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It seems half the cast have already left - and Arlette in particular was a big part of the success and originality of '70s Van de Valk - but the final episode is saved from being too melancholic by having a rattling good plot. The French Mafia are on a mission in Amsterdam, and in taking them on Van der Valk is really playing with fire. The gangsters go about creating a climate of fear to work in and the tension doesn't let up as the plot unravels. Jane Merrow is also superb as Diane - a kind of ultimate '70s alluring continental female character. It's an atypical episode to finish on, but there are a lot of atypical and unusually-set episodes in Series 2. The writers were not afraid to try new things out on the viewers, their ideas worked well in the main, and this is no exception.

The production values are those of a TV drama-cum-soap opera rather than full-on Nordic Noir. So you give yourself permission not to take it too seriously... but then find it curiously addictive anyway. Edgy and atmospheric it is not. This is rather wholesome and straightforward tv, but that is definitely part of its appeal. It's a beautiful place! There is a lot of teamwork going on! The characters are very likeable! And whether they are facing up to life or death challenges or dealing with affairs of the heart, you find yourself rooting for them every time. All the action in Series 1 happens in the Summer season. Will we get a Series 2, set in the Winter? Fingers crossed.

This is one of the three Borowski Tatorts scripted by Henning Mankell. The murderer - we are in no doubt who it is from start to finish - is portrayed as a violent, short-fuse, scary character but also as a tragic character who is utterly trapped by his emotions - including parental feelings - and by his past actions. This is a case where Brandt, more on edge than usual because her epilepsy is getting worse, continually disagrees with Borowski's approach. After initially going along with Brandt, under pressure Superintendent Schladitz eventually seems to come down on his friend Borowski's side of the argument. Which of course adds to Brandt's frustration. She senses that there is a male-female dynamic going on and she is at the wrong end of it.

Although in their different ways Borowski and Brandt both contribute to the eventual resolution of the case, in the course of doing so they fall out big time. It gets raw - they both completely lose it and end up bawling at each other. After that neither is willing to sue for peace, and it's goodbye Sarah Brandt.

Funnily enough this downbeat, unhappy ending for a popular and successful character really struck a chord with me. It felt like brave, honest writing, shining a light on something we don't like to think about - as it did with the troubled, tragic character of the murderer. People do fall out at work, to the extent that someone has to leave. But I can't recall that ever happening in an English-language crime series, and I found this episode extra compelling for that reason.