Imma Tataranni, Substitut du procureur

This suffered from what is inserted into so many Italian crime series, namely attempts at humour that are off the mark and actually not funny. They are grating and annoying. For goodness sake, is it meant to be hilarious when the new Chief Prosecutor gets into a lift with his soon-to-be deputy Imma and recounts to her, not knowing who she is, that his number two has a reputation as a shrew and an eccentric? Are the scenes at the beach meant to be amusing when she was trying to catch hold of evidence of a crime and was thought, instead, by her husband and mother-in-law to be drowning, thus losing her the evidence?

These episodes are an hour and three quarters long. I wasn't going to waste that much of my life on even one of them. I switched off after about forty five minutes when I realised that this programme wasn't going anywhere I wanted to arrive at.

There are far better things to watch. I shan't be revisiting the world of the Deputy Prosecutor.

What an actress! Despite her lugubrious face, the Main character has so much emotion in her face that even without doing or saying anything, you can't look away. A virtual tornado, she gets involved with everyone in her life from the cases she represents, to her adoring hubby, cooking-crazy daughter, mother, and in-laws. She is also the whirlwind center of those that work in her office from her boss to her two shy assistants. She attacks her cases like a bulldog. She is the Italian, often funny, sexy version of Vera.

Imma Tataranni is a deputy prosecutor who loves her job, but gets frustrated with her boss and some of her staff. Her husband is a nice guy, but not Mr. Excitement, still Imma loves him. But she isn't above a fantasy romance with a young handsome Marshall. The daughter she shares with her husband knows how to push her buttons. But when it comes to a murder, Imma will find the truth. Many characters speak quite fast and a subtitle might drop off before you read it, but this is a good series worth watching.

This series is typical of a RAI Fiction production. It is very animated, a lot of shouting and gesticulating with hands, and showcases lots of regional Italian foods. The series itself is very confusing and despite the length of each episode, the thread that holds the story in each episode is very weak, often breaking along the way. Because of the gaps and missing pieces, the result is at the end of the episode, viewers are left contemplating how the crime was ever solved. The humor does not translate well, but the series is entertaining if one wishes to learn about other cultures and there's nothing else to watch!

We love this series, disappointed though that there is only 4 episodes on MHz choice...