Spiral (TV series)

Infobox Television
show_name = Spiral
format = Drama


network = Canal+
creator = Alexandra Clert
Guy-Patrick Sainderichin
executive_producer =
head writer =
starring = Caroline Proust
Grégory Fitoussi
distributor =
first_aired = 13 December 2005
last_aired =
runtime = 48 minutes
num_series = 2
num_episodes = 16
list_episodes =
country = flagcountry|France
website =
imdb_id = 0477507
tv_com_id =

"Spiral" is a French television police drama series in eight parts created by the TV production company Son et Lumière. The first episode was broadcast by Canal+ in France on 13th December 2005, and it has the rare distinction amongst adult French TV programmes of having been broadcast in the United Kingdom. It returned for a second series on Canal+ in France on 12th May 2008.

Its title in French is "Engrenages", primarily meaning "cogs", but also with the sense of figurative spirals (into violence, for example).

"Spiral" was first shown in the UK on BBC Four during the summer of 2006. It was the channel's first French-language drama series, attracting a modest but loyal audience (around 200,000) and firm critical approval. (Other foreign-language drama series shown on BBC Four have included Heimat and the miniseries of Das Boot.) In April 2007, BBC Four announced it had bought the rights to the second series [cite news |date=2007-04-04 |title=More European drama for BBC4 |publisher=MediaGuardian |url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/bbc/story/0,,2049313,00.html |accessdate=2007-04-14 ] , which will be shown as part of the 2008 autumn/winter schedule [cite press release | title = BBC Four puts science at the heart of its Autumn/Winter schedule - Acquistions | publisher = BBC | date = 2008-09-12 | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/09_september/12/bbcfour7.shtml | accessdate = 2008-09-18 ] .

The first series was released on DVD in France on 1st October 2007 and in the UK on 6th October 2008.

Plot

eries 1

A badly beaten body of a young Romanian woman is discovered on a Parisian rubbish dump. Her identity and past life are gradually uncovered as the various parts of the French justice system investigate her death. However, it becomes apparent that her story ties to a network of corruption touching the very people charged with uncovering the truth about her.

eries 2

A burned corpse is found in the boot of a car, a seemingly isolated case of urban violence. However, the case grows in complexity and danger, each new piece of evidence unearths a duplicitous world of international trafficking, informers, double lives and arms dealing. An audacious plan to strike at the heart of the crime network means that the slightest slip will result in certain death.

Cast

*Caroline Proust : Police Captain Laure Berthaud
*Grégory Fitoussi : Pierre Clément, Acting Chief Prosecutor
*Philippe Duclos : Judge François Roban
*Guillaume Cramoisan : Benoît Faye, a businessman
*Audrey Fleurot : Joséphine Karlsson, a lawyer
*Fred Bianconi : Fromentin
*Anne Caillon : Marianne Clément
*Thierry Godard : Gilou
*Mirza Halilovic : Michel Le Roumain
*Vincent Winterhalter : Vincent Leroy
*Mélodie Marcq : Alissa
*Florence Loiret : Ghislaine Androux
*Simona Maicanescu : Madame Andrescu
*Jean-Christophe Bouvet : Médecin légiste

Production staff

*Series created by Alexandra Clert and Guy Patrick Sainderichin
*Directed by Philippe Triboit and Pascal Chaumeil
*Written by Cristina Arellano, Laurent Burtin, Alexandra Clert, Laurence Diaz and Guy-Patrick Sainderichin.
*Produced by Alain Clert and Charline de Lépine.
* Distributor : 2001 Audiovisuel (France) - [e-mail]

International broadcasts

References

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/cinema/features/spiral.shtml BBC Four Spiral website]