Tweekums

This Belgian crime drama opens with criminals taking control of a bank; those inside, including staff and customers, are taken hostage. A phone is left outside so they can communicate their demands to the police. Once their presence is known the police surround the area and set up a small hostage negotiation team. Over the course of the series we learn more about key characters. Odd episodes show events from the point of view of the police while even episodes show approximately the same time period concentrating on the criminals, the hostages and their families and to a lesser degree the media. There are quite a few twists and turns along the way.

I thought this was a really gripping story. During the opening episode I thought it might be echoing the format of '24' but the way episodes alternate between the point of view of the police and 'others' feels interesting and original. The story develops well and delivers good twists and turns that are neither too obvious nor unbelievable. The cast does a fine job bringing their characters to life. Similarly the way it is filmed, mostly in indoor locations gives a feeling of realism. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of Euro-drama.

These comments are based on watching the series in Flemish with English subtitles.

This Norwegian drama is set in the countries far north, above the Arctic Circle. As it opens a young woman is seen leaving a party; the next time she is seen is when her murdered body is found in a camp site many miles away. The police soon make an arrest but Maja Mathisen, a criminal psychologist from the area but now living in London, is convinced that they have the wrong man. She returns home and starts asking questions and her claims that this is the work of a well-disciplined serial killer don't go down well with the local police.

I thought this was a solid enough series. The mystery is intriguing even after we are shown the killer preparing for his next murder. The characters can be a bit irritating at times, most notably Maja who can be a bit preachy, although the more we learn about her past the more understandable that becomes, and the senior police officer who stubbornly refuses to listen even after it is clear that serious mistakes have been made... that doesn't make them too unrealistic though. There is plenty of tension and some surprises. As is often the case in this sort of series the setting adds to the story as well as looking fantastic. The strong language is less fantastic and may put off some viewers. Overall I'd recommend this to fans of Scandi-crime dramas.

These comments are based on watching the series in Norwegian with English subtitles.

This eight-part, Italian crime drama is set in the City of Bari in 1991. Sergeant Pietro Fenoglio believes that trouble between is brewing between local mafia clans but his seniors don't even accept that there is a local mafia. Inevitably he is about to be proved right. Vito Lopez, a senior member of the Grimaldi, turns on his increasingly paranoid boss after his friend, and more importantly for him, his dog are killed. It isn't long before violence flares and a child disappears. Away from the main investigation the prosecutor looks into the death of her brother some years before and Pieto's increased work leads to strains in the relationship with his girlfriend.

I thought this was a solid addition to the number of Italian dramas that have been available in the UK in recent years. The story gripped me from the start and got more tense as it progressed; especially after the kidnapping of Grimaldi's ten year old son. The characters, on both sides of the law, are interesting and the cast do a fine job bringing them to life. I liked how the story managed to incorporate certain real events without it feeling forced; one might think they were just 'part of the story' if one didn't know about them already. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of Italian drama. I hope we get more of this.

These comments are based on watching the series in Italian with English subtitles.