Morte in mare aperto

Love 'Inspector Montalbano' and feel that it does a great job bringing freshness to a well-worn genre (not intended as a bad thing, love crime/mystery drama but there's a lot out there with familiar tropes to each other).

Was not sure how its prequel series 'The Young Montalbano' would fare when hearing of it. It sounded interesting to see the great 'Inspector Montalbano' characters in their youth, but also questioned the necessity. With that being said, had mixed expectations before watching 'Endeavour', the prequel series to one of my favourites 'Inspector Morse' and it ended up nearly as great. The same goes for 'The Young Montalbano', it must have been no easy feat to live up to such a good show and have a younger actor for the title character filling in very big shoes but 'The Young Montalbano' manages it splendidly.

Some may question the physical resemblances of the younger cast to 'Inspector Montalbano's' cast for continuity's sake, Mimi is a notable example. That was not an issue at all to me. "Death on the High Seas" is not one of the best 'The Young Montalbano' episodes, the ending is unsurprising by Montalbano standards and there are familiar Montalbano elements that have been done with more freshness in other episodes. All this aside, "Death on the High Seas" is still very enjoyable and improves on the decent if disappointing previous "Room Number 2".

"Death on the High Seas" as to be expected is beautifully shot and the scenery is stunning, making those who've never been to Italy want to book a holiday there as soon as possible and is a treat for anybody who loves all things Italian. The scenery as always is atmospheric and the use of it very clever, the locale as always is suitably colourful. The music is never over-bearing or low-key with a nice atmosphere and flavour, a lot of it is very cleverly used. The sound effects are remarkably authentic.

Oh, and something that was neglected to be mentioned by me in my reviews for the show and its individual episodes is how the food and the way it's used is enough to make one salivate over, it looks so delicious and almost too good to eat.

Part of 'The Young Montalbano's' appeal how it manages to stay true to what was so good about 'Inspector Montalbano' and is every bit as successful at creating a history that is both incredibly interesting and plausible. The humour is fun and remarkably true in spirit to 'Inspector Montalbano' if not as eccentric as that in the later episodes, the conflict is tense in a nail-biting way and the drama charms and affects. The romance is charming and Livia fares very nicely in her younger version. The characters as their younger selves, for what they lack in physical resemblance, more than make up for that in maintaining the same personalities we know and love the characters for and being just as interesting in development.

While the story is not perfect, it is still absorbing and twisty enough and that it is more serious in tone to other 'The Young Montalbano' episodes and doesn't feature Catarella (who is still amusing) as much was appreciated. Really enjoy Catarella but it doesn't hurt to on occasions to not feature him so heavily. The pacing is leisurely but not dull.

The acting is very good, Michele Riondino had a Herculean task filling the shoes of the incomparable Luca Zingaretti but is more than up to the task and does it more than admirably, balancing comedy, drama and intensity with ease. All the other roles range from solid to great, with Fabrizio Pizzutto and Alessio Vassallo really coming into their own, but through the whole show it's Riondino's show all the way when it comes to the acting honours.

On the whole, very solid episode but not the show at its best. 8/10 Bethany Cox

You can tell that a series has had its day, so to speak, when the story recycles familiar plot-conventions.

This is precisely what happens with "Death on the High Seas." A corpse is found on a fishing-boat, apparently the victim of an accidental shooting. Inspector Montalbano (Michele Riondino) investigates, and becomes involved in a complicated plot involving love, drug- smuggling and deceit. There is also a subplot in which Fazio (Andrea Tidona) is involved in some nefarious scheme that he refuses to divulge to Montalbano; it is left to Fazio's father Giuseppe (Beniamino Marcone) to spill the beans.

Eventually it turns out that Montalbano has to solve cases involving the Mafia - the two major Sicilian families that seem to be behind every crime happening in Vigata crop up once more. There is a fire - which also cropped up in the previous episode in this series ("Room Number 12") - as well as a love-plot involving two women with a yen for members of the opposite sex.

The characterization proceeds along wearyingly predictable lines. Mimi (Alessio Vassallo) looks for more female conquests while advising Montalbano on the best way to enjoy his last days of freedom before marriage. Catarella (Fabrizio Pizzuto) has a few brief moments of buffoonery as he trips over a door frame, and complains about his finger being pricked by a thumb-tack. Meanwhile Montalbano experiences agonies of indecision about his projected wedding to Livia (Sarah Felberbaum).

Perhaps the sole redeeming aspect of this episode is the Sicilian locations: the cramped streets; the expanse of sea forming a backdrop to many of the sequences; and the long-shots depicting the insignificance of the characters in relation to the natural elements.