Crime en Aveyron

The scenery is gorgeous.

There is a lot of dialogue and if you don't pay attention, you might lose the plot. For a series intending to feature the vistas of the French countryside, watching the subtitles is counterproductive.

The use of both surname and given name to identify characters is unhelpful. It would be easier to follow the narrative if they picked one name and stuck with it.

There are a lot of strange choices for what I can only imagine as time filler. Things that don't add to the plot or the subplots, but are there anyhow.

Maybe this is the quality when you are on a deadline and no one can work overtime?

I like murder mysteries and my wife will let me pick almost anything if it is in French so she can practice listening. Otherwise, probably would skip.

Love the show. I follow up on Wikipedia and about the different areas of France. I didn't realize it was so diverse and unique from beautiful beaches to the Alps to rugged Mountain sides and rolling landscapes of vineyards, olive orchards and sheep herders. My 2 favorite episodes were murder in Three Valleys, ski area in the alps and Murder in Dunkirk with their incredible carnival celebration which apparently is every weekend in January to March up until Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday. The mayor throws halibut into the crowd and the crowd sing baudy song about pirates.

Interesting the detectives from different countries. British ones tend to drink tea at every suspects' home, and finish off the day with a pint at a pub. French detectives drink tiny cups of coffee or expresso, and wine wine wine wine. They drink wine morning noon and night.

I know a bit of police procedure from watching CSI's and NCIS etc. Etc., but apparently the French TV writers don't watch it. Even my dog is more knowledgeable about detective work than the French. It's laughable how they hold up their guns, don't wear gloves, and mess up any forensic data. One episode had six officers invade the home of a drug dealer. The dealer ran out the back door and escaped. There was no officer guarding the back. One episode has a dwarf Detective with a major limp. How in the world did she pass the police academy physical exam? Another episode had the mayor of the city become a detective because well she was the mayor of the city and she could, and assisted the main detective investigate her own's son-in-law's murder. There is Always a prosecutor who in every episode has a different role:detective work, they check on the detectives, they actually questione the suspects or they don't do anything at all except yell at the detectives

In almost every episode the detective has a conflict of interest as the victim is the father the brother the mother, sibling, or friend of the detective. Most of the detectives are single with an annoying teen or cute young kid at home just to demonstrate the challenge of detective work with a Family life. Almost every episode has two detectives one from another town. They don't get along the first half of the movie and then they get along and/or if they are male and female end up in bed together. And those annoying arm bands with the word police on them. Looks like it's made of plastic and they just Velcro it around their arms.

So watch for the scenery and just laugh at everything else.

Yes, France is beautiful but - having been to France several times and appreciating its natural beauty, well reflected in this fictional TV crime/romance series filmed all over the gorgeous place, I have to say that I find "Murder In" mysteries irritating and too easy to solve - but most MHz viewers including my husband love it so we've watched many episodes which follow the same formula but with an ever-changing cast: two detectives who can't stand each other and/or who have troubled pasts are thrown together to investigate so they start by arguing after a body has been found to have been ritualistically killed; second, there is an obscure local legend involving a medieval crypt or a pirate myth or storybook tale known only to one of the detectives plus of course the modern homicidal maniac imitating the obscure legend. Third, the arguing duo will soon be sleeping together because - voila! - this is France! Oh, and one of the detectives, after a long day of arguing and investigating and love-making, might find the time and energy to make a slow-cooking local dish Julia Child probably never heard of.

Some of the scenery is interesting as the peek at cheese making, but the tangled web of relationships among the locals is too convoluted to make sense of. I kept waiting for a car crash since everyone seems to race around the narrow country roads at breakneck speeds. The Deputy Prosecutor comes off as a insecure harridan at first and the immediate antagonistic behavior of her and the local investigator is off-putting. (And why she has to bring her son's cat with her is probably a bigger mystery than the one she's trying to solve.)

This is actually a whole series "Murder In.." with each episode in a different part of France .. and where the investigators are not always the same lead actors (although they do repeat at times). The cinematography is incredibly good and fascinating. And the local interest (economy, climate, etc.) is interesting. As for the murders, for me they are too complex (hence less credible); and the episodes too long (90min- hard for me to do in 1 sitting - but in splitting it over 2 nights, it's hard to remember from the 1st night). Some viewers might indeed relish complex crimes (and, granted, most murder mysteries - complex or not - are usually a bit contrived). The interaction between the investigators is well done ... as is the directing, casting, acting. So, I continue to watch these.