Meurtres à... S11E07, "Meurtres à Nîmes"

"Meurtres à Nîmes" (Murders in Nimes), runtime 1:30:53 Subtitles download link

Nîmes makes for the second Roman city (after Arles) to be featured in Meurtres à's current season on France.tv. I was happy to find it on YouTube, however briefly. A couple is making out near the historic Magne Tower when they make a grisly discovery:  the body of a man wearing a gladiator costume, impaled on a sword. 

Leading the investigation is Capt Bérenice Pernetti, played by Juliette Plumecocq-Mech— whose craggy, world-weary face has to be one of the most fascinating physiognomies on French TV right now.

Juliette Plumecocq-Mech (L) as Bérenice, and Tiphaine Daviot as Alix, at the Pont du Gard.

It's Pernetti's last case before retirement, and her replacement Alix Madrigal is late on her first day. The duo are led to shows performed at an ancient amphitheatre (shades of “Meurtres à Arles”) and a motley cast of suspects: restoration experts, University alumni, a ranch hand (“Arles” again), an investigative journalist, and a professor, all leading to a very old coverup.

The Nîmes Amphitheatre and Roman gladiators are a big part of the Nîmes identity. Fights are staged regularly for tourists, with a pause for COVID.

The B story is Pernetti's search for the hit-and-run driver who killed her daughter three-and-a-half years ago.  The C story involves Madrigal and her son, who is Deaf, and whether to let the father into their lives.

Falco S03, "Chaos" Parts 1 & 2

I'm circling back to work on Falco, the 2013-16 procedural on TF-1. I'll be working on the remaining two seasons when I'm between other projects.

To review, Alexandre "Alex" Falco (Sagamore Stevenin) is a Paris detective who wakes up after 20 years in a coma, and goes back to work. The main arcs of the first two seasons involved:  1) Falco reconnecting with his estranged teacher wife Carole (Mathilde Lebrequier, she moved on while he slept), his daughter Pauline (Marie Beraud, now a grown-up lawyer), and his former partner Jean-Paul (Arno Chevrier, not what he seems); and 2) finding who was responsible for the ambush that led to his coma.  Clement Manuel is Falco's current partner Romain Chevalier, and Alexia Barlier (Sophie Cross) is Eva Blum, the brigade's sergeant.  Franck Monsigny is Carole's current boyfriend Philippe, a pathologist/forensics type, and Lilly-Fleur Pointeaux recurs as Romain's girlfriend Joy. Cmsr. Cecile Pereggi (Anne Caillon) took command of the brigade in Season 2.

As with Les Pennacs, I'll be uploading subtitles and posting the notes two-at-a-time.

Falco S03E01, "Chaos" Part 1, runtime 47:24

Subtitles download link

Season 3 finds Romain not doing well, having his SPOILER by the explosion in the Season 2 finale; Joy is finding it challenging to keep his spirits up. Abdel Dafri is new to the team, for the time being he seems to be Eva's partner.  Alex is on an extended retreat at a cabin in the Jura (mountainous region near Switzerland), where at the moment Pauline happens to be visiting. He's enjoying his "paradise."

Sagamore Stevenin (L) and Marie Beraud

Mademoiselle Holmes

I had been looking forward to seeing Mademoiselle Holmes, a new-this-year French series inspired by the Victorian sleuth.  Setting it in a Nantes commissariat instead of a London private detective's home was intriguing, but mostly I wanted to see what the lead, Lola Dewaere (Astrid & Raphaelle), would do with a role that comes with the expectations/baggage of a built in fan/fanbro base.

The mademoiselle of the title is Charlie (short for Charlotte?) Holmes, a thirtysomething who lives with her grandfather Georges in an ornate probably-Victorian house in the country near Nantes.

In the world built for this series, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were real, and Charlie is Sherlock's great-granddaughter.  Georges is therefore the son of Sherlock Holmes-- which is a big deal you'd think would be developed by the writers, but it's only mentioned in passing.

Charlie has a vaguely defined psychological disorder, either depression or manic depression, much as Sherlock Holmes probably did. She admits to mood swings. But instead of a 7% solution of cocaine, Charlie takes prescriptions, referred to as her "treatment," which leaves her emotionally level but meek and unconfident. Georges is hiding or protecting her from something, because he almost uses her meds as a leash.

Both Charlie and Georges inherited their ancestor's gift for fighting crime-- but as detectives in the Police Nationale.  While the retired Georges was once commissaire (he's retired) of the station where Charlie now works, Charlie is relegated to the Complaints Desk. The current commissaire is Georges's former protege Florence, and the brigade criminelle is led by Chris (Thomas Jouannet). Chris is clearly the Lestrade here.

One day as she is walking with her new intern Samy (Tom Villa, Munch), a doctor training in forensics, Charlie is nearly run over by a car and hits her head. She subsequently decides to stop taking her meds, which is when she starts to become more Sherlockian-- as well as extroverted, less inhibited, and aspiring to crimesolving instead of taking complaints.

In episode 1, news broke about the death in London of Alexander Moriarty, head of a  family-run tabloid empire-- could there be a more appropriate modern occupation for the descendants of Holmes's archenemy? Moriarty's survivors include a daughter, April (Roxane Mesquida). Other Holmesian touches include Charlie playing the violin to concentrate, and clues such as a cameo decorated with dancing stick figures.

As the first season progresses, Charlie sets her sights on joining Chris's squad, tagging along (at first to Chris's irritation) and proving herself to Florence by solving cases, eventually earning her a spot on the team.

(The series has been renewed for a Season 2)

Episode: Mademoiselle Holmes S01E04, "Baker Street," runtime 53:43

Subtitles download link

Some of the fan reviews have been shades of negative. I'll leave an assessment of the overall first season to you, and focus instead on what I consider the best episode, Episode 4.  It has Charlie on leave following successfully solving the case in episode 3, after she won a permanent spot on Chris's team.  She and Samy go to London, ostensibly as tourists, but actually to try to connect with her SPOILER, April Moriarty. A mystery arises, involving a teenage girl who claims to have received an ominous warning from her dead sister-- vaguely like Conan Doyle's The Speckled Band, except hearing the sister's voice in addition to a whistle.  After that the story departs from Holmes canon, the biggest change being that Charlie and Samy SPOILER.

Holmes (Lola Dewaere) and... Vatel (Tom Villa).

Notes

Charlie contracts si tu aimes (If you like) to just si tu (2'21").

The exposition at 4'46" delivered by a vague character (PR rep? PA?) is a really clunky piece of writing.

I don't recall there being a bullet hole in Dr Watson's room (5'01"). The story of Sherlock shooting the wall is in The Musgrave Ritual, but there's nothing about Watson almost being hit.

The sound effect that plays when Charlie uses her super-smell, super-hearing, and super-observation (5'23", 5'51", 9'25") sure sounds like a copy of the bionic sound effect from Six Million Dollar Man.

In case you haven't seen earlier episodes, the choir that Charlie mentions (12'03") is a folk group she and Georges are in, singers and musicians who perform sea shanties. Charlie plays violin.

Eurostar (15'02") is an international European high-speed passenger rail network. It has a connection to non-European London.

Florence asks Charlie tu es fait l'anguille? (15'06"), literally 'Are you being the eel.'  Meaning, 'Is something fishy going on?'  Here I'm putting 'What're you up to'?

In frustration, Charlie exclaims D'ou clé (26'14"), which must be short for D'où est la clé, Where is the key?

For some reason Samy comments d'psy? (27'47"), 'Psychologist?', I don't know why.

In case you hadn't heard of 'banoffee' (30'46"), I hadn't, it's an English pie made of bananas and toffee.

Samy mentions that the character 'Sylvan' on Oxford Palace disappeared in a ball pit accident (32'38"), which must be one of those ball-filled pens usually for kids. Sounds odd for a Downton Abbey-ish show, but who knows.

Dewaere, with Roxane Mesquida as April.

One of the ways Emma disguised herself that Charlie mentions (41'33") is changé les couleurs de cheveux, les bouclés, 'change hair color, the curls.'  But if you go back to the photo of Emma at 9'04", we see her hair was already curly. What she did was grow it out, fait pousser les cheveux plus longs.

Recall that rosbifs (46'21") is the French pronunciation of 'roast beefs,' a nickname for the British. I've footnoted it in the subtitle to maintain the flavor.

Samy should have told the woman in the bathroom (47'45") something like "Sorry. It's okay, I'm a doctor."

Bad English accents! (53'00")

Florence-isms count: n/a

Total: 4

HPI S04E08, "Ultraviolet"

Episode: Haut Potentiel Intellectuel S04E08, "Ultraviolet," runtime: 59:41 Subtitles download link

I'm returning to the .srt format until I decide about .ssa.

This concludes Series 4 of HPI.

The birth is near, Morgane is going stir crazy at home, and the karma pigeon has moved on to another 'client.'  Timothee is acting like a normal expectant father, focused on setting up the nursery, listing baby names, and trying to take the mind of the mother of his child off a murder case.

The case involves the murder of an ophthalmologic surgeon, and it's somewhat like a 70s mystery in that we may see whodunit at the beginning.  What we don't see is the victim's partner actually committing the crime, just his weird manner after phoning for help. So there's an added uncertainty to the ensuing Columbo-style cat & mouse game, in addition to a funny science knowledge oneupmanship between Morgane and the doctor. Finally, it's Afida's dogged pursuit of her 30 euros that leads to a clarification of the question of paternity.

Eric Caravaca as Dr Decker

NOTES

Dr Decker says he is working on an article for La Revue Française d'Ophtalmologie (3'17"), 'The French Ophthalmology Review.'  Later, Gilles says he verified that Decker was at the 'French Ophthalmology Bulletin' (10'58").  In reality, the publication of the French Society of Opthalmology is the Journal français d'ophtalmologie.

Daphne deducts 20% of something that sounds like com when calculating the outcome of her name-the-baby-daddy contest (13'47"). I think this means 'advertising,' so I assume she means her costs of running the contest.

Bérangère McNeese as Daphné

It sounds like Gilles contracts tellement (so very) to tellem' (14'09").

Then Daphne argues with Afida about her contest entry, and Afida says what sounds like n'y à ou près, 'It's there or near' (14'37"), which I'm translating as 'Close enough.'

Morgane has a flash involving Léon: The Professional (23'41"). A Jean Reno lookalike appears.

Audrey Fleurot and uncredited actor as Léon 

I'm putting 'Holy cow' instead of 'the cow' (26'39").

Adieu, Henri (Rufus)

'Police everywhere, justice nowhere!' (41'37") is a protest slogan that seems to be popular everywhere but in the U.S.  It's also a favorite of Capitaine Marleau.

SAMU (43'29") is Service d'Aide Médicale Urgente, the national paramedic/ambulance service.

Celine says the judge will issue un mandat de recherche, 'a search warrant' (46'56") for Yohann Marouani. But they're searching for him to arrest him, so it's really an arrest warrant.

Paracetamol (48'09") is what acetaminophen is called in Europe, although there it also comes in a pleasantly strange chewable form, like what I once got from a Paris drugstore for a pulled muscle.

When Morgane tells Karadec to use the gyro (flasher) this time (56'17"), his response indicates she meant the siren too. So I'm putting 'lights & siren.'

At 58'01" Morgane says donc, uh, pou-pou y a! to the bailiff. I have no idea what that means literally, but the little hand gesture probably means something like 'end of discussion.' I've put 'case closed.'