Salamander

[Stunsworth]

I share your and Steve's HO... watchable enough but it feels like a Tintin adventure, 'The Salamander Affair', with many of the characters rather comic-book looking...

Also for a secret organisation they seem quite keen to let people know they exist, and what they're about.

[BBMmk2]

john McCabe composed a work called 'Salamander'(I think?) Yes, after looking up, it was written in 1994 for brass band! :)

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Also for a secret organisation they seem quite keen to let people know they exist, and what they're about.

- yes; key rings, cufflinks - I wonder if they have a Gift Shop. Riddled with clichés as it is, I'm enjoying the romp, glad to have a change from psycho S&M murders. But the last scene of the last episode was a shock.

[Anna]

Agree with all the above, it seems very dated, very macho, and could probably have been condensed into ten episodes. However, I'm still interested to know what binds the Salamanders together. We know it's about WW2, the date on the photos are 1944 (significant), it's probably more about collaborators than the Resistance I imagine. Oh, and probably art thefts and Nazi gold - just to cover all possibilities!
Actually, if anyone knows the answer please tell me so I don't have to watch it anymore.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

... meanwhile Line of Duty and Inspector Gently have been rather good ...

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

... meanwhile Line of Duty and Inspector Gently have been rather good ...

- Keeley Hawes (whom I have previously thought of as a lightweight character actress) has given a career-changing performance. Whew! Emotionally fraught or what?! (Answering "yes" or "no" only.)

[antongould]

- Keeley Hawes (whom I have previously thought of as a lightweight character actress) has given a career-changing performance. Whew! Emotionally fraught or what?! (Answering "yes" or "no" only.)

Couldn't agree more Ferney ......but did she do it?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Couldn't agree more Ferney ......but did she do it?

Her innocence is looking clearer with each episode. So; probably, yes she did!

[Anna]

Did anyone stick with Salamander to the end? I didn't and really don't wish to spend 3 hours on iplayer catching up. Basically can anyone tell me what united the 66 and what their evil scheme was or was it just they were all collaborators and/or Neo-Nazis and there was no evil scheme? I got as far as Jonkhere being the son of the collaborator who betrayed the father of Wolf who wanted revenge. There is an Italian detective starting tonight, set in 1938, Mussolini, Fascists, etc., wonder if that's worth a viewing?

[EnemyoftheStoat]

I could explain it but it would be in a mixture of Flemish and French.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Did anyone stick with Salamander to the end? I didn't and really don't wish to spend 3 hours on iplayer catching up. Basically can anyone tell me what united the 66 and what their evil scheme was or was it just they were all collaborators and/or Neo-Nazis and there was no evil scheme? I got as far as Jonkhere being the son of the collaborator who betrayed the father of Wolf who wanted revenge. There is an Italian detective starting tonight, set in 1938, Mussolini, Fascists, etc., wonder if that's worth a viewing?

Yes, I did the course - which rather fizzled out as if even it lost interest in itself! The 66 were prominent public officials given posts by a hidden syndicate who wished to ensure that power wasn't achieved by anyone who might disturb their life style. You got the rest of it - basically, the plot was "resolved" by a lot of people shooting each other.

The new series looks much more promising.

[Nick Armstrong]

Did anyone stick with Salamander to the end? I didn't and really don't wish to spend 3 hours on iplayer catching up. Basically can anyone tell me what united the 66 and what their evil scheme was or was it just they were all collaborators and/or Neo-Nazis and there was no evil scheme? I got as far as Jonkhere being the son of the collaborator who betrayed the father of Wolf who wanted revenge

Yes, I did! Yes, the point was that the scheme was in fact not so evil - Wolf (who kept drifting off into those rather annoying sepia flashbacks of his adolescence as a norphan o' the Belgian equivalent of Chancery) was getting his own back (big time) at Jonkhere and his bank and all the 66 people who'd benefited from their patronage - the motive being that the whole thing was built on the money and gems sent to the Belgian resistance in that WW2 parachute drop and nicked by Jonkhere père, who covered his tracks by accusing Wolf père who was then condemned as a traitor. It came to light that Jonkhere père's double-cross had actually been witnessed by another of the resistants - his son had tracked down Wolfs and told him the whole story which is why Wolfs sold his successful business and embarked on The Scheme....

At the end Gerardi and Wolfs realised they were both on the same side (wanting to get Jonkhere, who had blown up Mrs Gerardi) so they made common cause in the final episode and got the bad guys

[Anna]

Thanks ferney and Cali It seems there's some better stuff on BBC4 (more scandi) but quite a lot later in the year, might have a peek at the Italian offering ..... I did watch Shetland which I thought ok but could have done with subtitles!!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Oh, Shetland was excellent - I totally missed who had done what to whom and why.

EDIT: Well, not really "to whom", exactly ... that bit was quite clear.

[Nick Armstrong]

Thanks ferney and Cali It seems there's some better stuff on BBC4 (more scandi) but quite a lot later in the year, might have a peek at the Italian offering ..... I did watch Shetland which I thought ok but could have done with subtitles!!

We DID put on the subtitles for Shetland! - for Brian Cox's sections, anyway! He was SO good, a start turn.... it's a very good series I think. It owes much to the fashion for Scandi-gloom, that said.