Les Pennac(s): Mort d'un chef & Mort d'un fantôme

"Mort d'un chef" (Death of a Chef), runtime 49:16. Found copy included audio description. Subtitles download link

A chef who has just won his first Michelin star is found dead in his kitchen. What the Pennacs discover about his private life is at odds with his Gordon Ramsay-like public persona. Concerned about Hannibal's health, the Pennacs put him on a diet.

I was delayed on this and the following episode by unforeseen circumstances: (1) Nikse released Subtitle Edit 4.0.7. After installing the new version the subtitles for Mort d'un chef went out of sync by about 10 minutes. I also noticed the waveform now flowed in a jumpy, arhythmic way, making accurate placement of subtitles almost impossible. It took a couple days to completely resync everything, and then I reverted to version 4.0.6; (2) I was away from home for a week on family business. It's been a busy summer.

NOTES

An AVC is a stroke (1'32"), and stands for Accident Vasculaire Cérébral. Hannibal must have had his in the pilot I haven't seen.

In this video file the audio waveform goes out of sync at 5'50".

David refers to ornery loved ones like Hannibal as bestioles, 'beasts, creatures, or critters' (9'58"). I'm translating it as 'lifeforms.'

Les Pennac(s): Mort a chant du coq and Mort d'un étudiant

Episode: "Mort a chant du coq" (Death at the Cock's Crow), runtime 52:03; the copy I found includes audio description. Subtitles download link

The murder of a court-appointed mediator leads Hannibal and Annabelle to the doorsteps of warring neighbors. Hannibal's presence in the neighborhood is finally out in the open; Annabelle has declared the move back to Reunion is on; Hannibal plays secret matchmaker for her, thinking having a boyfriend will cause to her cancel the move. A humorous episode featuring comedy greats Quentin Baillot and Sofiane Belmouden.

NOTES

Eric says [crosstalk] digestion de merguez, votre gallinacé, '...digest your chicken like a merguez' (5'10"). A merguez is a North African spicy sausage-- but lamb or beef, not chicken.

If it's all regional dailies Annabelle is referring to (7'24"), then that's dozens of newspapers with many millions of readers.

Boeufs carrots (Beef and carrots, 9'04") is slang for Internal Affairs, because they turn up the heat on cops and make them simmer.

Et cerise sur le gateau (23'46") is 'And the icing on the cake.' Even though cerise = cherry. It can also mean 'And the cherry on top.'

Fait bouillir la marmite (31'13"), 'Keeps the pot boiling,' means 'Bring home the bacon.'

At 38'32" some funky things happen with the video file: (1) the episode speeds up and returns to normal several times. After the first time, the Subtitle Edit waveform goes out of sync with the actual audio. (2) Then at 41'39", simultaneously: The video portion freezes for 3 seconds, the audio description is 3 seconds early, while the program audio continues normally. Later at 41'58" the audio description seems to (now) be about 6 seconds late. Hopefully all copies out there are the same way and everything will sync up.

Sofiane Belmouden (L) and Quentin Baillot

Abdel says Je suis alle m'en griller une, I went to toast/fry one up (49'04"). In the succeeding flashback he clearly has a regular cigarette, so I translated it as 'I went to light one up.' If it had been a joint I would have used 'I went to get baked.'

Now safe, Adam tells his parents something that sounds like faire rot, 'Made belch/rotten' (50'16"). This phrase isn't a thing in French, so I'm putting it down as 'I was bad,' because it fits with what Laila says next.

Episode: "Mort d'un étudiant" (Death of a Student), runtime 51:14. My copy of this also included audio description. Subtitles download link

A medical school party leads to death when a student falls from a construction crane. The planned move to Reunion leads to cold war between Annabelle and Léa; Annabelle prepares for a Facetime with her old boss on Reunion; Hannibal investigates changes in Léa's behavior.

NOTES

The 'old Infantry School in Figuerolles' (0'19") is a large urban renewal project in the Figuerolles suburb on the southeast edge of central Montpellier. The school moved to the location in 1967 and left in 2010.

Redevelopment project sign at the Infantry School site. -Google Streetview

This might be the first time I've heard a character say fin de semaine (2'05") instead of 'Weekend.'

Hannibal mispronounces Nadine Smercesky's name 'Sercmesky' (8'08"), a callback to a minor gag in Mort d'une poucave.

Marie-Sohna Condé (L) as Nadine, with Julie-Anne Roth.

As officers collect the students' phones, Annabelle barks Taille (8'36"), which I'm leaving as-is because it seems to mean a lot of different things. Then it sounds like Hannibal says, Toi, réveille, 'You, wake up' (8'40").

Lycée Arago, the Arago High School (9'46"), is a real school in Montpellier. It was named after François Arago, who discovered rotary magnetism in 1824.

Chou blanc, 'White cabbage' (11'55"), means 'draw a blank,' 'came up empty,' 'fail,' etc.

I've translated ma fois (18'22") as 'My word' because it's slightly less dated than 'My faith.'

Rouler la pelle, 'Roll the shovel' (23'13") is a euphemism for a kiss using tongue. And that's how I'm translating it, I'm not putting 'French kiss' in a French person's mouth, so to speak.

Concours, 'competition' (24'13"), is what they call final exams in French med school at the end of the first year. Those like Anais who don't have the grades don't go on to the second year.

Anais talks about what would happen if she drew a bon numero ('good number') for 2nd year medicine (24'18"). Places in 2nd year are awarded by lottery.

As with Mort a chant du coq, the Subtitle Edit waveform once again goes out of sync with the actual audio, due to a problem with the file, this time at 28'05". The video visibly speeds up briefly (you can hear the audio, which is normal speed); when it returns to normal the waveform is out of sync.

HPI S04E04, "Cheval de Troie"

Haut Potentiel Intellectuel S04E04, "Cheval de Troie" (Trojan Horse), runtime 58:46
Subtitles download link

In this episode: The brigade investigates the stabbing death of a Tristan Devallet, whose job is to service vending machines. The pregnancy cat is finally out of the bag; Fred has been gotten out of the way; Celine is stressed out; Marie shows up at Morgane's house--with a friend; Karadec and his partner from the Finance squad horn-in on the investigation; Morgane may have a future as a labor organizer; High Voltage Jerome is back!

Notes

ITT (1'02") is Incapacite Temporaire de Travail, Temporarily Incapacitated for Work. It's like Disability.

Morgane and Gilles laugh at the bra company's name, Bonéné (3'14" and 23"), because Bon Néné means Good Boobs.

Morgane rallies the workers at Bonéné

Gilles gets caught up in the spirit of the wildcat strike (5'53"), yelling what sounds like Vrai, True. I've put 'Right on!' in order to reflect the energy of the moment.

Morgane makes her point about buttons with the help of one of the models in a poster, calling him Avec taire, With silence (6'25"). I've translated it as Motormouth so that it's sarcastic.

When Celine tells Adam to go au quatrième, To the fourth (13'56"), she likely doesn't mean 4eme arrondissement (4th district) because all of metropolitan Lille is considered one Lille arrondissement. Even though she doesn't say etage, she may mean the 4th floor.

Morgane is surprised by Marie and yet another former friend from prison, Afida, who it sounds like greets Morgane with Salut, ninja! (15'00") That's just silly.

Afida wants to move in. "D'où?" Morgane asks (15'08"). This is a tough one, because it translates as Hence or Where from, neither slides neatly into this dialogue. What Morgane means is something like 'Where did you get that idea,' which is too long here. So 'Since when' it is.

Morgane encounters Karadec waiting for Daphne on the roof (20'32"), so Celine did mean the 4th floor, where he can get a signal and there's no 15-minute alarm.

The Patrick Swayze quote from Dirty Dancing that Morgane adapts (21'38") is: "This is my dance space. This is your dance space. I don't go into yours, you don't go into mine."

Morgane gets in trouble with Ulysse's parents, and Celine tells her On est a deux doigts a proces, We're two fingers to a trial/lawsuit (27'45"). Hold up two fingers = 'this close'!

A VTC (40'25") is a Vehicule/Voiture de Tourism avec Chauffeur, a Tourist Vehicle with Driver, which is a kind of taxi or car service.

Hang On To Your Love (40'32") was released by Sade in 1984.

Eva describes Matthieu as absent (40'52"), which means the same as in English, but in a positive way. The closest synonym is 'faraway,' so I went with the phrase 'off in his own world.'

Here's a new one on me: agio (43'04") is from Greek and means 'exchange rate.'

Il n'y a pas 36 solutions (43'13"), There aren't 36 solutions, means 'you don't have much choice.'

Alors votre place (46'19") means Then in your place/In your place. The syntax feels weird either way, so I've translated it as 'Stay in your lane.' As for what sounds like poupouille, it's close to poupee, Doll, so that's what I put, it fits.

Pet peeve: You're not being 'filmed' if it's digital (48'59", 50'03", 50'28").

HPI S04E03, "Penicillium Brevicaule"

Haut Potentiel Intellectuel S04E03, "Penicillium Brevicaule," runtime 55:39
Subtitles download link

The team responds to the murder of a retired novelist in a nearby village, and Morgane uses her imagination to link clues found in the house to mysterious deaths that took place there in the distant past. Gilles is onto Fred's self-aggrandizing nature. A fellow inmate of Morgane's from Season 3 is a suspect, creating tension between Morgane and Fred.

Notes

Penicullium brevicaule is the old name for Scopulariopsis brevicaulis, a fungus which can create a type of arsenic from arsenic-containing compounds, and is also resistant to antifungals.

After the family pesters Morgane about telling the potential fathers, she replies Bon, OK, m'avez saoulé la, Fine, OK, you got me drunk there (1'59"). That's the literal, the figurative is 'I'm tired of this.' I've put 'you wore me down.'

Bouzy-en-bière (2'10") doesn't seem to be a real place. There are two Bouzys, neither near Lille, and there is no Bière for it to be en.

The expression à lutter, Struggle/strive, appeared in Recto-verso, and shows up again here (3'48" and 58"). However, the official TF-1 transcription has been giving it as l'autre, Other. This makes me wonder whether TF-1 is using a YouTube-style autogenerated transcription method. If so, it's been pretty good so far, nowhere near as bad as YouTube's, Britbox's, or AcornTV's.

I've since decided that l'autre is often a contraction of tirez/enlevez l'autre, 'pull the other one.'

Hiftu Quasem as Misha in AMC/AcornTV's Ten Percent.
The line is supposed to be 'she goes running every morning
on Hampstead Heath.'

Fred addresses Dr Bonnemain as mon Lensois de cœur, Lensian of my heart (6'34"), or My dear Lensian. Lens is a city of 30,000 in the Calais area, southwest of Lille. The two cities have been football rivals since 1937. The Lens team is known as 'the blood and gold,' as in the cold open of Capitaine Marleau: Á contre-courant.

Fred refers to the victim's injuries in his ultra-hip/caj way as gros bobos, Big owies (7'10"). I've translated it as 'big boo-boos' because alliteration is more caj. The other meaning of bobos doesn't fit here: 'Bourgois-bohemians.'

Marie (8'16") first appeared in Season 3's 18 Carats (although I don't think the character had a name at that time).

I translated la clacque as Slammin' (9'14"), the way Prince used it in You Got The Look. And I'm assuming that David's vmail announcement (9'42") would be written a vous cho', as in a vous choix, Your choice.

Doudou Masta as David

The zon in Souers de zon (10'32") is probably an abbreviation of mai-zon i.e. maison. 

One of the characters in Antoine's novel is 'Jean-Luc le boiteux' (26'19"). Keep in mind this part is a flashback to the '70s. Boiteux can mean lame, cripple, halt, gimp, and blind. That last one is the only unobjectionable one today, so I went with that. 

Croustillant (40'14") literally means Crispy or Tidbit. In this case I've put 'tasty morsel.'

Si t'es droit dans tes bottes, You're right in your boots (47'59") means being certain one is right.

Morgane has a hallucination of Karadec, who tells her, 'Forget me, right now!' (50'51"). But later she recalls it wrong, 'Forget me, Morgane' (54'07").

HPI S04E02, "ISO 8601"

Haut Potentiel Intellectuel S04E02, "ISO 8601," runtime 58:26 Subtitles download link

Morgane is late for her ultrasound appointment, but the murder of a clinic doctor makes her even later.

Morgane explains what 'ISO 8601' is.

Ordinarily all the SHOUTING in this episode would make it difficult to translate (it did) and I would hate it. But I didn't hate it due to the introduction of Fred, and his seeming rivalry with Karadec.

NOTES

PMA (4'55") is Medically Assisted Procreation (e.g. in vitro), which I have footnoted as Assisted Reproduction.

Gilles utters the swear Bordé de nouilles (6'17"), which literally translates as Lined-with-noodles. This is a real thing in French and means Very lucky. But the English doesn't work in this context. What would make sense is if he says Bordel de nouilles, Fucking noodles. But no one says that, so I've put 'Oh fudge!', which at least involves food.

When the investigation yields the name of a couple who may have a grudge against the doctor, Karadec says, On les attend elles risquent d'arriver, We're waiting for them to arrive (9'06"). Fred then says to Gilles, Oui, 'elles,'  Yes, 'they' (9'10"). But in both cases it's the feminine 'they,' meaning the couple is two women. So I've used "two women" and "woman-woman" instead of "they."

Fred's nickname for Morgane is Cent soixante, 160 (9'42").

Qued (9'49") seems to be a contraction of que dalle, Nothing.

Jardin Vauban, Vauban Garden (17'16"), is an 8½ acre English-style park adjacent to the Lille Zoo and the Citadel. It is south of Avenue Mathias Delobel, whereas the zoo and Citadel are north of that street.

The zoo gate where Morgane, Karadec, and Fred are staked out (17'28" and 36") is the actual gate of the actual Lille Zoo.

Joan of Flanders Hospital (21'45") is a real place, part of the University Hospital Center district in southwest Lille.

At 32'06" it sounds like Morgane and Fred are using pareil (Same) and parait (Seems) in quick succession.

Audrey Fleurot

When Fred asks Morgane about her relationship with Karadec (35'49"), he says C'est quoi le passif contre le Commandant Grognon et toi? (What's the liability between you and Commander Grumpy?) In this case I've translated passif as Damage, which is very Heathers.

Qui a pas une tune (36'36") literally means 'Doesn't have a tune.' I've put 'Doesn't have a cent' instead.

Bof (37'41") means a lot of things-- or just about anything, seemingly-- but usually Meh or Ugh. But since Morgane is using it as a question, and since it could mean anything, I've put "Hey?" as if she means 'Hey, don't bail on me now.'

As she guesses at what to do about the bomb, Morgane says what sounds like peut-je pouf, Can I poof, or maybe pousse pouf, Push the pillow (40'33"). Neither makes sense, so I'm ignoring it in favor of the in-context 'If I have to choose.' She is kind of pushing herself to make a choice.

C'est ma seule entorse, It's my only infringement (46'12"), isn't conversational, so I've put 'The only time I've broken the rules.'

Yes, rosbifs, Roast beefs, (48'38") is a nickname synonymous with Brits or Limeys. I've put 'English.'

HPI S04E01, "Recto-verso"

Haut Potentiel Intellectuel S04E01, "Recto-verso" (Double-sided), runtime 59:46
Subtitles download link

Morgane returns to work at the Lille Crime Squad for the first time since the fiasco in the Haut Potentiel Intellectuel Season 3 finale, Kikeriki. The case is the murder of Alexandre Collet, stabbed to death while preparing a quiche. As the episode begins, Morgane still hasn't told any of the potential fathers about her pregnancy. Thea and Eliott are definitely not into having a new sibling, and are researching abortions in nearby countries.

Notes

Morgane meets the team at the crime scene, and Gilles says (3'46") something like ton bonne nuit toi, 'Goodnight to you'-- or, 'Say goodnight!' I've translated it as 'Looking good!'

Examining bags of flour at the crime scene, Morgane notices "the T45 was rolled up and not folded like the other packages on the shelf" (4'49"). Type 45 is a soft wheat white flour used for making pastries.

Alexandra's husband Christophe, explaining why she doesn't work (5'53"), says notre fils Paul est sourd rais (Our son Paul is Deaf rais, at least that's what it sounds like). The closest translation is 'Deaf,' and since rais isn't really a word, I've translated it as 'our son Paul is Deaf.'

L'Epine (12'56") is a neighborhood in eastern Lille.

30° Celsius (16'23") is 86°F. So the murder took place on a very hot day.

Un notaire, a notary (19'56"), is a public official that might best be called an "appointed public estate lawyer." There are thousands of them who advise on and certify private contracts within couples & families, as well as wills & inheritances. I've translated it as "public notary."

Thea asks Morgane (22'0") about 'the other two dads,' n'aura pas un petit peu payer, Won't they have to pay a little. I've translated it as "won't they chip in?"

La quête (25'08") means "The quest/search." But in church it also means "The collection." Faire la quête means "Take the collection," or "Pass the hat."

Morgane takes Gilles' car, without telling him, to follow a suspect, so he reports it stolen. When a police cruiser starts chasing her she yells 'Why are you allumé le gyro?', Why did you turn on your lights and siren? (34'53"). I can't think of a one-word equivalent for gyro in the US, so I've translated it as "blues-and-twos."

Morgane confronts the 3 suspects (L-R, Pierre Laugier, Catherine Claeys, and Amar Oumaziz).

Morgane responds à lutter, Struggle/strive (39'33"), to a suspect's lie about the funerals. In this context I've translated it as "She doesn't give up."

Thea yells at Morgane for avoiding breaking the baby news to Karadec (41'53"): "What are you expecting? He's gonna say 'Great, I've always dreamed of having a baby with une nana avec qui j'en veux à mort'?" (a woman I'm mad at to death!). I've changed the last part to "a woman I'm sick to death of."

When the culprit confesses, Karadec asks (47'28") tu avais pris en chasse Robin (literally, It was you who hunted Robin). I've translated it as, "it was you chasing Robin?"

The euphemism fricotaient, Rubbing (51'59"), I have translated as Getting it on. Although the most entertaining definition I found is "Skoodilypooping with."

Les Pennac(s): Police & poulet

Les Pennacs (aka Les Pennac, Les Pennac(s)) is a light procedural set in Montpellier, in the Languedoc. The story focuses on father & daughter police captains, Hannibal Pennac (Christian Rauth) and Annabelle Pennac (Julie-Anne Roth), as well as her son and daughter (Louis and Lea). Hannibal and Annabelle were estranged for decades, but are in touch again following Annabelle moving to France from Reunion Island. Now they are getting to know and trust each other.

A complication is Annabelle's dyslexia, which the audience sees as letters scrambling, and manifests when she goes left when she means right, and in her difficulty with reading and writing (which she has kept secret), relying instead on text-to/from-voice apps.

The show has a running gag involving Hannibal's pet chicken, Marguerite. It's common to call the police poulet because the words sound kind of the same. It's about as common as flic, and maybe slightly more affectionate. On HPI, Théa has more than once referred to Karadec as Super poule (e.g. “Décalage horaire,” 0'54").

Les Pennacs began with a 2022 pilot episode I haven't seen, and so is not among the subtitles I've created. I'm identifying the episodes by title rather than season/episode numbers because I don't know for certain whether the pilot is episode 00 or episode 1.

I'm uploading the series to Opensubtitles as I translate them, two at a time. Here are the first two:

Episode: "Mort d'une poucave" (Death of a Snitch), runtime 52:42.

Hannibal comes out of retirement after he finds a former informant dead. Louis asks Hannibal for help with an egregious PE teacher; a dyslexia-related error endangers the investigation; Annabelle sends Hannibal undercover.

NOTES

The victim Tom is found at the cité Auroras (3'06"). Cité does mean "city," but here it refers to a usually-public block of housing. In England they are called estates, perhaps ironically, and cité is usually translated as such.

The Tour de la Babote (3'43") is a 12th century stone tower that was part of the fortifications of Montpellier. It became an observatory in 1745, and a monument in 1927.

A pantoufle vair (21'30") as used here means "glass slipper," although just vair is sufficient, pantoufle is redundant. Weirdly, vair also means "squirrel fur" (21'43")

Rauth (L) as Hannibal, and Roth as Annabelle.

EHPAD (42'02" and 42'48") stands for Établissement d'hébergement pour personnes âgées dépendantes ("Accommodation establishment for dependent elderly people"). EHPAD Les Hortensias is a real private retirement/assisted living facility-- but it's in Burgundy, not Herault.

Hannibal asks Odile why she's so angry (48'32"), but what he says, sarcastically, is pourquoi tu es charnamment (Why are you so charming?)


Episode: "Mort d'un innocent" (Death of an Innocent Man), runtime 51:32.

A kidnapping alert leads to a social media lynching. Louis conspires with his grandfather to keep Annabelle from finding out where Hannibal is living; Annabelle's ex shows up with some exciting news; an influencer is a headache for the Pennacs; after receiving her ex's news, Annabelle decides to transfer back to Reunion.

NOTES

Napoléon est mort à Saint Hélène (00'16") (Napoleon is dead on Saint Helena), is a nursery rhyme!

A macaron (4'34") is a cookie, but it's also a car window sticker-- in this case a handicapped parking permit.

Quadriller can mean "patrol," and so quadriller la ville (5'34") means "Patrol the town." In this context I have translated it as "dragnet."

Louis says he's hoping for a 12 on a book report (16'59"). The French grading system runs from a low of 0 to a high of 20. A 12 would be considered assez bien ("Adequate" or "Good enough").

Alexia Chicot (L) as Lea, and Valentin Pinette as Louis.

Une petite châtaigne (17'12") is a chestnut treat which comes in many different recipes.

The kidnappers used a rental car, and Smercesky says it's from N'uncar (36'28")-- at least that's what it sounds like. I decided it means No Car, a made-up rental car company.

When it looks like they're being taken off the case, Hannibal warns Annabelle (38'52") si tu t'écrase (If you crash). T'écrase means crash, and also shutting one's mouth. In this context I've translated it as "If you give in."

At Annabelle's dinner with Marco, he says "the Scooby's Stew was incredible," which she laughs at (48'16"). I think the joke is that Marco, who is Italian, is saying the stew est inoubliable (is unforgettable) but mispronouncing it.

Subtitle Edit crash!

Had a scary software issue today when SubtitleEdit version 4-something (Windows 11) dropped the video file's audio (which it has done before) and then, after a little while, crashed and refused to stay open. No error messages. 

After looking to see what new free/open source titling apps there might be, I decided to try a Subtitle Edit reinstall. Step One-- remove the current copy. Which is when I discovered the original version 3.x was still on my computer-- updating to 4.x did not overwrite the previous version. Subtitle Edit users looking to update, take note. Did the copies interfere with each other? Why wait until now to be fatal?

Step Two, with both copies removed I ran a freshly downloaded 4.0.5 installer. I'm happy to report I'm back up and running. 

Le Grand Froid

Capitaine Marleau #33, "Á contre-courant" (Against The Current), runtime 1:39:04

Subtitles download link.

A big chill ran down my spine when I hit Play and was hit by the sound of a boat motor and shouting. Luckily the dialogue in the cold open was rudimentary. Otherwise, this story is about the death of a man while staying with friends at a house by the sea.

You might call "Á contre-courant" 'the nepo baby episode'-- in the cast are Romane Bohringer, daughter of film legend Richard Bohringer, and David Hallyday, son of French rock legend Johnny Hallyday. (Another Hallyday child, Laura Smet, half-sister of David, appeared in the 2017 episode "Sang et Lumiere," as well as the more recent "Morte saison.")

Riwan Belkacemi, who was 'Bixente' in "Morte saison" and 'Greg' in "La cité des âmes en peine," is Gendarme 'Hakim' in this episode.

Riwan Belkacemi (L) and Corinne Masiero

Piste Noire finale

Subs are finished for Episode 6, the finale of Piste Noire. The story reaches its tragic conclusion.

There was a lot of shouting and words running together in this episode. I did my best.

Dimitri Storoge (L) as Jourdan, and Thibault de Montalembert as Servoz.

The rundown: 

Madame La Juge does some grilling, there's a confession, and then another confession. 

The Monfort sawmill is in deep shit and Denis can't cope. Jourdan is going to lose his investment. Tatiana takes off. Alexia unveils her group's big surprise.

On the bright side, Emilie and Anne come to terms with the past. Emilie and Alexia have another interlude. Servoz gets justice for Florence.

It was fun, folks. On to the next project.

Erratum:

I'll be working on Capitaine Marleau after all, but not Le secret d'Alba (the one with Philippe Bas). Instead it's the episode A contre-courant (the one with Romane Bohringer).