Mar de plástico

Got hooked up. There's a lot of bad acting, but I liked the plot and the twists and really wanted to know who's the killer. Not bad TV and I'm becoming a fan of Spanish TV shows.

It started off with promise, but sadly, gradually descended into a clichéd soap opera. 14 hours to come to a conclusion. I don't know if I can bring myself to watch the second series, knowing that it will probably follow a similar dragged out pattern.

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.

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.