Peur sur le lac

The first series showed a lot of promise, the second developed the characters and relationships, this third, whilst creditably ambitious has proven to be a bridge too far with a veneer-thin plot with more holes than the most Swiss of cheese, and this dairy product reference is highly apt in this case. The writers must have taken a course in cliches as I am pretty sure that all bases were covered. The actors must have been using a combination of Eastenders and Neighbours as their role models, and I half expected Alf to appear and say "Now look here Commander, mate, or whatever yer name is". And this is a key point because it actually is highly comical and made me laugh out loud at several points - notably when the illegal immigrants were led out of the wilderness and all transpired to be fully qualified medics !!

The plot is so ludicrous I actually don't want to expound it and spoil your enjoyment, but suffice to say the siege of Barnard Castle was more effective than that mounted by the entire French authorities, Bringing in batty Boris as strategic consultant would have yielded more effective results than these bungling buffoons.

So if you want a good belly laugh this would be good to watch, but if you expecting to see quality foreign language drama don't engage with this tripe.

Sorry to say that I couldn't get on with the third series at all, having quite enjoyed the previous 2. I found it rather rambling and hard to follow and only watched it till the end because I'd already invested so much time in it.

Time again I wouldn't bother

This, the third 'By the Lake' series, sees protagonists Lise Stocker and Clovis Bouvier investigating when a man crashes a speedboat into a jetty. He is dead and appears to have been suffering from an unknown disease. Shortly afterwards Clovis gets a call from his ex... her new boyfriend is ill. It is the same deadly disease. It is soon identified as a strain of Ebola; not wanting to cause a panic the authorities attempt to find the source of the disease and any connection between the two men without alerting the public. At the same time a mother reports that her ex-husband has failed to return their daughter after a routine visit and she is unable to contact either of them.

I enjoyed this series; its theme of a virus outbreak is perfectly timed for these times... and the fact that Covid-19 is far less serious than Ebola should leave viewers feeling relieved that we aren't dealing with such a deadly outbreak! The story is well told with a sense of mystery about how the disease appeared in this relatively quiet corner of France as well as the drama of seeing who will succumb to the disease and how it will ultimately be brought under control. It does of course rely on some convenient coincidences but that can be excused as they help drive the plot and add to the tension. Similarly things do get quite melodramatic towards the end and the resolution seems rather fast. Overall a solid thriller.

These comments are based on watching the series in French with English subtitles.

This came out in January 2020. Who would gave believe we would have been living it four months later? Interesting to see how the script writers dealt with the threat of a pandemic and the contrast between fiction and fact. It was only six episodes. Would that the real thing was over as soon.

Ace series-and ace location too ive never saw the other seasons but enjoyed this alot now i wonder if i should watch others too.tbh never sounded good but acting in this was superb and the lady cops are well beautiful 2.