5/18/2023 0 Comments Plaaying the cardinal relationship![]() ![]() I think I prefer my mini-series played out like this over a shorter running time as it brought more dynamism and pace to proceedings. Derivative it may have been but that didn't detract from a gripping story told well. It was hard not to see the influence of Nordic Noir predecessors like "The Killing" and "The Bridge" here, with the mix and match male / female cop pairing, the bleak, snowy geographic settings, as ever filmed with numerous, on-high drone shots and the brutal activities of the killers towards their hostages not to mention the by now obligatory lo-fi contemporary music used as the theme tune. Both these main characters, as it happens, have relationship problems at home, Cardinal's wife has bi-polar disorder and Delorme and her husband are struggling to have a family. There's a strong sub-plot involving a young female detective Lisa Delorme ostensibly brought in to assist Cardinal's investigation but who in reality is investigating him for suspected corruption in relation to a police bust that went wrong and cost an officer his life. A dogged, committed, old-school detective, he's pursuing here a killer or killers who abduct, torture and kill youngsters. ![]() Set in the wintry setting of Algonquin, we meet whispering, silver-bearded, middle-aged Detective John Cardinal. Told over six 45 minute episodes, this was a very good 'tec drama from Canadian TV. I feel my comparables above were accurate and relevant. Each season is going to do a book or two from the written series. 6 eps is very short by North American standards but from what I have seen quite common in many euro productions. But apparently it is a financial success as its primary sponsor CTV in Canada committed to not one but 2 more seasons of at least 6 episodes. Which is a good thinkg since its budget is about $1.8MM per episode. = cont'd - Cardinal has been well received and has been picked up by quite a number of networks internationally. I suppose the one thing I do believe is more bodies will be found, other then that the suspense is palatable, and I relish it. I look eagerly forward to the next episode. The quality of the production itself is exactly on par with the series I noted in the first paragraph, so no let down will be found there. Other then the weather (its a winter setting) the actual setting is incidental to the plot, and could easily be where you are. This is apparently a Canadian production, and takes place in a nameless mid-sized city apparently in Northern Ontario, and which I think is supposed to be a mirror for Thunder Bay (correction, North Bay apparently). In the first episode saw a small glimmer of the man, although perhaps flawed or misdirection, peeled back. The main protagonist Cardinal, is very much in the vain of Jesse Stone, moody, skilled, with warts and flaws, and secrets yet to be revealed. The same atmosphere, foreboding, characterization, quality writing, acting and direction are all present. UPDATE CARDINAL RENEWED FOR 2 MORE SEASONS!! Are you a fan of say the Jesse Stone movies with Tom Selleck, or perhaps The Tunnel or The Bridge series out of Europe? If so then Cardinal is for you. My only complaint is that the six (6) 60 minute episodes should have been extended to three (3) 120 minutes so we wouldn't have to wait six weeks to see how the series ends. Lead actor Billy Campbell is a perfect fit to play detective John Cardinal on the hunt for what he calls a repeater, and what we normally refer to as a serial killer. This 6 episode mini-series is dark, moody with a cast that shines. Detective Cardinal seems to prefer to work alone but when his superior Noelle Dyson (Kristen Thomson) assigns a recent new hire to the precinct, a young female detective Lisa Delorme (Karine Vanasse), Cardinal makes it clear to her that he does not need a lap dog, and diverts her attention to another case he was working which was trying to catch a thief who breaks into peoples homes after the homeowners had just purchased a high end priced electronic such as a microwave oven or a flat screen television. He is like a dog with a bone who will not let go that a serial killer is loose in their northern township somewhere in the Canadian province of Ontario. Not much else is known about the serial killer mainly because the only one who believes there is a repeater (serial killer) loose is detective Cardinal. Lead detective John Cardinal (Billy Campbell) believes this serial killer stalks his victims and when the opportunity presents itself the killer strikes. We have a serial killer loose who is killing young girls and boys in various ways so the serial killer's method of operation is still not clear.
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