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Alta Mar (High Seas) Final Season |
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The insertion of two British spies on a ship where everyone else is
Spanish simply does not work. The role of Fabio is stilted and that is
not on actor Marco Pigossi and the responsibility is entirely with the
writers. It is obvious that Mr. Pigossi if given the opportunity had
much more to bring to the role of Fabio. The actor who intrigues us is
Eduardo Blanco as Capitan Santiago Aguirre. No matter how misguided the
writing is for season three Aguirre brings authenticity to his role, as
he did in seasons one and two. Ignacio Montes as Dimas Gómez and Begoña
Vargas, as Veronica de Garciá who provided a particularly good comedic
and romantic subplot during season one and two see their roles change
for the final season. The romantic tension has almost disappeared as a
subplot. The character of Dimas is almost nonexistent, but the role of
Veronica has been elevated and that is all we will say about that, so we
do not spoil this for you. Vargas has appeared in the television series
Boca Norte and A Different View and she is an exceptionally good actress
that we would like to see more and in a more substantial role. Montes,
while still a young actor (28) is a veteran of television series and he
is a physical actor who through his body language, facial expressions
and tone of voice brings a character to life, without having to be
overly demonstrative.
For those of you not familiar with the Alta Mar series, in brief
a brother and sister inherit a Spanish shipping line (although in
seasons one and two we were under the impression it was one ship) from
their father. The time is the late 1940s, following the Second World
War. Eva Villanueva is a writer who in American terms is very much like
an adult version of Nancy Drew. Is she drawn into situations of intrigue
or can she just not prevent her curiosity from luring her into these
mysteries? She has been from the onset of the series its most treasured
asset.
The biggest flaw with season three of Alta Mar is the script,
which is totally out of character for creators Ramon Campos and Gemma R.
Neira. We cannot comment on the writing of Sara Alquézar, because we are
not familiar enough with her work, although she is a well-known
television writer in Spain. Since
we do not know the timelines associated with the filming of these six
episodes, we do not know if the possibility of shutting down the set due
to COVID-19 already loomed as a possibility and if the writing and the
shooting itself was hurried. Certainly the confusion that arose with
Bambuu Producciones issuing a statement earlier in the year that there
would be a season four and then Netflix subsequently issuing a
conflicting press release that season would be the final season for Alta
Mar could have impacted the way these episodes rolled out.
The beauty of seasons one and two was that they played like a good movie
that you only got to watch in segments. It was lavish, characters were
well developed, and the plot was developed carefully and naturally. The
new characters to whom we were introduced this year we still know very
little about and their roles thrust major characters and middling
characters from previous seasons into the background, denying us of the
opportunity to enjoy the brilliant acting of Azorin and Rodriquez and
much of the time leaving Baquero to carry the show with another
scintillating performance, but leaving us wondering, just who is she
playing opposite in Alta Mar? Is there a leading man? From our vantage
point we would have to say no. The character of Eva is even denied the
natural closeness with her sister Carolina that was so evident in
previous seasons.
This season of Alta Mar seems so out of character for Bambuu
Producciones that we are going to suggest, although we are not privy to
any inside information, that the shortcomings for this season lay with
Netflix.
Although, the rumored to be 29,000 square foot set is the same one used
for the former two seasons, the sense of lavishness seems somehow to be
missing this time around. In
previous episodes, despite the danger, the intrigue, and the
unpredictability of the plot you wanted to be on that ship. This season
the surroundings seemed to be very much a ho hum experience.
The one thing we will say is the suspense element is once again very
much in play, but even in the final episode that seems to be very
rushed.
These actors, all of them are very good at their craft and most of them
were not given substantial enough roles in season three to do them
justice or to satisfy the viewer. Our advice to Bambuu Producciones, go
back to seasons one and two and find out what worked so well in those
episodes and then create a two-hour movie. If Netflix is smart, they
will pick up the distribution rights and if they are not clued in enough
to listen to what their subscribers are looking for then someone else
will offer you a distribution agreement.
As a final note, this is a disturbing trend in Spain’s television and
streaming market for 2020, as earlier this year the wildly popular RTVE
television series (later streamed on Netflix), El Ministerio del Tiempo
came to abrupt end, while garnering good market share during its time
slot. This was also a series that had brilliant actors and actresses
most of whom will be forever endeared to the hearts of those who watched
the series.
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The
third season of Alta Mar (High Seas) the Bambuu Producciones
series streamed on Netflix fell short of seasons one and two, which had
made this late summer offering a much-anticipated event. Most of the
original characters were back, veteran actor Jose Sacristán as Pedro
Villanueva, Ivana Baquero, who once again is the best actress or actor
in this series in her role as Eva Villanueva and Carolina Villaneuva
played by Alejandra Onieva. The brother and sister act of Fernando
Fábregas and Natalia Fábregas, the former played by Eloy Azorin and the
later by Natalia Rodriquez are the owners of the shipping line, which
this time instead of departing way from Spain leaves port from Argentina
and is heading towards Mexico. Jon Kortajarena, a strikingly handsome
actor who plays Ivana Baquero’s romantic interest in seasons one and two
as Nicolás is almost a non-factor in season three and with only the
filmiest of reasons as to why he is relegated to another ship. We missed
that onscreen romantic chemistry and drama that Baquero and Kortajarena
create.