Sunday, February 09, 2014

Salamander - who knew that the Belgians could make a decent thriller?

My Twitter timeline has, on weekends past, been full of people commenting on the latest Scandinavian drama on TV, but I've never really gotten into any of them, not even Borgen (yes, I know...). And it is true that BBC4 has found some really interesting stuff, including Inspector Montalbano. I want to be Salvo, I want the three hour lunches, the fine wine, the generally looking cool and solving mysteries in an eccentric but morally upright(ish) manner. The swimming I can do without, but otherwise...

And so, when Ros flicked through the television section of today's paper and discovered a new Belgian series, I was sufficiently intrigued to give up the endless task of managing my e-mail to take a look. And well worth doing so, I must admit.

The series opens with the final stages of a bank robbery in a private bank in Brussels, where the robbers clearly have a plan, as they have targeted certain bank boxes. It becomes apparent very quickly that the boxes contain highly sensitive material involving sixty-six of the most senior figures in Belgium, and a cover-up is organised.

Unfortunately, the break-in comes to the attention of Chief Inspector Paul Gerardi, clearly not a 'by the book' man, who insists on investigating further...

I won't say any more, for fears of spoiling it, but for those with an interest in politics, think of this as Borgen meets The Bridge, although I wouldn't like to say where it will go next. Needless to say, Gerardi is already on the run, and the body count is steadily rising, after just two episodes - tonight was a double header.

So, for some Flemish drama, plus some interesting architecture, catch up on i-Player and settle down next Saturday for Episode 3, perhaps with some decent Belgian beer. I think you might be pleasantly surprised...

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