Spiral - Series 4 [DVD]

I was wrong to fear that the fourth series of "Spiral" would have run out of steam plot-wise. It proves compulsive viewing as ever, with at least half-a-dozen dramatic interwoven storylines, involving at one extreme an anarchist group bent on creating the "state of terror" of the title and a family of arms-smuggling Kurds, at the other touchingly naïve Judge Roban, back at his desk but ostracised by his slimy colleagues for previous abortive attempts at whistleblowing, yet determined to press on regardless out of principle.

Somewhat implausible as ever (but who cares?), driven, designer-scruffy Capitaine Laure Berthaud continues to rush about, hair escaping from its clip, T-shirt slipping off one shoulder, turning a blind eye as her male underlings beat up uncooperative suspects in the office, and screaming "Putain" on the frequent occasions when, having done an impressive job identifying a gang's rendezvous, they let the criminals escape. To be fair this is usually because they have insufficient back-up.

Also implausible yet entertaining is Pierre's continued working partnership with the seductive, talented yet unscrupulous Josephine, although at last we learn some reasons for her warped emotions. Pierre seems to be swapping one devil for another, in quitting the state legal service out of concern over its corruption only to take on as a client a notorious villain, against even Josephine's advice.

The dramatic final scenes avoid a run-of-the-mill "happy for everyone against the odds" ending. Although the key aspects of the conclusion are predictable, there are enough twists to continue the suspense to the last.

For a viewer dependent on sub-titles, the fast-moving plot requires total concentration, but the recap, "précédemment" opening each of the twelve episodes helps one to focus on the key points. Once again, I cannot imagine what the producers will pull out of the bag for what I believe is the final series, but am confident it will be good.

I bought Spiral 4 in France a couple of weeks back and by using the French subtitles, and the occasional screen freeze to look up words from my French dictionary, and by utilising my school boy French, this was enough to enable me to understand the twists and turns of this amazing new series.

Great acting once again, in particualr from the two leading ladies, Laure Berthaud (Caroline Proust) and Josephine Karlsson, especially Josephine's (Audrey Fleurot) unexpectedly erotic moment at the end of episode three!

Totally gripping , totally captivating, even an old love interest of Laure's from series two makes a come back in episode 7 to create some fireworks and tension in her personal life!.

I couldnt wait until February to see this after the brilliant series two and three, but if you must wait for the English version , you will not be disappointed with this taught and gripping 12 episode excitement fest. I watched two episodes every day for six days and couldnt wait for the evening to come round to watch the next installments.

Spiral is back once again for another series, and this time, we're left with some cliffhangers from series 3. Although things have been rather aggressive in their department, Bertraud and her gang are back. There's also the issues surrounding the order side too, with Karlson and the judge Robain too.

When someone is found badly injured in the the woods - Bertraud and her gang have to find out why. In the meantime, there's a guy being deported from France who has dodgy paperwork; and we have a nutter trying to cause trouble for the French authorities. Josephine has to sort out her problems and judge Robain has to find his way back into the judicial system. How they'll manage it, and at what cost you'll have to wait until the DVD is released (not giving any spoilers).

This is yet another great series from Son Et Lumiere, with the participation of BBC Four. It is always keeping you on the edge of your seat and has fascinating but bizarre storylines. Karlson is still my favourite character - alongside Gilou, who does remind me of Jean Hughes Aglade's character in Braquo, he is a bit dodgy, yet he does try to do the best for his team. Caroline Proust has never really caught my attention, I find her rude and a real moaner - panics instead of thinking rationally.

This comes on 4 DVDs in France, but I suspect you'll only get three in the UK. This is disappointing to me as it is usually compressed - whereas the image supplied by Canal+ is really good. Sadly the French edition has no English subs - so wait for the UK release if you're not ofee with our language.

Superb, thrilling and gripping, I had to have this - worth every Euro!