The Tunnel, Series 1 (2013)

The Tunnel opens with the discovery of a body lying at the exact midpoint of the Channel Tunnel from France to England.  As such, both French and British police arrive.  As the victim is a French politician, the Brits are perfectly willing to let the French have the case but that changes when it is discovered that the bottom half is actually that of a Welsh prostitute.  As such, Detective Chief Inspector Karl Roebuck (Stephen Dillane) and French detective Elise Wassermann (Clemence Poesy) become partners in the investigation of the Truth Terrorist.  The killer maintains a webpage where he intends to offer 5 truths, each accompanied by 1 or more deaths.

 

The show does a very good job of keeping the viewer guessing.  Many early contenders for Truth Terrorist prove to be false leads.  These dead end side stories give some verisimilitude to the investigation.  This isn't Columbo.  It is sometimes unclear if there is only one person or perhaps a team of people behind the crimes.  Much time is spent developing the two main characters, neither of whom proves all that likeable.  Elise is virtually incapable of relating to people on an emotional level and often makes insensitive remarks.  Karl has 5 kids by 3 different women and his inability to keep his zipper up causes problems.  No paragons here.

 

The series does have some serious stumbles.  The biggest failing was when a character steps on an explosive trigger.  If she takes her foot off, the bomb will explode.  The bomb squad arrive and shrug; it's too complicated for them.  Sorry.  Really?  They suggest she run like hell and hope to get out of the blast radius.  Gee, thanks.  Of note, she is wearing platform shoes.  Why not have someone hold the shoe down as she slips her foot out and then pile some weight on it?  Easy.  So easy and obvious that I was practically yelling at the screen in frustration.  Then there is the kid who is under police protection because someone might be looking to kill him but nonetheless sneaks off.  In the end, the villain is just too perfect to have achieved what was achieved.

 

The series is a remake of a Danish-Swedish series called The Bridge.  There is also an American version, also called The Bridge, that takes place in El Paso and Juarez.  I have seen neither of these but may take a look to see how they compare.