Overview: When a dead body is discovered in the English Channel tunnel, exactly midway between England and France, a detective from each country is appointed to work the investigation. The two officers must must work on their own partnership as well as track down the criminal. Stephen Dillane and Clemence Poesy star. It is a fairly faithful re-make of Scandinavian hit 'The Bridge'.

Blu ray Verdict: Wow! Totally absorbing! Yup, one of those rare moments when you think I just can't put this down. Not what I'd call a special series, but that said I watched ALL the episodes continuously with rare breaks. It all revolves round an middle-aged English detective and a younger, prettier french one!

When crimes are occurring on both sides of the channel tunnel, and one right in the middle, these two and their teams must collaborate to save lives. With twists and turns and a red herring or three it evolves to a strange end, but with no spoilers here, let's just say that if you like intrigue, carefully thought out plots with small amounts of sex and violence, then you will love 'The Tunnel: Season One'.

So, aside from this great series showing up here for review, how did I first become a fan of this incredible, absorbing TV show, you might ask? Well, it was a tangled affair to get there, but I initially dipped my toe into the original Danish version, but found the cultural references too obscure. Plus the whole feel of the show was just too unfamiliar/foreign for me to really relate to. Oh, and it's always difficult with subtitled shows anyway, as I'm sure you'll all agree. I mean, you really have to grab my attention for me to hang with anything being screened with subtitles and it just didn't.

The US one I barely lasted two episodes! I just didn't like the way they interpreted the dynamic between the two leads and the cultural tension aspect. And so, full circle, I actually started watching 'The Tunnel' without realizing it was also based on the Danish original ... and it grabbed me from the start! I liked the characters better, there was a lighter feeling to it than the US one, and so it gave relief from some of the grimmer aspects of the show. In fact, and generally speaking, it feels more accessible to an English-speaking viewer with some knowledge of British and French cultures.

So, what can you guys expect from this debut season, assuming you have not seen either of the abovementioned TV series'. Well, the potential drama playing field is littered with Immigration problems, international borders vs. economic traffic necessity, families of tasked players pledged to bureaucratic roles, artificially tyrannical immigration/jurisdiction issue, and it all is inclusive of artificial economic impositions on innocent people.

'The Tunnel - Season One' also educates on rapidly expanding surveillance technologies in relation to various nation's often conflicting executive authorities, and costs hidden therein, of course. Lots of travel, lots of cinematic landscapes, most all caught at night, and under lit, but authentic, just the same. A highly informative, and well done TV show, if you like taut, complex, but followable crime shows with a European flavor, well, 'The Tunnel' might well be right up your alley! This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

20 Minutes of Behind-The-Scenes Footage
Cast Interviews, and More!