Salamander

Selected by BBC4 to replace the Saturday night spot traditionally taken by moody, brooding Nordic Noir series like "The Killing" and most recently "The Bridge", this Flemish cop-drama is very different in tone, but entertaining for all that.

I'm about three episodes in and while the plot lacks the darker undertones of its Scandinavian predecessors and there's far less character development too, both these aspects are commendable in my eyes in avoiding over-complexity in the plotting and the sometimes overdone quirkiness and personal problems of the main characters.

The central character interest is a transparently big, bluff everyday senior detective in the Belgian police, Paul Gerardi, who finds himself involved in sinister machinations when an underworld source tells him a major private bank has been broken into and yet has chosen not to report it to the police and indeed actively tries to cover up any sign of the break-in. Moreover, the robbery didn't involve money or bullion but rather the personal effects of some 66 highly connected individuals in Belgian society. Naturally, there's a malevolent, powerful network behind all this who will stop at nothing it appears to maintain the secret and who wish to silence Gerardi from bringing the matter to light.

Pacily filmed, more in daylight than the dark, I rather like the fact that it's more about the story than the characters' hang-ups although the latter may yet be invoked to pad out the next nine episodes but I'm hoping instead on a twisty-turny roller-coaster ride as Gerardi presumably avoids capture, finds out more about the mysterious "Salamander" group and their aims and the motives of the only scarcely glimpsed gang-leader behind the initial theft.

While I don't expect my insides turned outside-in, I am looking forward to enjoying the rest of this so far entertaining and involving production.

This is what is going on in all the West and has been in the East for decades--organizations of corporations determining policy and human history. It's difficult to watch because you realize we are here and there is no turning back. As far as the show is concerned, the only lame part is that in REAL life the bad guys rarely get found out and even if they do, they are covered by other countries/friends in high places who bail them with more lies and stories. Besides, the general populace has a short memory. We are so pummeled with news stories that we forget things we heard 2 days ago. I think Big Brother was always depending on that. Keep the general public happy playing with their toys and eating their junk foods and we won't have any problems with them.

Lately I've been watching and re-watching many films in my favorite exploitation sub-genre, the Italian Poliziotesschi or Eurocrime- thriller, and it's undoubtedly thanks to those films that I valorized and enjoyed my second viewing of "Salamander" on Belgian television even more than the first time. Apart from the different country setting and not featuring the guerrilla filming-style or overly excessive violence, "Salamander" basically is a Poliziotesschi stretched over 12 episodes. The story of one tough and unbreakable police detective single-handedly battling against an unknown but relentless criminal organization, but even more so against his superiors and the corrupt national legal & political system! Of course I realize this series isn't really modeled after gritty and sleazy Italian cop thrillers, but it was fun to see the same ideas and principles here in a much more polished and prominent (for Belgian standards) TV-format. Of all the great things about this series, the most praiseworthy aspect certainly is the script. The basic idea is already fantastic, but the further unfolding of the mystery, with all its crucial supportive characters and numerous convoluted twists, is so unbelievably compelling and intelligent that it's actually unseen on Belgian television.

Early one morning, well-organized and utterly disciplined men break into the vault of a bank and steal the content of 66 specific safety deposit boxes. The bank in question – Bank Jonckheere - is a private and very prestigious bank, however, and the safe-owners are all highly eminent and influential people (ministers, senators, magistrates, business tycoons, generals…) who use their deposit boxes to safeguard secretive documents like hidden financials, photos of orgies and sexual escapades, blackmail, political cover- ups and slush funds. Whoever owns all this stolen information has the power to destabilize and literally pull the plug out of the entire country, and that is clearly what he/she wants to achieve. Via Joachim Klaus, the top-criminal who organized the heist, the instructor gradually sends back copies of the safes' content to the rightful owners, and abrupt resignations, chaos in the parliament and even suicides immediately ensue. The heist was never reported to the police, for obvious reasons, and the concerned magistrates are holding off an investigation. Inspector Paul Gerardi nevertheless examines a tip from an informant and quickly ends up in a position that put his career, healthy and loved ones in great danger.

With all the scandals and corruption that occurred here in Belgium during the past 20-25 years, the script of "Salamander" becomes extra realistic and plausible. I'm convinced that every fellow Belgian who watched this series also thought at one point or another (and probably several times): "Surely this is really going on in those ivory towers in Brussels". The mystery around the bank heist is upheld very admirably and, in the end, all the little pieces of the large puzzle neatly fit together. "Salamander" contains a lot of action compared to traditional Belgian detective/krimi-series, and every episode features at least a few grisly murders, violent shootouts or wild chases. The acting performances are really high- level, with familiar and famous Belgian faces even in the smallest supportive roles. Everybody gives stellar performances, and several cast members even play their best roles in many years, like Jo De Meyere, Mike Verdrengh, Vic De Wachter and An Ceurvels. The second season will start airing on Belgian TV soon, early 2018, I think.

Ran across this series on Netflix, and was surprised when I turned it on and heard the sounds of the Flemish language, which I know well from my many years living in Belgium and the Netherlands. My experience with the country made this show especially interesting for me, since Belgium actually is a bit of a cauldron of political tensions and conspiracy theories. A horrific pedophile scandal involving government officials and including the deaths of some young girls tore the country apart in the 1990s, and I'm not sure they have ever recovered.

Apart from that, it's a fairly typical lone-cop-against-conspirators story, but with a bit more European subtlety and flair than American equivalents like "24" and "Scandal." It's pretty well-paced and certainly held my attention for its 12 episodes. I have mixed feelings about Filip Peeters in the lead role - he seemed to have the same bewildered expression on his face most of the time - but this series is more story than character driven. It's certainly worth your time as a change of venue from the usual thriller.

One of the great benefits of streaming services is that the delve into the output from Europe and elsewhere and unearth some gems like this one. This is the story of someone trying to uncover and stop the plans of a secret society (not a Vincent Price/Hammer Horror style one) who are interfering in politics and the government.

Apart from good writing and filming, it gives us the opportunity here in the UK to see some new actors and many of them put the usual lot to shame with their acting ability. I don't know if it is common outside of the UK and America, but there is a tendency these days to give parts to ex comedians and other entertainers who for some unknown reason, think they can act. See Alan Davis for an example. Instead here we have people who have learned their craft and can deliver the story.

There are two series under this heading. The first one is the best in my opinion but the second is still worth watching.