Mar de plástico

From IMDB: - "A TV series recorded in the south of Spain which tells us about the murder of a girl called Ainhoa. Inspector Hector must find out who did it."

Two Series, 23 x two hour episodes. Set in a fictional town called 'CompoAmargo,' (roughly 'Bitter Town') where an uneasy group exists, mainly by working for a wealthy land and business owner, who grows crops under 'acres' of plastic tarpaulin.

Our hero 'Sergeant Hector' is in charge of his section of the towns Civil Guard and spends all his time investigating the murder of a local girl, and from there the plot deepens. Facts uncover a hidden secret going back two decades. It's a clever 'whodunnit' worthy of either Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie. The ending may either shock or surprise. Series Two introduces 'The Serb' and his human trafficking biz which Hector investigates also.

IF you are tired of watching 'Los Narchos' or TV series about drugs, then this well made detective Story is very much worth your time. In Spanish, with English subs. I give it 9/10.

I'm only half way through, but I'm ambivalent about continuing. The cinematography is excellent, I'm so in love with it. The story is good and has captured my attention. But, I'm watching on Netflix with subtitles (I don't know much Spanish). Half of them are missing! I'm only getting half of a conversation and I'm having to figure out the rest. Very frustrating! That's my only complaint so far.

Season 1... The series (on Netflix) takes place in a totally unique setting: a sea of plastic--an area on the coast of Spain where various entrepeneurs have created acres of greenhouses for growing crops. Some big owners have plenty of cash invested, and running the day-to-day requires a foreman and day labourers. There's quite a competition amongst the Spanish nationals, the colored folk, and the local Gypsies for the daily work.

When the story begins, a young lady is standing in an eery part of the 'sea' late at night waiting for a date (this can't miss), when she is grabbed & brutally murdered. The next 12 episodes are driven by the need to solve this homicide, under the direction of super-cop Hector, oh he of muscular build, dimpled chin, and roughly-trimmed short beard. Hector is a former commando type who served in Afghanistan, where he lost his best friend, Pablo. Pablo's wife, Marta still lives in town, and Hector was always nuts about her. So begins an on-again off-again relationship that you will find annoying. My wife & I didn't find Marta all that attractive- she is the aging mom of a bratty 12-year old boy.

The story-telling and camera work are excellent. There's plenty of conflict between good guys and bad guys (and the Russian trophy wives--of the bad guys). Keep your hand on the FF button for the occasional 'makeout scene'. The ending is well-disguised. 9/10

Seaon 2.... Starts off more slowly than previous. A character presumed dead re-appears. A major player is killed off. There's more (needless) profanity in the English sub-titles over the next 12 episodes, and I think plot elements are repeated more so in this season. Nonetheless, if you can hang in there, we do get a solutuon to the murder that prompted the 13-parter originally. Several tawdry characters get it in the throat this season-- you won't cry over any of them. Hector survives to go on one of his brooding walks by the sea, alone again. Too bad--the best-looking single cop in mini-series history to NOT win a girlfriend. 7/10

From a plot outline, one might think this would be a terrific series. Unfortunately, it doesn't deliver on the potential: the performances are mostly one or two note affairs, and too many situations fly in the face not only of common police procedure, but even common sense. Example: a pre-teen boy walks into a police station with a loaded gun intent on killing a detective, who talks him down from it-but then allows the kid to simply to simply walk out of the station. On what planet would this kid not be on the ground and in handcuffs the second after the gun was out of his hands? Even the most compassionate response would be to detain the kid gently for a psychological evaluation. And this is just the one example that comes to mind.

A totally likable police series from a country that has developed a tradition in the genre. Nice story, nice characters (a little too histrionic for my taste maybe), nice if slightly too long unravelling of the plot. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable-but not a great-series.