Mar de plástico

Season 1... The series (on Netflix) takes place in a totally unique setting: a sea of plastic--an area on the coast of Spain where various entrepeneurs have created acres of greenhouses for growing crops. Some big owners have plenty of cash invested, and running the day-to-day requires a foreman and day labourers. There's quite a competition amongst the Spanish nationals, the colored folk, and the local Gypsies for the daily work.

When the story begins, a young lady is standing in an eery part of the 'sea' late at night waiting for a date (this can't miss), when she is grabbed & brutally murdered. The next 12 episodes are driven by the need to solve this homicide, under the direction of super-cop Hector, oh he of muscular build, dimpled chin, and roughly-trimmed short beard. Hector is a former commando type who served in Afghanistan, where he lost his best friend, Pablo. Pablo's wife, Marta still lives in town, and Hector was always nuts about her. So begins an on-again off-again relationship that you will find annoying. My wife & I didn't find Marta all that attractive- she is the aging mom of a bratty 12-year old boy.

The story-telling and camera work are excellent. There's plenty of conflict between good guys and bad guys (and the Russian trophy wives--of the bad guys). Keep your hand on the FF button for the occasional 'makeout scene'. The ending is well-disguised. 9/10

Seaon 2.... Starts off more slowly than previous. A character presumed dead re-appears. A major player is killed off. There's more (needless) profanity in the English sub-titles over the next 12 episodes, and I think plot elements are repeated more so in this season. Nonetheless, if you can hang in there, we do get a solutuon to the murder that prompted the 13-parter originally. Several tawdry characters get it in the throat this season-- you won't cry over any of them. Hector survives to go on one of his brooding walks by the sea, alone again. Too bad--the best-looking single cop in mini-series history to NOT win a girlfriend. 7/10

Good God! How much time can be wasted in each episode? I kept wanting them to get on with the investigation, but there were several subplots that added nothing.

I'm only half way through, but I'm ambivalent about continuing. The cinematography is excellent, I'm so in love with it. The story is good and has captured my attention. But, I'm watching on Netflix with subtitles (I don't know much Spanish). Half of them are missing! I'm only getting half of a conversation and I'm having to figure out the rest. Very frustrating! That's my only complaint so far.

This team of detectives is one of the worst I have seen in that kind of crime series. There are so many twists and subplots that you get tired and want to finish it quickly. Most characters are violent and stupid, and eventually you don't care about the solution. Especially irritating is the permanent drama between Hector and his friend's wife. Also the way they all recover in five minutes from terrible injuries, or severe concussions is ludicrous. The only not too bad actor/actress is Nya de la Rubia who plays Lola. The other ones are close to awful. If you don't speak Spanish you will have to guess the dialogues, with white subtitles on white background. So, watchable, but not the top of Netflix.

From a plot outline, one might think this would be a terrific series. Unfortunately, it doesn't deliver on the potential: the performances are mostly one or two note affairs, and too many situations fly in the face not only of common police procedure, but even common sense. Example: a pre-teen boy walks into a police station with a loaded gun intent on killing a detective, who talks him down from it-but then allows the kid to simply to simply walk out of the station. On what planet would this kid not be on the ground and in handcuffs the second after the gun was out of his hands? Even the most compassionate response would be to detain the kid gently for a psychological evaluation. And this is just the one example that comes to mind.