Morgana: A Detetive Genial

We started watching the US version of this show and liked it so we decided to see what the original French version was like. We watched the first episode dubbed and that was not enjoyable. Then we watched the next 3 episodes with subtitles, much better. For the first couple episodes the stories are the same as the US version but there are small changes in the plot that make a big difference. For instance, the subplot about Morgane's missing boyfriend is different and much more interesting. I also feel that the interactions between the characters are subtler and more believable. Morgane's interactions with her teenage daughter are very funny and her interactions with Adam are more complex. In the French version Adam contributes as much to solving the cases as Morgane does. He is also a little more respectful of the value Morgane adds to each investigation. He seems to sympathetic to her situation, respectful of her abilities and confident in his own. This gives his character more depth than the US version.

Last night I finished watching the first season on Rai1, dubbed in Italian.

This show works.

I will get into some details to explain why and how, but in a nutshell it works simply because it does what TV should always do: entertain!

Close in spirit to Monk and The Good Cop, but even closer to The Mentalist, "HPI" delivers curiosity and fun. The premise of the series may lean heavily on the unlikely looks and attitudes of Morgane Alvaro (Audrey Fleurot) who begins to work as a consultant for the police, but what keeps your interest afloat is how well the stories are crafted.

I hate it when a cop show focuses too much on the lead characters at the expense of ignoring the credibility of the crime stories. Thankfully, HPI has not fallen into this trap. The motivations and the solid mechanisms are always there for our heroes to find out, and the interactions of Morgane Alvaro with the suspects add spice to what is basically a well-thought "whodunnit".

In that sense, my favorite episode was the 5th. The nature of the crime folded out elegantly as the investigation progressed and the loose ends got tied, and I do not recall having seen this kind of a plot before in fiction. So, even if there was some influence behind the originality there, at least it was not an overused theme.

Episode 7 was the least credible in terms of the criminal's motivation and method, but still it was okay.

Toiling over storylines and characters can at times be rewarding for the creator like in this series, but there is something else that I find notable with HPI: The colors.

The realm they present is particularly colorful and even shiny at times. Having been to Lille, yes, I can confirm it is a nice city with enough interesting locations around to feed such a series with settings. However, I think Audrey Fleurot being a "red head" also helps the plastics of the show. She is a strangely attractive woman who looks both like a time-trevelled Red Sonja and a grown-up-yet-still-childish Peppermint Patty.

As her bright red hair contributes visually to the frames, her high spirits carry the show well, also thanks to Mehdi Nebbou (Adam Karadec) who is credible as a calm, serious, yet tolerant police detective. The duo is like a gender-switched version of one of my favorite shows ever, Moonlighting.

With the lead character being a single mom of multiple children, I suspect also Candice Renoir might have been among its sources for inspiration, but HPI is definitely much better paced and more rich in texture, both visually and story-wise. The humor is well-balanced, works fine in the Italian translation and dubbing, so I don't see why there would be a notable loss with a potential English edition on that front.

As for the few downsides:

The rapid, patchwork imagery they employ to show us how Morgane's mind works... I find it too fast. She connects certain dots to reach a conclusion that makes sense, and yes, she has various references (something she read on a cereal carton, a documentary she watched, etc.) and using cut out images, clips, this and that in a pop fashion is a good idea, at least better than leaning on verbal narration. But we also need things to sink in. And speeding those particular phases up so much does not help.

Another problem I notice is kind of like an Achille's heel: When you come up with such a concept and feel the need to sharpen it, some very basic things about the title character may not add up. In this case, one can find it difficult to believe a woman as smart and as attractive as Morgane Alvaro could not find a way to reach success and wealth in 21st century France, not till some police chief discovered her abilities could be used to solve crimes. Well, she could at least write a TV show, right?

"Having problems with authority" is mentioned as the excuse to how come she ended up with three kids and low paying jobs, but nowadays whole generations have "problems with authority" and it doesn't stop anyone. The Morgane Alvaro we see could well have established something great for herself, be it in the IT business or entertainment.

Well... This is why we should not dig too deep into stuff that is supposed to be "make believe" by definition.

Overall, HPI has enough potential to go on for many seasons. And I think it deserves worldwide recognition and attention as a worthy, fun, intelligent detective show.

First, do yourself a favor and watch the French version with subtitles. The English voices are terrible! I get that they're trying to sync the voices to the video but it makes the characters sound like imbeciles. The added laughing and "oh ho" every time Morgane speaks is ridiculous. Makes her sound like a lunatic.

I found the subtitled version and it's much better. The voices are authentic. Those dubbed ones don't remotely match the personality of the character.

It's a very good show and I'm rewatching with subtitles. Makes a whole lot more sense and not as annoying. I love the characters. You can actually learn something from watching this show. The way Morgane explains her process is quite fascinating.

I'm an American who binge watched 3 seasons in French w/subtitles before I even found out they had dubbed it in English. I watched 1 of the episodes that was dubbed in English & I actually prefer it in it's original French w/subtitles. It loses something w/the voice actors they chose for the dub.

The premise is awesome bc it's actually kinda spot on. I've seen things that police/prosecutors have missed that are obvious to me (& are kinda common sense), that should've been picked up by someone along the way. Doesn't matter who.

The characters are fun & work together. Of course you're going to gave the push/pull at first, due to the egos being bruised. Viewers will enjoy watching the relationships of the unit grow.

Of course there's not only the weekly murders to solve, but there's also character backstory, which of course brings it's own drama, misunderstandings, warmth, friendship, and love.

You have fun, quirky characters, along with the prerequisite stick in the mud characters. You have cute kids and some pets. All blended together to make a great cast.

Give this little show a watch. I recommend this wholeheartedly. The American version is also cute, but don't discount the ORIGINAL. It's the best one.

/refers to Season 1/

Mrs. Fleurot is a really versatile actress, I have seen her in several other series (Engrenages, Un village français, Safe, etc.) and here she is so different - not frigid, not serious, but frivolous and careless... And she steals the show in every episode, even Mehdi Nebbou (a good actor as well) is not totally fitting/merited companion to her.

The cases are of different smoothness, but yet with twists, and even if you figure out the wrongdoer soon, there is always something behind until almost the very end. All in all, 8 points from me - 9 for Fleurot´s performance and 7 for script (realism included). And I am looking forward to Season 2.

PS Season 2 and 3 are as pleasant, with many unexpected twists included and an expected solution not included :) Crimes and criminals are never pleasant, but circumstances and/or people investigating them can be...

PPS Season 4 included more sad and confusing moments, but still - the quality is maintained. And more stuff to come, apparently.