Il Commissioner Manara is an Italian TV series set in the Maremma (southern Tuscany), which centers on Luca Manara, an unorthodox and highly seductive, newly arrived police commissioner, played by Guido Caprino.

Commissioner Manara arrives on the scene of the supposed suicide. He questions a witness, and talks to the victim's doctor, and to the medical examiner, who turns out to be an attractive woman who has no problem with shyness.

Manara meets his new boss and from the outset there's tension. We learn that Manara was transferred to his new post because of an affair between Manara and the wife of his former boss.

Commissioner Manara meets up with Lara Rubino, his old classmate from the police academy. She's less than happy to see him and slaps him right across the face.

Rubino, the new inspector, can't stand being in the same room with Manara. And when he doesn't even remember why, she really gets angry. But then they get some interesting news from the morgue...

Manara arrives at his hotel, and the clerk is curt with him until she learns he's the new commissioner. Manara and the deceased are the topics discussed by Rubino and her aunt.

From the gardener, Michele, we learn that the dead professor was not well liked. Rubino lets us know about her soured friendship with Manara at the police academy.

The autopsy shows that the victim couldn't have pulled the trigger, but Manara's boss insists on suicide. Manara and his team have other ideas.

Lara Rubino visits Lenni's villa and finds that his wife has broken in. Manara uses his considerable charm on a vet.

Manara visits the dead professor's daughter and it becomes ever clearer to Manara that the mother's alibi won't hold.

It turns out Lenni's will contains some surprises. Someone important is excluded completely and another person, quite unexpectedly, is included. Meanwhile, Caterina is puzzled by Doctor Masini's behaviour the day of Lenni's death.

Commisioner Manara and Lara continue their investigation, interviewing Dr. Di Censi, whose answers enable them to make an important connection with a note they'd found of the late Professor Lenni's. They go to Dr. Masini's office and find him just about to leave.

Dr. Masini confesses to having falsified his diploma in order to practice medicine, but reveals some surprises about the death of Lenni.

The Lenni case will be filed as consenting manslaughter, in view of the fact that he was coerced. Commissioner Manara asks again about being transferred but doesn't get very far.

We begin a new episode of Commissioner Manara. Lara is bedridden with a fever, and there is a missing person reported at the station. And if that weren't enough, someone was found dead by the side of the road.

A man found dead in the middle of the road, the cyclist who found him, and Commissioner Manara who as usual, is the center of attention.

Manara and his team are still looking for the hit-and-run driver who killed the tramp, and investigating the vineyard owner's disappearance. Lara gives Manara a clue as to why she's still angry with him.

While the countess points out where she found the cartridge shell, Manara and his squad find blood spatters on the floor of the cellar.

The Commissioner and Lara question Count Lapo's oenologist, one of the last people to have seen the Count.

Lara's aunt visits Malvina, bringing along her snooping dog. Together they find a ripped up business card in a wastebasket.

"We have a missing Count, a cellar full of blood, a mysterious Frenchman..." is how Commissioner Manara sums up the investigation to this point.

Cioni, the Count's neighbor and rival vintner, is interrogated by Manara and Lara. Without a warrant, there's only so far they can go.

Ferocious bull terriers force Manara and Rubino into a refrigerated meat truck.

While they're huddled together in the meat truck, Commissioner Manara tries to wheedle out of Lara the reason she's still angry at him from police academy days.

Charles Ferrant's body has been discovered by a fisherman. The Count is still missing, and Lara's aunt wants a word with Malvina, the Count's housekeeper.

Manara and Lara go over the points of the case. Lara suggests getting a warrant for Cioni, the Count's difficult neighbor.

Manara obtains a warrant and brings Cioni in for questioning. Cioni continues to deny any meeting with the Count. This become untenable when he's asked to consider that his fingerprints are on a glass in the Count's cellar.

While Cioni is questioned by Manara, Count Lapo returns on the scene. Unfortunately, his memory of what happened is very imperfect.

Cione is allowed to go home after Lapo admits to the shooting. However, some aspects of the investigation, like the mysterious blood stain in the cellar, still don't square.

Malvina owns up to her actions regarding Charles Ferrant and his threats.

If Manara thinks his boss is going to pat him on the back for having solved the case, he's mistaken. Not all is lost, however, for Malvina and the Count. With Lara, though, things don't quite go the way he'd hoped.

Commissario Manara is back, this time in a hotel room with leaky water pipes. But he's off to solve another murder case which seems to have something to do with music.

As soon as Ginevra arrives at the scene of the crime, she seems to feel ill. It also seems that Poggiali had been quite a ladies' man.

Commissioner Manara goes to the victim's house with Inspector Rubino, and meanwhile two police officers summon the band leader for questioning.

The band members are interrogated one by one at police headquarters.

The murder weapon has been identified by Inspector Rubino, and she has a nifty program to discover the password for the victim's handheld organizer, found at his house.

Lara's aunt Caterina goes to police headquarters to show Commissioner Manara a painting she found at a flea market, that could help with the investigation.

Manara questions the woman who painted the picture of Lorenzo and gets some further information from the notary's wife, regarding the boat builder.

The rehearsal for Lorenzo's funeral gets interrupted by Manara and Toscani who want to question Scudieri, the bass drum player. Meanwhile, Lara is trying not to explode with anger about Manara's handling of Ginevra Rosmini.

Sardi wants to comfort Toscani after he'd been punched in the face by the bass drum player. Manara wonders where people go in the evening, and Lara, after seeing the Commissioner in a car talking to Ginevra, goes home and confides in her Aunt about why she can't stand him.

Lara decides to question the medical examiner Ginevra, the last person to have seen the victim alive. Manara had a different idea about how to handle his witness.

With the information given by Ginevra, Luca and Lara go to the pharmacy to find out about recent sales of two drugs. When combined, the drugs are fatally poisonous. That same day the funeral takes place and the whole town is there. Manara takes advantage of this to look for new suspects.

An important new element in the investigation comes into play: some romantic letters found at the victim's house. Lara is comparing the handwriting to that of the note found next to his dead body.

Commissioner Manara and Inspector Rubino figure out who wrote the love letters and Lara conducts the appropriate interrogation.

In the presence of Ginevra who has come to thank both Lara and Manara for saving her reputation, they look once again at the painting of Lorenzo. A detail gives them the key to finding the murderer!

At this point the murderer is easily discovered and just as easily confesses. The evening of the murder gets revisited and all previous doubts vanish. But what's to become of the killer?

Although Commissario Manara's has resolved the case, his unorthodox methods are unacceptable to his superior, who threatens to have him transferred to the hinterlands of Sardinia.

In the end, Lara decides that Luca Manara isn't such a bad commissioner after all. She might even tell him that to his face... sooner or later.

Commissioner Manara is back with a new episode, which opens, not only with the usual murder, this time in a library, but also with a care package from Manara's mother, full of Sicilian specialties such as melanzane sottolio or sott'olio, (eggplant in oil). Sottolio is a traditional and well-loved way of preserving many foods, and can be distinguished from sottaceto (in vinegar), or in salamoia (in water and salt). Of course, everyone at headquarters is more interested in the Sicilian pastries!

Murder in the library. The curator of the town library was found dead by his secretary, and the assistant librarian hasn't shown up for work. Some valuable correspondence is missing, and there are some suspicious shoe prints on the floor. Manara and his team have gotten busy trying to figure it all out.

Manara goes to see the mother of Fazi's missing assistant, Marcuccio. It turns out he's "different" but with a phenomenal capacity for numbers. He's also a big guy, with big feet! Meanwhile, Lara and Luca are called to their boss's office. He wants results, fast, and so he's called in an expert in Cultural Assets from Rome to work alongside them.

The arrival of Giulia Chiamparini, the expert in Cultural Heritage, makes quite a hit at headquarters!

Lara and Giulia have some catching up to do, but how candid are they being with each other? Do we detect a bit of jealousy? Meanwhile Commissioner Manara has to deal with both Romei, the chicken guy, and his buxom, brassy wife, who keeps trying to catch Luca's eye.

The police intercept a phone call between Marcuccio and his mother, but it's too short to trace. Marcuccio recites the first line of Leopardi's most famous poem, "L'infinito" [The Infinite] to his mother. Giulia spends the night at Lara's and they watch the movie of the famous party. The next day Lara has some interesting news for Manara, from both Giulia and from her aunt!

Amidst murder and insomnia, Manara is attempting to eat his croissant during the autopsy in the morgue. And Ginevra... well, she has an infallible solution to help him get back to normal.

Lara and Luca go to interrogate a suspect whose only alibi for the night of the murder depends on Marcuccio, who is still missing. Meanwhile, Giulia intercepts a cryptic phone call.

Marcuccio has gotten hungry, and so he's gone to see the only person he could trust, Lara's zia Caterina. But by the time anyone could come to help her, he'd disappeared again, leaving his jacket behind. Lara's dog, Brigadiere, gets a good whiff and goes off with Luca to look for Marcuccio. A storm has come up, making things more difficult.

After a fruitless search in the rain, Luca and Brigadiere head home, but all of a sudden the dog starts sniffing around a hunter's shack, and sure enough, Luca discovers Marcuccio hiding inside, but the big man is not talking. And if that weren't enough, Manara's boss continues to put pressure on him and his team to bring in the perpetrator.

Luca and Giulia are finally alone, in a car, at night, in a typical spot for lovers. Hmm...

In the eyes of Manara's boss, Giulia is the heroine, having recovered the letters, and Manara is a failure for having let the murderer escape from under his nose. Now Giulia's work is finished and she's just about ready to go back to Rome, but she still has some unfinished business... business she doesn't want Lara's help with.

Back at her aunt's house, Lara deals with Giulia when she comes back, and hashes things over with her aunt in the morning. Meanwhile Manara is once again moving his desk around, while discussing both the case and Giulia Chiamparani with Toscani, who's curious as to why Giulia disappeared so quickly.

Marcuccio is in the hospital, and as planned, zia Caterina goes to see him. But all he will come out with are lines from one of Leopardi's poems. Meanwhile Romei is anxious to have the letters he considers his own, but things aren't so simple.

Toscani isn't thrilled with organizing the birthday party for the guy who "stole" his job, and is complaining to his wife. She steers the conversation around to their love life. The party gets cut short because Luca has a flash of genius, and figures out the case based on what Toscani says in his toast. He leaves for the hospital with two detectives and barely has time to acknowledge Lara when she walks in late to the party.

Manara has it all figured out, and questions his suspect, who reconstructs the murder for him. Toscani, on the other hand, has ended up in the hospital, and becomes a hero in the eyes of the Questore, who never quite seems to appreciate Manara's efforts, and sees only his faults.

Everyone is happy that Marcuccio ended up safely at Caterina's house, and he's now ready to go home to his mother. But what about Luca's birthday? What about Lara? Tune in for the final part of this episode.

We're at the beginning of a new episode, featuring a strange catch by some fishermen, and the disappearance of a precious jewel from the local Etruscan museum.

Manara starts investigating the unusual catch, and later he and Lara try to talk. But there's also the museum theft to take care of.

Inspectors Rubino and Sardi go to the Etruscan museum to investigate the theft of the Green Ray. They have a few moments for girl talk and ice cream.

The cadaver on the autopsy table doesn't stop Ginevra from wanting to give the commissioner more than just a report. Lara and Serena are at the docks where they see someone they're not supposed to see, and meet someone from Lara's past.

The investigation proceeds, Lara receives some red roses at work, to the consternation of Manara, and Aunt Caterina does her part as well.

New suspects and witnesses start turning up in one of the cases being investigated, thanks to Lara's aunt.

In both cases under investigation, it's been discovered that witnesses have been withholding information from the police.

Lara and Luca go to the boat to verify Ms. Brumelt's change of alibi, and they come across Massimo who works there. You can easily imagine Manara's expression... but he then gets a call about some rotten fish in a van, and a surprise.

Luca and Lara manage to get a boat from Massimo to chase down the fishing boat they want a paint sample from. But of course things are never so simple. Luca loves the danger, and feels like Steve McQueen, but Lara is scared out of her wits, and sparks fly between them.

Luca and Lara get saved by none other than Massimo, with the help of Nicasto and his boat. Later however, at headquarters, they find out that Nicasto is not what he seems! There's more investigating to do.

Sardi and Rubino find some interesting and relevant records on Nicasto. Lara tries to make sense of it all, and her aunt, unwittingly gives her an important tip. And where is Luca all this time???

Lara is all excited about something she found out, but when she goes looking for Luca, she gets an unexpected and unpleasant surprise. Catching herself, she "gets over it" and the two of them start in on a late night search. All they need is a warrant.

Lara and Luca try to follow protocol, but when that doesn't work, they barge ahead with their investigation, and get into an extremely dangerous situation. Fortunately for everyone, Lara doesn't lose her cool...

This episode comes to a close with a pizza party at sunset among Lara's colleagues. Certain people are able to see a beautiful green ray in that sunset, making the famous legend come true.

Manara is all excited about going home to Catania for a week of vacation, but do we really believe that he'll be allowed to leave?

Manara isn't happy about his boss's decision, but there's no time to sit and complain. If he can't take time off, no one can (and that includes Lara who's on a boat with Massimo)!

The police find the missing jeep and filmmaker, but what initially looks like an accident has some strange aspects about it.

Zia Caterina might have found herself a gardener/handyman, and Luca and Lara locate the reels of film left by the film maker.

Luca and Lara go to question the tanner. He's not as forthcoming as they would have liked, but Luca, true to his nature, breaks the rules once again.

There are irregularities in this case, and as both Manara and Rubino know, that's where you look!

At police headquarters, a suspect gets questioned, but Manara isn't totally convinced. When conversation between Luca and Lara starts getting personal, Toscani walks in...

It may not come as a surprise that Toscani, after hours of ruining his eyes looking at the footage, does indeed find something strange. Unwittingly, and indirectly, he also saves the life of the Cine Service owner.

So much excitement in just a few moments! Lara and Luca let their true feelings get the better of them, and...

After the fire everyone gathers in the commissioner's office, to discuss the situation. When Lara and Luca get left alone, they try to sort out what happened...

Luca and Lara question the tanner, and find out some interesting facts about Calcaterra, the gardener, but are no closer to solving the crime. The victim's wife shares her worries with Luca, and Lara and her aunt hear some strange noises in the garden.

We're getting very close to solving the case! The night is a long one for Lara and Luca, what with questioning Calcaterra and going on a search for evidence.

The truth comes out, and, even though Sianelli is dead, he's able to say something important through pictures.

At the beach party there's a chain reaction (as the title of this episode implies), but this time no dead bodies are involved.

Here we go with a new episode! Lara's enjoying some time off with Massimo, but do we really think it can last? Because, naturalmente, there's a new case to solve.

Personal relations between Luca and Lara may be tenuous, but where work is concerned, they're a great team.

Luca and Lara find Sally at the supermarket and question her. Ginevra explains the results of the autopsy to Luca, but there's still plenty of mystery surrounding this case.

There's a meeting to report new information on the case, and Luca asks a very unusual favor of Lara. You won't want to miss the scene.

Toscani obtains some precious information, but as usual, he's not so quick on the draw to know how important it is. His wife, Sardi, has gotten handy with the software to crack the cell phone. Lara and Luca will be going to two different and unusual places of entertainment in the evening: Luca to a country music motorcycle joint, and Lara to the circus.

Luca, posing as a John Wayne type, goes to the country music bar, and meets up, quite unexpectedly, with someone he had just met the day before.

Let the show begin! We're at the circus, and the ringmaster looks familiar to one of the women in the audience. Meanwhile, Manara has un unexpected encounter as he leaves the nightspot.

A pleasant evening at the circus gets interrupted when Lara gets a phone call and rushes off to the hospital.

Lara keeps her promise to the doctor, but in the process falls victim to some gossip among her colleagues at headquarters.

Melanie, the pretty bartender comes to headquarters with information. She flirts unabashedly with Manara. Lara and her aunt recount the circus show for Manara and a possibly very important detail crops up by chance.

Rubino and Sardi go to visit Marianna at the circus grounds, and Manara has an unpleasant encounter with the motorcyclist's father.

There's lots going on in this puntata (episode). Luca is in trouble (again) with his boss, but sidesteps him because they're getting closer and closer to solving the case. Seeing Lara walk into the Tuxedo "incognito" has quite an effect on everyone, from bikers to colleagues, to boyfriends!

The scene is set at the Tuxedo, but no one's ready for the one person to show up who could ruin everything.

For one reason or another, nobody gets much sleep after the evening at the Tuxedo, but Manara is in his boss's office bright and early to report in person.

Luca interrogates Stefano, and has Sally come in as well. Who's telling the truth, and who's hiding something?

Lara's aunt shows up at headquarters with some bizarre news, and also makes some very simple but crucial observations about the famous wedding dress. Luca and Lara leap into action!

The case gets solved, but not exactly in the way we expect it to. Lara is finally free to take her vacation days!

Lara is finally on the boat with Massimo, but is she really happy to be there? Her indifference is working its magic on Luca, whereas poor Ginevra doesn't even know the meaning of fare l'indifferente (playing hard to get). And thus concludes this episode!

Here we are at the beginning of a new episode. Lara has been on the boat with Massimo, but now she's got to get right back to work, because someone seems to have fallen off a horse!

A buttero is an Italian working cowboy from the Maremma part of Tuscany. And one was just found—morto (dead)!

Things don't add up regarding the buttero, and Brigadiere, Lara's aunt's dog, has gone missing.

Lara is in quite a quandary about the roses. She's got some tough decisions to make! Meanwhile Toscani and Manara get up to speed on the investigation.

Lara confesses her doubts about Massimo to Sardi, while Manara, who is in a foul mood, gives some advice to his commissioner friend about how to behave with Ginevra on their upcoming date.

Massimo doesn't give up! Lara's at a loss for words, but then Luca and Lara go off to question a chronic complaint filer.

Belleggia is a tough nut to crack in the interrogation room, and Toscani has a rough time. As usual, Caterina is friendly with people involved in the murder, this time making friends with the widow of the victim.

Lara finally makes a decision and acts on it. That doesn't make it any easier, though.

Lara is having trouble dealing with her feelings, but her aunt distracts her with some information concerning the deceased.

Lara and Luca bring in a suspect, but something in his expression makes them wonder about his guilt. Lara's aunt keeps looking for Brigadiere.

The red soil found in Contini's clothes is looking more and more important. Sergio ends up being helpful to the investigation.

The dinner for four is having trouble getting off the ground, and not everyone is thrilled with the situation.

Lara and Luca are left on their own at the trattoria. They overdo it a bit with the wine, and... The next day, Lara's aunt has to help out once again.

For some strange reason, Luca isn't so eager to sign the forms Sergio procures for him. Lara's aunt arrives with some important news.

Everything concerning the case becomes clear. There are no happy faces.

Episode 8 comes to a close as Sergio shows up with all the paperwork ready for the job "swap." All Luca has to do is sign!

Here we go with an exciting new episode! There are both joys and sorrows in this first segment.

The case has just begun and we've already found the murderer. Too easy!

Lara and Luca are trying to get more information about Bianciardi and about the girl who suffers from memory loss. On a romantic level, Lara isn't making things easy for Luca! It is interesting to notice that in Italian, the terms "Dottore" (abbr. Dott.) and Dottoressa (abbr. Dott.ssa) can also be used for people who have undergraduate degrees or no degree at all. They are used as a formal and obsequious title. It is difficult to find an equivalent in English and many people simplify the title by using Ms./Mrs./Miss. or using no term at all.

Federica remembers some "insignificant" details, and Lara discovers a highly significant detail.

Luca, as usual, has a run-in with his boss about the case, and then has a run-in with the bank director whose answers are anything but helpful.

Some left-handed patients have been found, and the questioning begins.

*To understand captions 40 and 41 more fully, see this vocabulary insight.

A left-handed suspect turns up, and has a bad temper to boot. Luca offers Lara a ride home on his motorcycle...

Finally there's a bit of action.

The "murderer" comes in for questioning, and Manara asks him some questions point-blank. Meanwhile Lara's aunt goes to the bank for a new ATM card (called Bancomat in Italian), and learns something interesting pertinent to the case.

Luca finally gets to talk to Ridolfi, but the bank director is quite adept at dodging questions. Lara's aunt has been a bit more successful in getting information.

Progress is being made on all fronts!

Dreams can become nightmares when we go too far.

Manara has an interesting conversation with his boss, another, a bit embarrassing, with his colleagues, and still another (even more embarrassing) with Lara, which brings us to the end of this episode.

And we're off and running with a new episode. This time Manara's sister shows up with a nickname for him he'd rather forget...

A very strangely arranged dead body has been found, and meanwhile Luca's sister, Teresa, has been busy in Luca's office. And did anyone remember Barbagalli's scooter? Hm.

Putting the victim's picture in the newspaper has borne fruit. We start matching faces with names.

Lara and Luca go to question an old woman who knew the victim. Meanwhile, Teresa is getting to know Lara and her aunt.

Everyone is trying to figure out how Giada Mercuri ended up on an air mattress in the swamp. Meanwhile, at the cemetery, new strange things are happening!

Luca's sister has found an apartment for him. Meanwhile, zia Caterina goes to see the old lady.

Once again Caterina sees something that starts a chain reaction of questioning down at police headquarters.

Things are certainly changing for Luca, with a new house and leaving Ada's hotel. And something is going on with Rosmini, too. There's also new information about the coffin for two.

Lara is busy, so Luca takes Quattroni along with him to the crime scene in order to imagine what might have happened there. Lara's aunt goes to the book fair.

The truth comes out, and many of the mysteries are revealed.

The case has been solved. But emotions are running strong for the women in Luca's life. Each has her own joys or sorrows to come to terms with.

We're at the end of an episode, the case has been solved, but things don't get tied up quite as neatly as everyone hoped.

Everyone is in shock after the big surprise. Lara's heart is broken, and Luca is pretty desperate, too. Still, they are professionals, and someone has died in a fire, so like it or not, they are thrown together.

There's lots of tension between Luca and Lara, plus Luca can't quite believe he is going to be a father.

Lara and Luca question the people close to Spada, but they are no closer to having a lead. And they don't get much closer to talking over their personal troubles, either.

Talk about frustrating! Why does Luca keep putting his foot in his mouth? And this time it's a whopper!

Lara's zia Caterina goes to the Spada's mineral water plant, taking Brigadiere with her.

We're all curious to see what Ginevra and Lara have to say to each other when they meet. Meanwhile, Marco Rovetti is nowhere to be found.

Now you get to see what an Ape actually is. Ape actually means "bee," and this Ape is a tiny three-wheeled, low-horsepowered mini-pickup truck, very popular in agricultural environments throughout Italy, made by Piaggio. You don't need the same license as for driving a car because it doesn't go very fast at all. But the vehicle works hard and is usually as busy as a bee.