Now 5 episodes into the first series, I am utterly hooked, and cannot wait for 9 o'clock Fridays on More4 ! This series has everything from pathos to outright laugh out loud moments, and everything in between. We are introduced to Astrid when her literal autism makes an absolute fool of a teenager in a gang who was seeking to do the same to her, but then is laughed at by his own gang members as Astrid walks off leaving him completely flummoxed. Sara Mortensen must have studied the differences between autistic and "neurotypicals" very carefully, and her attention to the smallest details is an absolute joy to behold as her almost photographic recall of all the details in the Criminal records files leads her to team up with her polar opposite, Raphaelle (played by the wonderfully ebullient and accident prone. Lola Deweare). The way in which these two learn from each other, and use this friendship to solve cases which Raphaelle has been instructed by her nervous and fractuous boss (played by Jean-Louis Garcon) to "put to bed quickly as a suicide". Astrid has other ideas and quickly puts the lackadaisical Police Pathologist Fournier in his place, but not in a deliberate way. Fournier soon smartens his act up, but Astrid is always one step ahead. Raphaelle takes it upon herself to learn more about Astrid's seemingly lonely existence, and starts to attend the weekly meeting of like-minded individuals. This also opens a new world to the viewers, and it is really fascinating how we are introduced to their views and opinions of us neurotypicals. There are insufficient words to describe the brilliance of this series, and I am hoping that More 4 Walter Presents are going to broadcast all 3 series. I would have given 11/10 if it were possible, this is quite simply televisual genius.
Review of Astrid et Raphaëlle
