Detective Harjunpäa

Timo is the type of officer that the world needs more of not less. He's quiet, unassuming, and doesn't grandstand like so many "cops." Timo has a lovely family and a wife who understands her husband's role as a police officer. Too many series cast cop-wives as demanding and lacking understanding, jealous, and simply tedious. Timo's team is low-key as well. His female partner is unassuming and doesn't try to compete with other members of her team. The best part is Timo doesn't sleep with his partner like almost cops in every crime series. The pace is slow. No special effects. The episodes range from typical crimes to a couple bizarre ones. No flexing muscles. No macho nonsense. I look forward to Season 2.

It's not a format I like, that we see the murderers at the beginning of the episodes and then watch the supposed detective work to catch them. As this TV series is based on a series of crime novels, I assume that this is the system used in the books. In either medium, this would be a deficiency to me.

I can guess at why it was done this way. Both of the stories I watched (it's one story per two episodes) involved or less random crimes. It would be really hard for a viewer to guess at whodunnit. Agatha Christie this is not, it's more like Columbo which I also never took to.

I loved seeing parts of Helsinki that I know or have been to which is why I gave a three. But I just knew that I have better things lined up to watch which is why I deleted the lot.

A bleak portrayal of Helsinki. The series evolve around the crimes of Finlands capitol and the empathetic homicide detective Timo Harjunpää who tries very hard not to take the darkness he encounters while at work, back home to his family. The series come off to a slow start but the characters slowly get under your skin. Although I can understand that some might find the stories of the Helsinki crimes boring and unimaginative, in my belief they are realistic and a well-made portrayal of the sometimes tedious and strenuous day-to-day work of a homicide squad under pressure. Yes, it lacks sensational plot twists and bombastic action, but it gains in depth over time. Just like in the real world, you got to give it time to get to know someone. I give the first half of season 1 a solid 6, the second half a well deserved 7.

I'm intrigued by two issues that keep repeating in this series. Almost as if the writers had a purpose in making this other than the just making a tv show show.

The first is that the police in Finland are grossly underpaid. There are constant references to senior police almost living in poverty, unable to look after their families.

There is also an obsession with the claim that junior offenders don't get punished there. In many scenes the offenders are arrested and lean back unaffected and say "it's ok I'm underage - I'll just get off with community service"

I felt like screaming at the tv "just record the conversation and play it to the judge!"

Many of the issues concerning the privates lives of the police are just bland and uninteresting as if they just felt the need to throws that in.

There is so much lacking that I'm not sure where to start.

There is hardly any in-depth character development - at all.

Which seems to be both due to script as well as storyline as well as a lack of ability of the actors.

There is no real suspense buildup of any kind and you're kinda left scratching your head at what's "happening" - or not.

I honestly gave it a fair shot but was mostly left with a lot of question marks throughout every episode & generally underwhelmed.

I would call it amateuristic but an amateur series can still be good. This serie just shows a lack of talent imho and I wonder how no one was honest enough to tell the maker(s) during the proces.