Les rivières pourpres

'The Crimson Rivers' is a French detective series about a pair of police officers who specialize in investigating crimes with a religious, or occult, dimension. Little explanation is provided as to their mandate, while their methods involve disregarding correct procedure, being rude to their colleagues, explaining nothing to anyone, but, almost unfailingly, being right in the end. An accurate "police procedural" this is not, and neither is it filmed or written with particular artistry. And yet I liked the programme, as its gruff hero and heroine work their way through a succession of grim cases spread out over a grey-tinged France that feels rather different from the country in the tourist guides. They each have their own motivations for carrying out their mission; their behaviour at least partly explained by their view of their work as a necessary yet Sisyphean labour. In an age where we seem overwhelmed by clean Scandi-noir or gruesome serial killer stories, 'The Crimson Rivers' offers us a refreshingly different take.

Crimson Rivers on Channel 4 (UK & RoI). French detectives investigating strange murders. Cross between Criminal Minds and The X-Files. Detective Commissaire Pierre Niemans from the crimson Rivers films is back with a young sidekick, former student Camille Delaunay. So far (four episodesin) there's Horror with ritual murder, a curse going back centuries, nazi dogs, Cults.

Pretty good, set in the dark isolated backwoods of France.

This eight part French crime drama is made up of four separate cases, two episodes each. It is centred on Pierre Niémans and his deputy Camille Delaunay who work for a specialist unit that investigates the bizarrest of crimes. These include a huntsman who is killed according to the ancient traditions of the hunting family; a murder in a cult, deaths linked to a children's home and the murder of a monk who used to be a policeman. The fact that their cases can be anywhere in France, and in the first case partly over the border in Germany, means that apart from our two protagonists the stories will have different sets of characters.

I am aware that this series is based on a character that first appeared in a film of the same name but didn't feel it was a problem that I'd never seen the film. The first story does a solid job introducing us to our two leads. Olivier Marchal and Erika Sainte do fine jobs as Pierre and Camille making them interesting characters to watch. The cases are nicely varied and enjoyably strange. They provide a good number of suspects and motives to keep the viewer guessing. There is also a good sense of danger as each approaches its conclusion. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of crime dramas involving unusual cases.

These comments are based on watching the series in French with English subtitles.

I am struggling to think of a lot that is positive. It feels like there are the bones of a good drama lurking somewhere in the shadows, but the execution is completely wayward.

A burgeoning relationship between the two main characters may have sparked some interest, but sadly, the dialogue remained quite colourless and too matter-of-fact throughout.

And while an attempt has been made to lift the excitement levels with very shocking crimes, it is simply the case that ghoulish and bizarre murders are no longer that much of a novelty in modern television.

Delaunay (the lady cop) is wonderfully cool, but her back-story doesn't quite fit the demeanour. A less confident character, who perhaps suffers night terrors, might have been more convincing for the role. Her brazen sexual fling in episode 1 and everyday lack of concern for her estranged child, suggest that the irresponsible wild child still forms part of her make-up. Is it really likely that such a person would have become a dedicated and meticulous detective? It's a stretch.

Indeed, believability issues are never far away. Clues usually arrive by way of coincidence, or good fortune, and rarely from hard work. Local knowledge, reluctant witnesses who suddenly crack, handy passing experts and libraries that specialize in curious local mythologies, produce more than their fair share of easy-to-come-by leads. On a superficial level, it is reasonably fast paced and moderately entertaining, but don't expect it to live long in the memory.

After viewing the first 3 episodes of Season 2, I decided to abandon the rest. It had been more of the same. An over-reliance on sinister and grisly happenings, at the expense of any semblance of character development. - 6.9/10.

Not without faults but a seriously different series .The murders alone a worth the watch. There is a certain pattern the show follows but I like the fact it does not take 8 episodes to solve each case. Two per investigation. The characters are more than standard police and their antics add a little charm