Imma Tataranni: Deputy Prosecutor

We love this series, disappointed though that there is only 4 episodes on MHz choice...

This series is typical of a RAI Fiction production. It is very animated, a lot of shouting and gesticulating with hands, and showcases lots of regional Italian foods. The series itself is very confusing and despite the length of each episode, the thread that holds the story in each episode is very weak, often breaking along the way. Because of the gaps and missing pieces, the result is at the end of the episode, viewers are left contemplating how the crime was ever solved. The humor does not translate well, but the series is entertaining if one wishes to learn about other cultures and there's nothing else to watch!

Too many police/detective series are run of the mill and formulaic. Imma is quirky and smart. Her relationships with her family, colleagues and surroundings (the beautiful Italian scenery feels like a vacation) make this series better than average. There are story threads that continue through each episode gives the series depth. Love Imma's style too, she can really put an outfit together.

Imma Tataranni is a deputy prosecutor who loves her job, but gets frustrated with her boss and some of her staff. Her husband is a nice guy, but not Mr. Excitement, still Imma loves him. But she isn't above a fantasy romance with a young handsome Marshall. The daughter she shares with her husband knows how to push her buttons. But when it comes to a murder, Imma will find the truth. Many characters speak quite fast and a subtitle might drop off before you read it, but this is a good series worth watching.

I watched the final episode of the 2nd season last night, and strongly believe this series is getting not worse but even better, promising even more interesting conflicts of mood for the 3rd season.

What Vanessa Scalera (Imma) told in a recent interview was an eye opener for me. She said that in the source material (the series of novels) her character is somewhat more bitter, physically less likely to fulfill the frame but more loud, etc. I think Scalera's personal charm contributed to the self esteem we get to see on screen.

During the 1st season, I could never really understand what we were to expect from her flirt with Calogiuri, given the character was really not likely to go all the way and betray the loving husband. The way the 2nd season ended will force everyone to account for what actually DID happen based on misperceptions Pietro (the husband) has already developed and others (thanks to the blackmailer's pics) will eventually develop.

I enjoyed how music began to contribute more to the overall mood thanks to Pietro's short-lived dream of running a jazz club. His naive ambitions, his neverending support for Imma (despite losing his dreams bacause of her) did really sink in. The characters are now just too 3-dimensional to not care about the personal lives of.

Where the events are set, Matera, is known best for being the shooting location for Mel Gibson's "The Passion", however it has served even before as a unique setting for several other important films, and also for other Italian TV series (like "Sorelle"). In Imma Tataranni, we see Matera less as the "ancient looking town" and more as a normal part of contemporary Italian life, which it is, being also a touristic center.

The friendships / rapport Imma has with those who surround her, the other women in the office, the law enforcement, they all look very entertaining and genuine DESPITE the very generic crimes she fights against as a prosecutor. And this is where the series finds its success: The focus is on the ordinary people who are just getting by, and the bigger, dirtier players (like the mafia) are not allowed to steal from the joy they are able to reflect to the screen.

To sum it up, this series is family-size fun. You may have some difficulty relating to the characters in the early episodes, but S2 will be worth the adaptation process.