Foreign TV Series: WALLANDER (2005-2012) 3 Seasons AAA

This is the Swedish version of Wallander from Netflix. (I previously reviewed the English version of Wallander . . . different stories for the various episodes).  Here again Detective Kurt Wallander is an intense, headstrong maverick who's prone to eating poorly, sleeping irregularly and drinking too much. Wallander relies on instinct and experience and doesn't shy away from using illegal means to solve crimes.  If you are into this type of detective stuff, watch this series . . it's fun.

From Other Reviewers:

Kurt Wallander is a detective in the small city of Ystad, on the southern coast of Sweden. Henning Mankell has developed this character through a series of novels, murder mysteries, mostly set in Sweden. Kurt is a flawed character, which is part of his appeal. He is a bit overweight. He has difficulties in his marriage and in subsequent love affairs. He has trouble communicating with his father and with his daughter. But he is undeniably good at his job. He is a homicide detective.

Kurt Wallander is an intelligent, dedicated, and caring man who brings everything he has to each of the challenging murders he is assigned to solve. And he takes with him some of the pain, doubt and confusion 

British TV Series: WALLANDER (3 Seasons) A

This is a crime mystery series based on the Wallander books by Swedish author Henning Mankell. There is a British version of the series and a Swedish version (which I am now watching).  The main character is a somewhat depressed detective who goes through the job of discovering the perpetrator of various crimes.  The first two season were super . . . at least an A+.  The last episodes in the final season were so-so and lacked some of the tension and mystery of the early episodes.

This is a review from Rotten Tomatoes:

Mankells ability to convey a setting of quiet tension and melancholic beauty is not missed on the director of the Wallander TV series. The show also picks up on Mankells message of Swedish social transformations since the cultural revolution in the 60s and peoples recent waning of self identity. I recommend you read his books.I found the director Philip Martins attention on the characters to be well developed and Kenneth Branagh to be compelling as the lead character Kurt Wallander. It is always special when an actor is capable of comprehending the characters interior landscape and emotional capacity to cope in an environment as complex and demanding as a crime detective.

Foreign TV Mini-Series: WITNESSES (2014 - ) A

French, subtitles,14 episodes

A watchable and better than average crime/detective series set in a small coastal village in France. This is just one of the many of French,  British and Scandinavian mini-series crime dramas that are now available to us (such as Wallander) through Netflix.

From Rotten Tomatoes:
This French crime drama is set in a small coastal town by the English Channel. There have been a series of bizarre crimes; somebody has been digging up murder victims and leaving the bodies in local show-homes; they also leave items that point to former chief-of-police, Paul Maisonneuve. Detective Sandra Winckler is investigating the case and brings Maisonneuve in to see what light he can shed on the mystery. As they investigate possible links between the bodies it becomes clear that Maisonneuve has made some dangerous enemies in the past; is the grave robber one of these people taunting him or is it somebody trying to get him to investigate the link between the men and solve another crime?

Review British TV Series: DCI Banks (2010-2012) A

Available from NETFLIX

Another good Detective series that take place in England.  Many episodes.  Some are better than other but all are watchable as an evening's light entertainment.  

In this series . . . as apposed to the Wallander series, the plot and solutions get somewhat complicated and are hard to follow at the end.  Sometimes more effort is spent on the development of the personalities and characters than on the unravelling of the solution to the crime.