“Captain Marleau: Wind and Tides” – TV series review

MHzChoice has already imported almost four full seasons of the light-hearted French crime series, “Captain Marleau.” This upcoming release “Captain Marleau: Wind and Tides (Entre Vents et Marees)” is the two-part, three-hour pilot that hadn’t been part of the previous packages. For newbies, Marleau (Corinne Masiero) is a Columbo-esque itinerant police detective who goes from village to village to solve their latest murder(s). She drives in looking almost homeless, and plays the fool to mask her considerable skills. She also dissembles with irreverent wisecracks, annoying the witnesses and suspects while delighting viewers, and learning more than she would with straightforward questioning. Each episode is a new crime in a new locale with a mostly different cast, so the way she flusters the local cops just meeting her provides a reliable source of humor.

For series devotees, the pilot may have more historical than entertainment value. That’s because there’s less time with Marleau on camera, and less of her sarcastic, self-effacing wit than we’re used to from the further episodes. It’s not like an origin story, since there’s virtually nothing about her past in the script. But my impression is that the writers and producers had yet to realize what a unique comic gem they had in their star. Two of the opener’s four credited writers only did this one. The slew of writers throughout the rest, including Masiero in many, mined the comedy gold within her to much better avail.

In this beginning, Marleau’s unkempt hair is darker but her overall look is the same. She rolls into a quaint fishing village during a raging conflict over its future. The mayor and her hubby are pushing for a massive overhaul of the harbor and surrounding area to create upscale tourism. The plan includes a yacht-friendly marina, resort hotel and casino. The downside is that it would also crowd out the fishermen, who had always provided the city’s economic and social foundations.

The up-graders’ plans are obstructed by the irate locals, with particular focus on two families – one rich and titled; the other working-class – whose homes are on pieces of land essential to the massive project. A seemingly pertinent murder brings Marleau to town to head the investigation. The inevitable mare’s nest of motives and suspects swirl, while we observe the machinations of the property players. There are some surprises and twists along the way. We see more of Marleau’s usual shrewdness but much less of her edgy, Doctor House-like sarcasm and disdain.

So fans should slightly downscale expectations, and newbies should know that if you kind of like what you see, the best is yet to come. This 2.5-star rating is a bit lower than what I’ve given the previously-reviewed 30-plus episodes already streaming on the MHz site, in which Marleau became my favorite French TV sleuth not named Captain Sharif (that full series also available on MHz). The only reason for that is less face time for the star than they soon learn she deserved.

“Captain Marleau: Wind and Tides (Entre Vents et Marees),” in French with English subtitles, is available streaming on MHzChoice starting Tuesday, July 23.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars