Spiral (Engrenages) 2005-2020

Spiral or: that French thing with the redhead, returns Saturday 9th on BBC4 9pm with Saison 4: State of Terror.

There you go Ambler. Shame you're in self-imposed exile.

v

Erica Ambler wrote:

Just finished S4. I logged in to say something profound, but now I'm here all I can see is milky white breasts.

it has that effect from time to time.

b

Erica Ambler wrote:

Any thoughts on S4? The beeb has taken it off iplayer, which is annoying as I need to see I again before delivering a verdict. My initial impressions are not good.

I liked it, I think it picked up towards the end. The last episode surprised me to some extent, I thought maybe Tintin would get blown to bits. Apparently S5 is well underway, writing wise so maybe much of the loose ends will carry on- Gilou and the Arabs, Riffault etc. Seemed that Josephine was turning a new leaf at the end, perhaps switching with Pierre but likely she'll be the frigid ice queen in S5. Spiral was extended by three seasons after S4 so there's life left perhaps. Almost felt at times though that energy was sapping, evidenced in the Roban part of things. Even his arch enemy ("M. Prosecutor") has become his ally now.
Poor ol' Laure though.

(read some old article on the Guardian of all places where Caroline Proust says she'd like Laure and Josephine to get together. If only).

edit- S4 should be out on DVD etc either now or very soon after. Online of course.

k

Erica Ambler wrote:

I thought the characters changed somewhat. Josephine sees the error of her ways, Pierre turns to the dark side, Laure commits murder apparently with no psychological repercussions. Not sure it made sense to me.

Laure seemed all over the place, I know she is much of the time but the Sammy busines. Gilou was left by the wayside...I don't know, maybe more or less episodes would've seen a better go of things. Personally I look forward to the next series. Maybe Josephine keeps up her change and presses on.

jk

Erica Ambler wrote:

Hilly wrote:

Maybe Josephine keeps up her change and presses on.

The producers may be missing a trick. Much as I like Gilou, for me the show should be about Laure and Josephine. Two very strong and believable - as opposed to aspirational - female characters. These are the sort of women I know and love - complex and conflicted. Women are no more saintly than men, whatever the feminists may wish. That's fine with me.

Let's hope they go this route. I'd assume after the end, Laure would be quite different. Unless they go the old TV route of seemingly forgetting the past but it's not Spiral's way. The fact the first couple of episodes were dominated by Laure's shooting of Ronaldo. Maybe Laure's quit the force and formed some kind of PI/protection agency with Josephine as her legal aid (and Roban as some kind of special guest star_



It's curious, never liked her much early on but now I'm all about Laure.

k

I guess Gilou is a rare breed in danger of extinction. He certainly seemed on the level over Tintin who crumbled after his shooting. Acting for others interests rather than his own, Gilou that is and as you say, behaving as himself he doesn't stand a chance. Yet, like Laure, I can't quite see him being anything other than a cop. Or Roban not being a judge.

Caroline Proust has invented her own backstory for Laure, that her sister was raped and killed when Laure was young and thus she joined the force. God knows what Thierry Godard thinks is Gilou's background.

Wish we got more shows from France over here if but to balance out the Scandinavian stuff. I've not watched Borgen et al but to see whatever else, if there is anything, from France would be good. The Times wrote when Spiral restarted a month ago: this was the show that started off the foreign import craze of late and was forgotten. Not for long one hopes.

k

m,

When I last checked Spiral Season 5 was due here either very late 2014 or early 2015. I think it's still being filmed.

The recent premiere of another Nordic drama (Crimes of Passion) made me wish, as it still does, that the BBC rummaged for some other French dramas. Must be something besides Spiral they could show. From what I recall Spiral was fairly popular when it was on then came Bergen, Killing etc and it's been somewhat supplanted.

An article I saw says that the BBC have some more Nordic stuff lined up. A historical series from Denmark, more detective stuff. Merde

mj

Nasty.

I went off for a quick rummage. Looks like the latest season finished filming in June and will premiere (at least in France) this autumn. Some shows start airing here whilst the original airing continues so not long after hopefully. Some articles (which Google's probably uselessly translated for me) suggest that it's going to be fairly fraught with Gilou mixing it up.

Still, me aside, here's Audrey Fleurot.

I can only hope Ambler sees this being in some sort of absence but the new Spiral starts a week today:

Saturday 10th, 9pm BBC4

the usual double bill format

Spiral Saison 5: Double Murder.

n

you know, the fact Gilou was in Child Protection struck me as hilarious ("We need him to talk"/ "If he doesn't- I'll hit him"). That and the cut-shot in episode 2 where Laure skids across the services' corridor to get into the gents to help Tintin.

Yes great to see Spiral back here. As the Times' chap noted Saturday, this was the show that started it all here, the craze for subtitled stuff which nowadays is driven by Borgen/The Bridge etc. When Spiral returns it's almost like the host turning up late to their own party.

The story is nothing much and I was a little sceptical at first about the pregnancy sub-plot (I'm willing to bet it's Sami's of course) not including the "merci!" she gave on the end of the abortion appointment phone call. I'm interested in Gilou more this time round largely based on what Thiery Godard said about leaving the show soon or some such (the article was google translated so beats me if it's accurate) and Gilou changing. Kind of liked how in the first episode how everyone was towards Josephine including Roban. She's made her bed, lie in it sort of stuff.
Pierre I could live without sometimes but I guess he's meant to be that way.

Personally, I think Roban is a favourite. Like to think in his younger days he was this bright, rogue of a lawyer perhaps who as he's gotten older has been blunted by the bureaucratic machine and yet still tries to be a rebel.

But yes, as you say, the real star is Proust. Laure is as attractive as Josephine in her way but she's real, gritty -I mean, drinking nightly, shagging about and the rest. Though that cockroach moment, sounded like she was trying not to laugh (the actress rather than Laure herself)...saints alive
I like here as before the partnership between here and Gilou. He does have the lines in this double-bill but I wish as always I spoke French, I pick-up the odd word or that which doesn't seem covered in subtitles but we should be grateful all the same.

Just wish as I've said before that the Beeb or someone tried showing other French (or even German) dramas. There must be something beyond Our Friends in Scandinavia (some historical drama is coming BBC4's way soon, 1864 I think it's called) that can be tapped into. I know sometimes there's Montalbano (I've never watched it alas, I guess I like my foreign stuff more Western Europe) but it's sometimes maddening. More-so when you see the dross on other channels. Some berk on Points of View said last year that he didn't see the point of BBC4 as there's nothing on it that interests him.
Beg to differ, I've found more on BBC4 in the past couple of years than the other three channels (BBC) combined.

Anyway, I'm liking that it's back and onwards. I think I read the writers saying they've plans right through to Spiral 7 so more to come I hope.

c

Erica Ambler wrote:

Hilly KCMG wrote:

Just wish as I've said before that the Beeb or someone tried showing other French (or even German) dramas.

What's that German police thingy that Sibel Kekilli's in? I'd quite like to see a bit of that. Only seen Sibel's porn and 'Game of Thrones' so far.

Lumme, I don't know to be honest. The only German cop drama that comes to mind is Derrick that a couple of the Das Boot lot did. Not that it matters, but apparently Caroline Proust did an episode of Death in Paradise recently. I can't imagine why.

settling in for the latest Engrenages found the trailer, belatedly



too much Eurotrash has me always thinking the "previously in Engrenages" voiceover sound like a French porno. Ce la vie

EDIT:

the cop show with Sibel Kekilli is "Tatort" which apparently has been running since 1970, the longest German TV series apparently set in Germany and also at times Austria and Switzerland.
There was an East German equivalent,"Polizeiruf 110", which started in 1971 and is also still going. Whereas Tatort focused on homicide and the lives of the cops, 110 apparently focused on 'lesser crime' and were more procedural.

As for other French cop shows, I discovered via IMDB "Braquo" which ran to three seasons (2009, 2011, 2013).

Though all this makes me want to re-watch "36" whenever I can find a copy.

Latest pair of episodes not too bad. I'll start with the trivial, Audrey Fleurot looked pretty fine when she gave the prosecutor the dirty look at one point in the trial.

Gilou seems to be at the centre more than recent times. For a start the whole baby thing (love how he winds Laure up) and the case in general though bastard needs to lose weight to catch people. Poor Laure getting a kicking at the hands of those girls.

Unlike recent series the killer seems more murky though I imagine it's the lunatic brother. Tintin...I dunno. Do like the way Gilou and Tintin work though ("They're muppets/ Muppets?/ Huh, what, huh, what).

Half expected Gilou to make a move on that porn actress though.
Not too surprised to see Laure get off that train. I can see how this series ends. Maybe we'll get a Spiral in twenty years time featuring Laure's daughter.

c

I apologise for any spoilers, I held off long enough and yet I still ramble as if the thoughts occur to me by the second :)

Yes, no one else I know watches it either. In fact no one else I know bothers with subtitled stuff at all. Talking about, say, the Baader-Meinhof Complex and getting blank looks.