Engrenages...

It's DVD heaven in ISBW Heights. My last package from Amazon yielded a treasure trove of delights. which it is now my pleasure to share with you.

First up, ultra-cool cop series 'Spiral' ('Engrenages', in its original French, meaning gears, or cogs - an equally apposite title for this wheel-within-wheels, cleverly layered and paced drama.). The series was shown on BBC 4 a while back, where I caught a single episode and was immediately hooked (hence my purchase). It's been described as a 'French Wire', and it certainly shares the bleak, dark world view of its American predecessor, as well as it's naturalistic acting style and cast of flawed, three-dimensional characters. Overall though, its point of view remains more rooted in the world of the cops than the robbers; we get glimpses into the wretched lives of the bottom-feeders in Paris's criminal classes, but their lives are not explored in the depth that the Wire does so meticulously. In fact, I would forget the Wire comparisons, if you can, and watch it on its own merit. It's utterly French, and I've certainly needed the subtitles (which are generally good, though I feel I've missed a few subtleties here and there.). And brace yourself for one of the most unpleasant TV scenes ever in Episode 5, as a desperate drug mule finds an unspeakable way of dealing with his 'stash'. I'm already looking forward to getting my mitts on series 2. Though I'm wondering if France is really as racially divided as the series implies - to date, all the cops and lawyers are white, and virtually all the criminals are Eastern European or black Francophone African. I don't know enough to know whether this is realistic portrayal, or a significant oversight on the part of the writers. Anyone from France out there?

I'm far from alone in my devotion to '30-Rock', so will keep my praise brief. Just to say that feels like another 'Arrested Development' moment - stumbling on something that doesn't seem to have been cherished too much by TV commissioners, but which is comedy gold. Alec Baldwin is a revelation (the episode where his belligerent Irish family converge was scarily like a meeting of the ISBW clan), and there are some great supporting performances. Tina Fey manages to be perky and wisecracking without being annoying (though her voice seems to have dropped an octave for Series 2 - were there complaints?). If you haven't come across this yet, I'd advise an impulse purchase. You can give me a Chinese burn if you don't laugh.

And finally, a reprise from childhood. I was talking with a friend quite recently about children's drama, and things that stood out from back in the day, and I was terribly distressed that she didn't remember Seventies ITV classic 'The Feathered Serpent'. Set in a kind of Aztec-era South America, this was like 'I Claudius' for kids, and it certainly provided a springboard for the twelve-year old me to venture into more grown-up historical drama. The Feathered Serpent has proper actors, working from proper scripts - Patrick Troughton is amazing as the blood-lusting priest Nasca, his performance in no way 'watered down' for the kids' audience - and there's eye-candy for pimply boys and girls alike with the highly attractive romantic lead couple, Diane Keen and Brian Deacon (his leather skirt and breastplate combo worked wonders on most of the girls in my year.). It's always a risk going back to things after many years have passed, but this one certainly hasn't let me down. I'm hoping that my other purchase, 'Children of the Stones', will also have lasted the test of time.

God I love the DVD format.