Astrid et Raphaëlle

This came very highly recommended by friends whose judgement I generally trust. They have even got the second season. Unfortunately I don't hold the same high opinion that they do. If it weren't for a feeling of letting them down, I would have given up after the ninety minute pilot and then the first of the fifty five minute episodes.

I found the characters' personalities irritating rather than engaging or sympathetic. I found the portrayal of Asperger's unconvincing and rather a deus ex machine than a driver of the plot. I also failed to see how an archivist in a totally different discipline would be allowed to go out on investigations and even ask questions as well as being sceptical about the competence of the pathologist in every episode. If her particular skills were needed, then they could be used in the station using photos and records. Moreover, that this completely sidelined Raphaelle's partner, who was fobbed off with donkey work, was hard to swallow.

I have to say that the character of Astrid developed somewhat during the series and I found the later episodes better than the first ones but I shan't be getting the second season. It gets four stars because of that and because I watched it till the end but that was almost out of a sense of obligation to my friends.