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Transcript

Welcome to Mystery Books podcast, where we talk about mysteries in all of their forms from classic golden age novels to contemporary cozies, I’m mystery author Sara Rosett. And this is season one, episode seven, and it’s all about The Mallorca Files.

This episode is a bit different. We’re going to be talking about a mystery TV show. I said back in the introduction to the podcast that I would throw in some mystery TV and mystery movies every once in a while. So this will be the no, it won’t be the first one because we did the Enola Holmes, but this will be the second one. But this will be the first one about a mystery television show. So the first episode of The Mallorca Files aired on November 25th, 2019 on BBC One. I watched it on Brit Box through the subscription on Amazon. Stars Elen Rhys and Julian Looman. And there’s only one season out as I record this in fall of 2020.

Book Blurb

Here’s the blurb: Ambitious young police detective Miranda Blake and her laid-back German partner Max Winter look like the perfect team–if only they could see it.

That gives you some hints about the conflicts and the tropes of the story. So we will get more into that later. The first episode is called “Honor Amongst Thieves.” And I love that “amongst” instead of “among,” very British.

I’ll talk mostly about this episode without any spoilers. So that will limit what we can talk about. But that’s one of our main goals here, is to provide information and ideas and entertainment that you might be interested in. And because they’re all mysteries, I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. So I’ll talk about it in a very general way and we will hit on the main themes and tropes, but we won’t go into any specific details.

So with that said, the episode opens with Detective Miranda Blake in a car with a man and she’s escorting him back to the UK. He was involved in armed robbery, fraud, possible murder. He’s going back to the UK where he will testify against his gang. Something happens and that’s all I can say. It’s the inciting incident that kicks off this story as well as the entire series that prevents that from happening. So she’s not able to escort this man, Niall Taylor, back. And the mystery in the episode revolves around this criminal Niall Taylor and his gang.

Story Behind the Story

So for the Story Behind the Story and some fun facts. According to Wikipedia, the series broadcast on BBC One was created by Dan Sefton and is a co-production between Cosmopolitan Pictures, Clerkenwell Films, BritBox US and Canada, ZDFneo and France 2. So this series has quite the international cosmopolitan flavor. It’s a mix of cultures and personalities and often a clash of cultures and personalities.

So you’ve got the British cop, and as she’s working to solve this mystery; she meets this German expat who lives in Mallorca and he works for the police there. So she’s paired with him as they investigate this mystery. So you’ve got the British and the German working together. So you’ve got the differences of nationality, and then you’ve got the differences in the setting. You’ve got the expat community, the international community that lives in Mallorca and the natives that live in Mallorca that are from there.

I was doing some reading up on this to figure out when it was made and who produced it. It was sort of an unusual production in that all 10 episodes were ordered at once, and apparently they wrote all 10 episodes. I think normally television shows will do a pilot or one or two episodes, and then if it does well, then more will be ordered. So this one was a little bit different, and the series does have a pretty cohesive feel to it. It is filmed in Mallorca, an island off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean, and it is just beautiful.

Themes and Tropes

So themes I’m not going to get into the themes in incredible detail. I’m just going to mention, two, that I see in the first episode that I think will carry throughout the season and probably the series.

So the first one is Trust. Miranda has to trust Max. Trust is something that is difficult for her; she much rather do it on her own. So it’s about trust and about working with a partner. And then there’s also the theme of Fitting In. Miranda doesn’t really fit in there, and she would not choose to go there.

On to my favorite section on tropes. One of the first tropes that is apparently obvious. Even if you just look at the image, the promotional image is that this is a Destination Cop Show. It’s like Death in Paradise, Miami Vice, Burn Notice, etc.. Any of these shows that the setting plays a huge part in the story is similar to this show. So if you enjoy these kind of escape to this beautiful place type story, you’ll enjoy this. It’s set in just a gorgeous island, and it lets viewers escape vicariously, which is perfect for COVID times because we really can’t travel, but we can experience it through Max and Miranda, which is great. It’s no accident that these series, these types of shows usually air during the British winter.

Another trope that’s associated with cop shows is the Iconic Car. The detectives have to have something cool, unique and unusual, which really makes no sense because you want them to be stealthy and not stand out many times. But this is television, so therefore we have the iconic car. So you’ve got like the Ferrari in Miami Vice; you’ve got the Dodge Charger in Burn Notice; the Citroen from The Mentalist, and they give you a little bit of the personality of the characters. I could go on and on with a list, but I’ll stop there. So Max has a convertible BMW, and he drives around Palma and the island of Mallorca. And it gives us, it lets us see, you know, the beauty of the island. And then we get the fact, we get a little back story about Max and how he got the car from his father. And it sort of, it’s perfect for Max.

All right. The biggest trope we have is the Odd Couple trope. There’s so many ways that Max and Miranda are different. You’ve got their gender, their nationality, their personality, even their physical appearance. Max is tall and sturdy and has dark hair and Miranda is shorter and fair. So that’s a great visual for TV. But I want to dig into the contrast in their personalities.

Miranda is an introvert that’s stated the very first scene. She’s writing a book about how introverts should rule the world, but nobody listens to them. She’s an introvert. She’s super focused. She has a strong drive to get things done. She’s very persistent. She likes procedure, and she likes doing things the right way. She’s a bit of a workaholic, and she’s a loner. She likes to work alone.

Max, on the other hand, is extroverted, relaxed. He’s fun loving. He goes with his instincts. He doesn’t care too much about process. He loves life in Mallorca. And he’s a bit of a Casanova. There you go. You’ve got such opposites that you know, that when you put them together, it’s going to be very interesting.

The other thing that I noticed about this show is that when I was making this list, I thought, “Wow, Miranda just doesn’t sound very likable on the surface.” She’s focused, she’s driven, she’s into procedure and she’s a workaholic. That doesn’t sound very likable. It’s admirable, but not necessarily likable. But I do like her. And I was trying to figure out why. And I think it’s because as a viewer, we see her struggling. We see her frustration with being stifled in her job. And she does care passionately about what she’s doing and she wants to do it well. So those are all things that made me go, “Oh, she’s more than just, you know, this super focused individual.” She has passions and she has desires. But it’s very interesting that a lot of that comes out when she’s alone. You as the viewer see it, but her colleagues may not see it and may not understand her.

Another trope in the Mallorca Files is the Fish Out of Water trope. Miranda doesn’t want to be in paradise. She just doesn’t enjoy going to Mallorca. And it’s not a place she would choose to go. And that’s where a lot of the humor comes from because Max loves it there. It’s like a great place to be and he can’t understand why she wouldn’t want to be there.

Also, speaking of humor, there’s one of the funniest chase scenes I’ve seen in a while. It involves golf carts, sort of parodies, these typical car chase scenes that you find in cop shows and detective shows. So there is a lot of humor, and it grows out of most of it, out of the contrast between Miranda and Max and between Miranda and Mallorca. Lots of Ms in the series.

Another trope in this first episode is that They Must Dress Up and Go Undercover. This is always a fun trope because you get to see the characters looking their best. Turned out, you know, in suits and a fancy dress. Writers use this to showcase the differences in Max and Miranda’s approaches to gathering evidence as well as their approach to life. So it’s really funny. Max has this huge elaborate backstory that he’s just made up for Miranda. And Miranda doesn’t want to go in because she wants you know, she wants all the details and she wants it done the right way. But of course, that can’t do it that way because they’re on a deadline.

And then one other trope that I wanted to mention was the Police Chiefs. So both Max and Miranda have separate chiefs or, you know, bosses that they work for. And they are, the bosses themselves, are quite a contrast. Max’s boss is fiery and passionate, and Miranda’s boss is very Zen. She does yoga while she’s on a call with Miranda. And her peaceful, soothing tones come across in her voice. She’s very monotone and she’s very soothing. So I think it’s interesting that you have the contrast between Max and Miranda and their personalities and then the writers have given the main characters also conflict setups between them and their bosses. So their bosses are actually also completely opposite. So it’s heightened the tension by matching them with bosses that are their opposites as well.

All right. So wrapping up, they, of course, solve a case. I won’t tell you how or whodunit. It’s done in a way that sets up Miranda to stay in Mallorca, and she’s not thrilled with it. But it does set up the series, and you realize that Max and Miranda are going to be partners. And there are quite a few hints throughout the first episode even that there will be romantic tension between them. And I’m sure that as the series goes on, they will get to that “will they or won’t they” point. But for now, at the end of “Honor Amongst Thieves,” they are set up to work together and to be in Mallorca. And they have sort of a tentative working relationship which will be explored throughout the rest of the season.

Have you watched The Mallorca Files? If you have, I’d love to hear what you thought about it or I’d love to hear what your favorite destination crime show is. I hope this podcast has given you a mystery TV show to try. If you’ve enjoyed it, I hope you’ll tell a fellow mystery reader about it. Thanks for listening and I’ll talk to you next time.

Outtakes:

Is that this is a destination cop show. It’s like death imperatives. Quite a contrast, Max’s box. Bleh.