Der Kommissar und das Meer

Picturesque settings; intricate, highly-interesting, well-developed cases; and pretty decent acting. What more could you ask for? Among the best of the genre!

Don't be put off by the naysayers. Give it a try if you like crime shows and do not mind subtitles.

We as a family just watched our first episode of the above and truly loved it. Well plotted, likable detectives. It was how TV in the US used to be before the war on conservatism and Christianity. The inspector in our opinion was quite wise and was not afraid to occasionally show his disapproval to scum bags he crosses in his investigations. We were to the point with American TV to just tune out. We noticed that there was a cross on the wall in a victims home and when she found out there was a good out come in the investigation of her son she replied thank God! "How refreshing" and it didn't hurt one bit. Both noted items from American or British TV would have been edited out. Please give us more episodes. We also noticed the inspector had a decent up beet family life. How refreshing!

The setting is the Swedish island of Gotland, ringed by beautiful beaches and studded with summer resort houses. You couldn't ask for a better setting.

Not so the detective, or the plots. You know how some detectives draw you in with their odd character traits or their all-too-human failings, or amaze you with their ability to draw startling inferences from even the simplest observations? None of that applies to this guy. He's as dumb as a doorknob, and almost as charismatic. He never sees through a lie, never perceives even the most obvious clues thrust under his nose, understands nothing about human relationships (including his own), and has the personality of a dead fish.

So what we have here is a clueless detective stumbling through some very cumbersome and clumsy plots. Imagine the elegance of a really good episode of Vera, or Silent Witness, or Cracker, or Morse. Now forget all that, because you won't see anything remotely that good here.

What you will see is some great scenery, some predictable family drama, occasional male and female eye candy (attractive young Swedish and German actors), and just enough plot progression to keep you watching (maybe) for the full 90 minutes.

So...barely 3 stars from me.

A brooding German Detective set in an idyllic Swedish fishing town. Credible acting and unusual plotlines. Though not the best of its genres, I thoroughly enjoyed this series.