown claimed she was the first ever action heroine? Naturally all the male half of the species fell off its collective chair laughing at her self-aggrandizement, and then began listing all the much-loved heroines. They focused on movies, naturally, but what about TV? For Engrenages has a terrific female lead, a heroine leading her team from the front, working tirelessly, and fighting like a wild cat to protect those who matter to her. I refer, naturellement, to Captain Laure Berthaud (Caroline Proust). She's an extraordinary character, tough, uncontrollable, resolute, ruthless, but also capable of being confused, ambivalent, vulnerable, even cowardly when it comes to her personal life. An amazing blend of heroism and fragility.
There's also her antagonist, the brilliant and bloodyminded lawyer, Josephine Karlsson (Audrey Fleurot). Unusually, they are not divided but brought together, albeit temporarily, by love for the same man, prosecutor-turned-lawyer Pierre (Gregory Fitoussi). Other recurring characters include the vulpine judge Roban, the machiavellian Machard, Berthaud's two deputees, Tintin and Gilou, and the hot-headed chief of CID, Herville.
I love the way the design for the opening recap changes with each season. And what about the unusual camera angles and puddle reflections in Season 7? This is a terrifically compelling drama, with plenty of heart despite all the nefarious goings-on. However, once Fitoussi's Pierre is written out the show does start to get lost in the streets of Paris. The finale of Season 5 is absurd, Season 6 is built on improbabilities, even as the personal life angle on Berthaud becomes more interesting, and there is an inescapable feeling from Season 7 that plot-armour and convenience - for the writers, not for realism - is driving plot developments; that things are made to happen just because it suits the format of the show, not because of plausibility.
Nonetheless, even on faltering form, Spiral is wicked television and well worth seeing to its slightly inconclusive and downbeat final minutes, if only to finalise its slow-burn love story. If artists no longer seek perfection for their work maybe it is because they have imperfect audiences?