Shake’s View

I have never before sat transfixed to my TV screen for almost 7 hours continuously (with a couple of ‘natural’ and meal breaks) watching a made-for-TV thriller series or indeed anything. But that’s what happened on the day I received Braquo Series 2. I missed series 1 because I had not latched onto the quality and diversity of the foreign thriller and its availability through the unusually bright sparks at BBC 4 (who continuously show up the dreadful lack of adventure that dominates most other BBC stations - TV and radio). But then the newspapers started to write about the fabulous work coming out of Scandinavia which happened to coincide with the cinema release of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO.

THE KILLING was my first experience with the genre and I’ll admit that when it was transmitted my life was put on hold and NO I could not miss the live episodes and watch online repeats… I then caught up with all the WALLANDER repeats and then France’s THE SPIRAL and Denmark’s political drama series BORGEN. And so it goes on… The only UK TV series that comes close is the excellent SILK shows. So enamoured with these shows am I that I refuse point blank to watch the American copies - and that goes for all of them - which for me cannot possibly approach the quality and authenticity of the originals.

For more years than I can remember British TV has been held up as the best in the world, and way back when this could have been true. But when it comes to modern thriller series even the traditional writers like La Plant cannot match what’s coming over from Europe and Scandinavia - from TV programmer makers with a fraction of the finance available to the BBC.

But back to BRAQUO Series 2. It’s gritty, well-acted, with the twists and turns so enjoyed by lovers of the genre. It’s also beautifully filmed and directed to a level that matches of the best cinema flicks. Unlike other TV thrillers like WALLANDER, SPIRAL, THE BRIDGE and THE KILLING I found the storyline complex and at times far-fetched especially when it entered the realms of cutting-edge armaments, political and police corruption, however, for almost the entire eight 55-minute episodes I was gripped. What did strike true was the attitudes and actions of the serious criminal classes be they the Jewish, Armenian, Begian etc. drug gangs.

Ultimately, I watch TV to be entertained and gave up on the increasing level of ‘reality’ content years ago. What shows like this provide for me is a reason to watch TV and then relive it all over again on DVD.  ‘I can’t stand subtitles’ I hear you cry. Well, let me tell you these shows are so good you won’t even notice them and many people I know who would never usually watch subtitled films are as hooked on these as I am…

BRAQUO is a thriller with a capital T and delivers action with a very big A. For lovers of the genre look no further… 

4/5