Petra

Wonderful to see 'my' Genova like this. The original stories are great but the performance could be done better. VI Monte is great though.

Perfectly showcasing partnerships and very typical interactions among italians, the two protagonists Cortellesi and Pennacchi - usually great italian comedians, but here so good in a drama! - just wear their characters so naturally you suspect they're acting... themselves. Petra never tries to be a bad, embarassing copy of american crime tv series, but rather offers another option in this genre, tight to the beautiful scenario and people in Genoa (Rome as well, in last episode).

I watched it all. I have to say that I wasn't bored by the series or its episodes but, goodness, the plots were so simple and the villains so obvious that it became an exercise in waiting to see one's suspicions and guesses confirmed.

The initial premiss is not one that inspires confidence. Petra is a police archivist with the rank of Inspector. She has never been in the field but working the skeleton shift overnight, which normally involves answering the phone, she is thrust into an investigative role. She is paired with Antonio Monte, a bit of a straitlaced duffer and a complete contrast to the unsympathetic and impetuous Petra. On the strength of her work on this first case, she is transferred, just like that, without having made an application, to the murder squad. Yeah right.

Subsequent episodes show the unlikely pair working on more and more complex cases, some involving national security or VIPs who are well protected. During these inquiries, more is revealed of the lives and backgrounds of the ill-matched pair of detectives but it never seems to add up to a coherent whole; the revelations about their history seem to be devices that just move the plot along or are simply contrived, adding nothing or little to explaining why they act as they do.

I loved the setting. Genoa, which I have never visited, seems to be a beautiful city. I'd love to have a go on what appears to be a funicular railway that Petra takes to work every day. The buildings and streets seem unruined and lacking in ugly developments, although we really only see the centre in the main and are shown the high rise suburban sink estates only rarely. I guess visitors would not be going to the latter.

I watched the four episodes over two days. It was really an exercise in relaxation and easy viewing. The series had just enough glamour and oomph to hold the attention but I can't say that it made one think. It was just too simple and forced. The most enjoyment was got out of noting the gaping plot holes that were in each episode.

Weak plot, mediocre screenplay, modest acting....a total mis-hit.

Yet it's still quite watchable. The interaction between Petra and the other detective is quite sweet but some of her techniques seem a little dated and not terribly believable. It's okay.