The FastDay Forum

We have watched the last two episodes of the French tv series last night & I feel bereft! What is going to happen to Laure?
We are great fans of lots of the subtitled tv series imported to UK TV & have enjoyed Montalbano, The Killing & The Bridge & of course Spiral! They are gritty detective series that also give a flavour of other cultures & they require attention & concentration because of having to read the subtitles unless of course you are fluent in other languages. I have basic French but it is all so fast & colloquial so I easily get lost but it is so engrossing!
Is anyone else already missing Spiral?

[carorees]

Me, me! I love all those foreign language detective dramas. My French definitely improves as the series goes on. Especially my colloquial French. Ditto Swedish during Wallander. Danish is not good and nor is my Italian. Still hoping to become a polyglot via the medium of BBC4 crime dramas.

Did you notice how everyone, especially Laure, seemed to spend the whole time eating? And of course, eating is a big part of Inspector Montalbano's life. I love that series too, especially the Young Montalbano as the actor is soooo gorgeous! Which one will be next on BBC4?

I bought the young Montalbano dvds for my husband & we still haven't watched them all yet. I'm hoping that a replacement series for Spiral will soon come on TV. I'm not good with languages but I am learning Latin because I enjoy classical history & anthropology. I find it amusing watching Montalbano picking out nearly familiar words & want to go to Sicily to visit historical sites & I believe they now also have Montalbano tours around where it was filmed!

Oh I missed Spiral. Can you get into it if you missed the first season?
I also like foreign dramas. Montalbano is good. Have you noticed the distinct lack of people on that little island?
Wallander is good, although I prefer Kenneth Brannagh

We watched the last two episodes of Spiral last night, I love most foreign detective programmes too. I agree with @Isis that the glimpse into another country's way of life is fascinating, as is seeing the differences in policing. Spiral makes me realise just how poor my O-level French is though!
I wonder what will replace it... We are anticipating the next season of Hinterland - a Welsh detective drama. I know, I know, it sounds unlikely, but i thought it was very like the Scandi crime programmes.

Yes we also watched Hinterland in Welsh with subtitles because the Welch version was available before the English version! It felt very Scandi noire probably because of the pace & also the bleak lack of colour. I also enjoyed the series based in Shetland & can't remember the title
Nursebean we started watching Spiral the episode before this last one that I think was series 4 & quickly picked up the thread. I feel sure that all the episodes will come out on DVD but I'm not sure about repeats on TV.

We are being taken to Israel for the next series in the BBC4-teach-yourself-foreign-on-Saturday-night slot apparently.
After watching 'The Honourable Woman' and being horrified by the different attitude to the West's view of the sanctity of Life, I'm not sure I'll be coping too well with this #bleak.
The Swedish version of Wallender also left me cold, never made it past the first episodes, just too depressing.
Bring back the glorious scenery of Sicily in vibrant sunny colours please!

I became bored & gave up watching The Honourable Woman but did enjoy both Swedish versions of Wallender.
Azureblue do you know what the Israeli series is about? At least it may be sunny
What a shame that Montalbano has finished it may be that the Italian actor thought himself past his prime now compared to his younger self & may not have wanted to continue?

Um, think it starts with a kidnapping and gets worse ... ?
I'm working my way through Camilleri's Montalbano books as watching the TV series raised far more questions than answered! I really recommend the read, makes me laugh :0)

Hi, Isis ! Goldilox here ! I haven't been in touch with the Forum since my husband 's sudden death last July.
Ironically , after being a ( chubby) 10st + , (I'm 5ft3) I'm now just under 8 st. , so fasting isn't an option at the moment . ( grief plays havoc with appetite . . . . ) However , I do enjoy cooking and am gradually getting used to " cooking for one", and am now eating healthily , thanks to the Forum's recipes ! Weight has stabilised now, though of course my daughters worry that I'm "not eating enough". . . . .

My 2 lovely daughters have whisked me away to Amsterdam ( December) and Andalusia ( last week ) so now I'm trying to catch up on missed TV programmes .

Yes , Spiral is brilliant , isn't it ! Just hope Inspector Berthaud is ok . . . . . . was that the final episode ? It was a bit inconclusive , I thought .
(Watched a couple of episodes of Wolf Hall and Broadchurch before I went away , but abandoned both thereafter . . . . )
Now about to watch Italy Unpacked ( or title something like that , on iPlayer !!) My sister-in-law alerted me to the new series .
Lovely to be in touch again ! Obviously I'm not Fast Dieting just now , but so nice to be in touch again with everyone - such special friends .
Love , Goldilox xx

Hello Goldilox I'm so sorry to read about your husbands unexpected death it must have been an awful shock for you & your family. Welcome back to the forum & I hope things are really better for you now
I would not call 10 stone chubby because I am also 5ft 3ins tall & at the moment aiming for that weight as my partway goal & 8 stone is really slim How lovely being whisked away by your daughters to visit Europe; I think one of the engaging things about TV is the opportunity to view places we haven't yet been to & that certainly whets my appetite to try & go there. With the chance to record or catch up on tv programmes I now have so many still to watch that I probably won't manage to see them all but do like all the science, sci fi & detective who done it ones & the new series of NCIS New Orleans with Scott Bakula !
Do keep posting

Azureblue I have also got some Montalbano books on my kindle but haven't got around to reading them yet. Since retiring I find it difficult to fit everything in with supposedly having time on my hands now that means infinite choice, apart from necessary household things, of what I want to do! How on earth I found time to work full time, raise sons, do voluntary work, study for my degree then post grad study etc etc I don't know!!
I find buying books for my kindle quite addictive & could now quite happily spend all day reading & not feel at all guilty about being self indulgent

I am a Scandi noir fan. The Swedish Wallander - ending of that so sad. Actually Broadchurch is so scandi noir in pace and atmosphere except everywhere is warmer and orange rather than shades of grey. I tried both Spiral and Montalbano. I could not get into Montalbano at all. I agree Spiral is brilliant but I found the lawyers so irritating.

I am a Scandi noir fan. The Swedish Wallander - ending of that so sad. Actually Broadchurch is so scandi noir in pace and atmosphere except everywhere is warmer and orange rather than shades of grey. I tried both Spiral and Montalbano. I could not get into Montalbano at all. I agree Spiral is brilliant but I found the lawyers so irritating.

We got some of these in Australia: Montalbano, the Bridge, Swedish Wallender, but I don't think we got Spiral, at least not yet. We loved them.