El Olfateador

Ukraine buddy cop series, very polished production and likable leads. I love it because first show or movie I've seen where Russians are normal, ethical ( and not) folks. They aren't you stereotype of sneaky corrupt and ruthless. As American I'm forced to look to scandi noir and BBC for quality TV these days. I never in a million years thought I would find my next gem in the Ukraine. How very cool!!

This is an incredible series. Well-plotted, with brilliant acting, it's a joy to watch even with subtitles.

This is an 8 episode crime series filmed in Russia, with leads no one has ever seen before. Very interesting premise, that of a uniquely gifted man with an extremely acute sense of smell, more like a wild animal than a human, and which leads him to try to solve violent crimes by smelling various trace scents left at the crime scenes, and on suspects and victims. This he does under the solid direction of his good friend, a dedicated police colonel, and a confirmed bachelor and playboy.

The stereotypical Eastern European cynical sarcasm was at full boil at all times in the Sniffer, with him seen calmly disdaining and insulting almost everyone around him as he arrogantly helps the colonel work through difficult crime solving. An added bonus to me was the fine depiction of a modern Russian city, and how similar the location city(Kiev)was to the rest of the 1st world.

Great and creative use was made of wispy smoke imagery that formed from the scents the Sniffer smelled at crime scenes, smoky visions of what really happened there. That effect added greatly to the series' overall production values. Also, the show co-starred who I think is the most beautiful female actor in film, the gorgeous doctor love interest of the Sniffer. What an incredible beauty, and very classy.

Weak point...white subtitles that were often poorly translated, and so often not enough time on screen was allowed for the viewer to thoroughly read them, and the words were often obscured by the background colors.

I liked this series for its glimpse of a modern Russian city, for the unique story premise, for the good acting, and for its style of storytelling that was more realistic than today's American crime story TV. I also liked that each episode was a complete story where the crime was solved.

And, of course, I liked it for the gorgeous lady doctor. Hope to see more episodes of this show, and of her. Wow. Even Trump would surely give her an 11.

Just starting Season 3 and I've been hooked since mid Season 1. It's well acted, even if all the female characters are a bit one-dimensional (or should that be two? As most of the shots are cleavage orientated!), amusing and entertaining. I do like the way there are continuing stories running behind the "solve it in one episode" story lines. Hoping for a Season 4 as it's clearly been an international success.

This series is a mixture of genres all rolled into one. It's a detective series with a guy who uses his uncanny sense of smell to solve cases, it's a "Buddy" film with a "Bromance" between the two male leads, it's a comedy with an element of slapstick and a couple one-liners. It's entertaining most of the times but eventually becomes formula driven with the inevitable wind up at the end. It does give a perspective of modern Russia not often seen in other series. It's not particularly "noir" like many of the Scandinavian series but the sets and outdoor shots are more often monochrome. I guess this makes the brilliant green and red cars, driven by the lead actors stand out more. It's a good watch when you want something silly and light, yet entertaining and fast moving.