lizardjims This is simply one of the best crime tv series I've ever seen the last decade and one of the most brilliant European television productions airing today. ''Engrenages'' is a French word that can be loosely translated as a complex mechanism, and in the series context it refers to the French judicial system from the top ranks till the last patrol officer. All six seasons so far follow a central storyline which involves a grisly crime, mainly homicide or/and rape, and the pursuit of the guilty party from a team of the experienced Paris Homicide Unit. The main characters are Laure (Caroline Proust), the captain of the team, Gillou (Thierry Goddard in a magnificent performance) and Tin-Tin (Fred Bianconi) who, more than often, adopt a convenient interpretation of the legal procedures in order to nail the perpetrator(s). Apart from the Homicide Unit, the series focuses also on the professional and personal lives of a judge, a prosecutor, and a female barrister. The direction and acting are both exceptional and offer the chance for the spectators to learn a bit more about the mean streets of Paris, a metropolis which seems to be always in a flammable situation, facing major problems like drug abuse, extensive street prostitution, aggressive immigrant minorities etc. Actually, sometimes you may feel that you should stop watching ''Engrenages'' for a short while in order to take a breath of clean air, as the depiction of these issues offer no chance of optimism, but on the other hand you can never do that because the plot is so compelling that you are eagerly waiting for more. It is definitely not the usual stuff that the genre offers and you must have a strong stomach to get through the viewing experience, nevertheless, in the end, you realize the brilliance of ''Engrenages'' and wish that in the future we will have the opportunity to see more television productions of the same high-quality standards.

maria-ricci-1983 A jewel in every aspect.Outstanding acting performed by a perfect cast, vying with each other to deliver extraordinary performances.Gripping scriptwriting, with complex and multi-layered cases, and lively, unforgettable characters (Justice Roban and Marianne, oh my, acting just with the little muscles around the eyes!) Great action and suspense in the service of the plot line.The dark side of Paris, avoiding the tempting, romanticized clichés of the Montmartre for the Foreigner, and showing instead the multi-racial, tense mosaic of today's real France, with its poverty, inequalities, beauty and tricky maneuvering in a Robespierrean Palais-de-Justice.The exact balance between down-to-earth, realistic skepticism in the face of the system cogs ("engrenages") and the stubborn, improbable, almost brutal acts of goodness performed by failed individuals.There is no moral grandeur here, no cardboard heroes nor perfect endings. But you turn off the screen completely satisfied and wishing for more.

robapacl-761-331413 The review about forgetting all your previous concepts of TV police is on the mark. Even Bluebloods, which I love and which reminds you that the police are people too, has slips now and then. But Engrenages has you right next to all the people involved, trying to make sense out of what you see, wondering if involvement leads to danger, questioning whether what they're saying is true or an attempt to divert or entrap. I am not a viewer in a chair watching them. I'm there with them, almost through the whole episode. There has never been any other show where I was drawn in so completely. I look in amazement, going back to the days when there was only the radio and movies for me to watch, wondering how, with so many brilliant writers, directors and actors, nothing like this was ever done before. A remarkable tribute to French creativity.

nickwilliams4 Just finished season 4 of this cracking French Policier series. OK, it's not all totally realistic and you can pick holes in it if you want like everything else on TV (sometimes it's better to suspend disbelief a bit, even Breaking Bad was a bit silly in places and that is wonderful too). I often wonder why people watch shows like this if they expect exact realism and everything to be politically correct (check out a couple of reviews on here from people with strange expectations of a TV drama), this is a cop show and meant to entertain not a documentary to learn from that exactly mirrors the real world. Loved it, love Braquo too (check that out if you get a chance). Magnifique!