Three Pines

Never heard of the books ( more into sci fi ) or this show but wow it was good. Molina shines in the lead role and as others have said plays a decent, moral, considerate and kind detective who's not drowning himself with a bottle, has gone rogue or is grieving a dead wife or all the other usual tropes in a crime show. Helped by a likable cast, beautiful scenery and a quick pace. The show will have a new case every two episodes and not drag it out for slog of eight or ten episodes which many shows try and fail to keep the interest. Admittedly I did guess the killer before the first ep was over but that didn't detract from the fun. The recent show Echo 3 threw in the towel by the fourth ep. Terrific beginning and can't wait for more.

Three Pines feels incredibly refreshing in a tv world drowning in samey samey crime shows. There are many elements that have this show punching way above. Alfred Molina is truly wonderful as Gamache, a world away from our usual hard drinking troubled cops. He's kind, steeped in morality and just the man you want solving your crimes.

His dialogue is peppered with quotable lines that cut you to the core, little insights into life you never thought of. Writing at its very best.

Bringing Canada's Indigenous people to the foreground, not as mere victims but as so much more is genius. The world is so rich and Three Pines gives so much insight into their lives. The costume design, art and reservation felt very different to the usual stereotypes.

Having an Indigenous cop right up there beside Gamache puts the community front and centre in a way I've certainly never seen before.

I loved the quirky villagers and small town setting. The cinematography is wonderful and the writing sings. I got Twin Peaks vibes. Loved the music too which felt really original.

10/10 for me as Three Pines hits every spot and made me want to read the books.

In general, I think that this is a good series. I'm a fan of the books but I recognize that sometimes changes are made for various reasons in adaptations and there will always be a difference between books and TV are different mediums. My husband (who has never read any of the books) also enjoyed the first season/series.

What I like about this series:

Alfred Molina's portrayal of Inspector Gamache is excellent. He beautifully captures the thoughtfulness, compassion and humanity of the character. Many of the other performances are also very well done especially Tantoo Cardinal.

I liked that they filmed in the eastern townships of Quebec, the architecture of rural Quebec is different than the rest of Canada or the northern USA. I liked that most of the cast and crew were Canadian.

The indigenous story arc of Blue Two-Rivers is unique to the television show (not in the books) and is very well written, well acted and compelling. Apparently the show's director is indigenous and they used indigenous cultural consultants. The care that was taken is evident in the show. Although Isabelle LaCoste is not indigenous in the books, I thought it was a good idea to have her characters as an indigenous character who doesn't know the culture (because she was adopted like many in the "scoop) and as an outsider in the police. For far too long in this country (Canada) the issues surrounding the treatment of indigenous people have been ignored. This arc is integrated very well into the existing stories from the book.

Areas I think could use improvement:

The issue that immediately struck me is the lack of French (there is some but not as much in the books) especially with 2 characters. Jean Guy doesn't speak English (and mistrusts English speakers) Gamache and his wife only speak French to each other. As well, realistically most Surete du Quebec business would be in French (except interviewing English speakers). I was surprised that they had Gamache speak with a standard English Canadian accent (rather than British as he does in the books) although I thought that this was probably because it might confuse people who hadn't read the books.

However, my biggest issue was the episodes often feel rushed because they cover an entire book in 2 parts and add the indigenous storyline. In some cases, I feel they would have worked better as 3 or 4 part stories. The best story in my opinion (which didn't feel rushed) were The Murder Stone parts 1 & 2.

Overall, I would recommend this show. We enjoyed it and look forward to seeing the second season/series.

After the first two episodes, we are definitely looking forward to the next few. It's enjoyable and unique to see a series like this set in wintery Quebec. Alfred Molina does a good job playing the caring and insightful Armand Gamache, the lead investigator. I'm intrigued to see what happens with the suspicious villagers. The subplot about missing and murdered Indigenous women enhances the feeling of immediacy and relevance of the series beyond a Christie style of village murder mystery. (Disappointing to see people complaining about this topic in the reviews, since it's handled with nuance and is a *real* and relevant issue to the time and place).

The victim is a bit of a caricature villain and some of the acting is uneven but overall this is starting out as a very enjoyable series.

I haven't read the books. This hooked me. Beautiful filming and pace, well put together. Good characters, and I am anticipating the episode releases every week. I suppose the only far fetched thing is so many deaths in a tiny place. But perhaps the bad energy from the history of the place is being used in the story to explain it. Can't wait for more!

Weird reviews from folks. It wasn't amateur nor badly written like those reviewers said, the characters don't come across as American... they say Alfred Molina's character did schooling in England, which helps with his accent. The other characters come across Canadian. The First Nations thread was done well.