Arvet

Thursday nights on Tele-Quebec have been filled for the last few years by the Wallander series. The early shows from 2005-2006 were interesting enough, but the 2010 season is a bust. The stories are chaotic and banal--Mankell was not the author--and the acting, camera-work and production values are not up to the standard we demand from European TV. Krister Henriksson seems tired and increasingly uninterested in his work, and that is the actor I'm talking about and not the character. Lena Endre seems to be in the cast because she made a film with Bergman and adds some star quality to the rather mediocre line-up.

Arvet (The Heritage) is poorly made, with brackish camera work and poor acting. The two rookie cops, Pontus and Isabelle, are more than a little annoying, and in a well-run police department would never get permanent status. The story is not worth telling; it hardly makes sense. Cinema buffs of a certain age will note that Bjorn Andresen, the pretty boy from Death In Venice, is in the cast.

This is one of those episodes where one should not think too much. The bad people make all kinds of mistakes. A little common sense would go a long way. In addition to the murder mystery itself, we have the seeming breakup of Kurt and Katarina. She sees the relationship as inappropriate (at least she says that). We also have Pontus and Isabelle beginning a torrid relationship. She is reeling from being shot twice in the previous episode, saved by her vest. Kurt, on the rebound, begins to have feelings for his prime suspect. The crimes in this case are rather dramatic and consistent, yet to pull them off one would have to be very fortunate. I won't say more, but the villain in this story is truly psychotic. Slightly above average.