“A Very Secret Service” (French: Au service de la France) is a French comedy-drama series, created by Jean-François Halin, produced by Gilles de Verdière."(Wikipedia.)
“In 1960, young André Merlaux eagerly accepts a cryptic summons to take a position as a trainee officer with the French Secret Services (based on the Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage). He will be watched over by the operations director Moïse, and reluctantly mentored by senior colleagues Moulinier (in charge of African affairs), Jacquard (Algeria), and Calot (Eastern Bloc). It is the height of the Cold War and the position of France as a Great Power is in crisis, faced with independence challenges from the African colonies, above all the fight over the independence of Algeria. French society is changing at home as well, with a rising counterculture exemplified by growing feminism and New Wave cinema.”
What that doesn’t tell you is that this quirky show is awesome and hilarious. It’s sort of a “Mad Men” meets “Get Smart,” although more subtle than either. It’s more comedy than drama, and is PG except for the not-uncommon French casualness about sex and nudity (nothing explicit, though.) In French with subtitles, it does help to know the language a little, as there are puns that don’t translate all that well to English. But even as such, every episode has had both my wife and I in stitches.
Anyone else giving this charming French TV show a try?
I tried to watch it for a brief time but the French soundtrack with subtitles was off-putting to me. It sounded like I would have liked it from the description, but I go to movies to watch not read (yeah, I am not really an art film kind of guy.) Similarly I am sure I would enjoy the “IP Man” series of movies, also, but the soundtracks is in chinese with subtitles.
I loved it - kind of like a cross between Mad Men and Archer.
I can speak basic French and am fine with subtitles so had no trouble following it or enjoying it; it’s very well done even if the humour drops off a bit and it starts getting A Bit Serious in the last couple of episodes, I thought.
To be clear, you can know basically zero French and still really enjoy this. And as Martini Enfield says, even when it does get “A Bit Serious” (which it does, but only a bit), the amusing antics of Calot, Jacquard, and Moulinier keep everything essentially light.
I hope to see more from Miss Clayborn (Joséphine de La Baume) in future episodes. In one episode, it seemed liked they were setting her up to be Moïse’s assistant…but this was not to be. Not yet!
I just watched the first episode, based on your recommendation, and it was pretty good (although I totally missed any puns or word play).
What I thought was especially (and I assume unintentionally) funny was that the agency’s workplace looked amazing like the “new, open-concept” floor plan that my department unveiled just before I retired, complete with stairway to the mezzanine glass-walled meeting room. Everything old is new again.
I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with his suit exactly, but by comparing him with the other agents it seems his clothes didn’t look very French.
I watched an episode a while back and added it to my Netflix playlist to continue later. Seems entertaining, though my French education consists of two semesters at the high school level twenty years ago.
His suit wasn’t tailored like that of the other agents; it was an “off-the-shelf” affair from a department store or something equally gauche.
Part of the running joke in the series is the entitlement of the agents and how they’re trying to rort their expenses for everything from sexy lingerie to tailored suits to child support to travel they have no intention of taking but like to have the option for just in case they do want to go to Vichy for some reason.
Also, of critical importance to La France is the procurement and delivery of proper receipts. Which, of course, must then be stamped! Tamponné! Double tamponné!
Double Tamponné is a key component of Code Taupe, though. Unless you are Le Taupe, of course. Perhaps you are? Only Le Taupe would doubt the efficacy of Double Tamponné!
I think my favorite scene is where they are discussing JFK with some American agents, and expressing concern about JFK’s inexperience with world issues. The Americans reply, that’s ok, we know his secret, and we’ll make sure he loses. He really likes women.
I’m very happy that I understand enough French to watch it without subtitles, because in my case having those in a different language is not helpful. Why the hell does Netflix offer so much of its material without the original subtitles is beyond me.
I watched it on French Netflix (I live in France), and here the only subtitles available are “original” French for the hard of hearing. I confess, even though my French is passable, without the subtitles I would have missed a great deal, certain characters speak with an impressive rapidity.
