Line #68 Series/ElCaso


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/el_caso_pipofernandez.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''"Searching for the truth... as long as it provides a good headline."'']]
3	'''''El Caso. Crónica de sucesos''''' (''The Case. Incident Chronicle''), often referred to simply as '''''El Caso''''', is a Spanish television series created by Fernando Guillén Cuervo (who is also the main actor) and produced by Plano a Plano (the guys who also brought us ''El Príncipe'' and ''Series/AlliAbajo'') for Televisión Española. It started on March 2016, and finished in June of the same year as TVE decided against renewing it for a second season. In 2018, some of the characters were brought back for a SpinOff series to air on TVE's web platform Playz, which would focus mainly on Aparicio and Aníbal's post-El Caso career as TV reporters.
4
5	The series is set in the 1960s Spain, and its main characters are the editors of weekly newspaper El Caso (which actually existed in RealLife from 1952 to 1997, and was revived in April 2016 while the series was running), who aside from reporting, also investigate on their own the crimes they cover (needless to say, this gets them in trouble more than once with the [[UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco Francoist]] censorship and police). The main duo is the one formed by veteran editor (and former policeman) Jesús Expósito and newcomer Clara López, the rebellious daughter of Fernando López-Dóriga, the right hand of the Minister of Information (that is, the closest associate to the man in charge of the aforementioned censorship).
6
7	!!This series has examples of:
8	* AbusiveParents: American officer Stevens in the premiere.
9	* AffectionateNickname: Jesús calls Miguel Montenegro "Peluso".
10	* AgentMulder: Aníbal is firmly convinced that aliens do exist, and often tries to insert UFO sighting reports in the paper.
11	* AlliterativeName: '''M'''iguel '''M'''ontenegro, '''M'''argarita '''M'''oyano.
12	* AllTakeAndNoGive: Jesús and Rebeca's relationship has shades of this.
13	* ArmouredClosetGay: Since the Francoist regime condemned homosexuality, the only two gay characters on the show, Gerardo and Cabrera [[spoiler:(who are also lovers)]] have to hide it from everyone.
14	* AscendedExtra: Cabrera has very brief appearances on the first two episodes [[spoiler:(in which we learn that he's Gerardo's lover)]] and gains relevance in the show from episode 3, when López-Dóriga designates him as the censor of El Caso.
15	* BatmanGambit:
16	** The Episode 5 case is one by [[spoiler:López-Dóriga and Camacho]]. [[spoiler:They let the El Caso journalists discover the truth (the dead couple are a French Communist and his Cuban secretary) and publish it, only to seize the entire print run - to get the Americans to accept a commercial deal with the Spanish.]]
17	** On a smaller scale, Germán also pulls one off with his boxing match on Episode 6. "The Old Man" had paid him to [[ThrowingTheFight throw the fight]] against Nuño, so he spreads the word of the fix and then, when everyone starts betting for Nuño as Germán expected, he uses the money he had been paid to bet for himself, and with the gains, return to "the Old Man" the money and give some to Nuño so that he can leave the city for a while, since he feels things are getting dangerous for him.
18	* BedlamHouse: The San José mental asylum from episode 2, where strange clinical trials are conducted.
19	* BerserkButton: When Jesús and Clara first meet him at the San José asylum, Juan Toledo seems a calm man. However, while Camacho is interrogating him, a pianist starts playing Beethoven's ''Für Elise'' and he loses his cool. [[spoiler:It's the music that was playing when his mother was raped in front of him as a child.]]
20	* BigBad: "The Rosary Killer", who murdered Jesús' girlfriend twenty years ago in one of the crimes for which Pepe Garcés was wrongfully imprisoned. Jesús is still determined to uncover his identity.
21	* CastingGag:
22	** Fernando Cayo playing the boss of El Caso very shortly after appearing on ''Series/ElMinisterioDelTiempo'' playing [[UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte a different kind of boss]].
23	** Antonio Garrido playing a DirtyCop after having been the Spanish counterpart of [[Series/LifeOnMars2006 Gene Hunt]].
24	* CatchPhrase: Rodrigo's way to tell everyone to get back to work:
25	-->'''Rodrigo:''' Those typewriters, I don't hear them!
26	* ChildProdigy: Perico González, the disappeared young painter from episode 3.
27	%%* CigarChomper: Jesús.
28	* CommutingOnABus: Gerardo, combined with NewJobAsThePlotDemands. He announces on episode 2 that he will be sent shortly to the Spanish Embassy in Morocco, then on episode 5 he returns as he has been reassigned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Then disappears again in episode 11... and the next thing we hear of him is he [[BusCrash dies in the train accident]] from episode 13.
29	%%* TheCoroner: Rebeca Martín.
30	* CowboyCop: It's implied that Jesús was this when he was a policeman.
31	* CrowdedCastShot: In the first episode, when most of the editors go to the same bar.
32	* DiplomaticImpunity: The American air base in the first episode is American territory, so Spanish LE need not apply. Not that LE is eager to investigate what the Americans do when they are out of the base anyway.
33	* DirtyCop: Toño Camacho, usually all too ready to force a confession out of a suspect by any means necessary.
34	* DistinguishedGentlemansPipe: [[GenderInvertedTrope Gender-Inverted]] with Margarita. She's the only person in the entire series seen smoking from a pipe (in a show set in UsefulNotes/TheSixties in which EverybodySmokes), and also happens to be the most experienced journalist in the El Caso office.
35	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Amelia]], the asylum patient from episode 2. [[spoiler:As a side effect of her [[TestedOnHumans MKULTRA treatment]], she had a mental episode and thought she was being chased.]]
36	* EnemyMine: On episode 9, Jesús and Camacho finally agree to join forces to catch The Rosary Killer once and for all.
37	* TheFaceless: Though "The Rosary Killer" doesn't cover his face, it doesn't appear on screen. He is identified by a tattoo of the Virgin Mary on his forearm.
38	* FanDisservice: The flashback from episode 1 that shows the victim, [[spoiler:Nati]], stripping down for [[spoiler:Stevens]] right before he rapes and kills her.
39	* {{Foreshadowing}}: A [[FridgeLogic rather crude]] one when the El Caso team meets Clara's husband. One journalist claims that he is too clean, another that he walks "like he got a stick up his ass"...
40	* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:Juan Toledo's]] motive to kill Jacinto Albiol and [[spoiler:the other fine arts professor]]. He saw both of them rape his mother when he was a child.
41	* {{Gayngst}}: Gerardo is ashamed of his homosexuality and believes in a "cure" for it. Justified since the series is set in Francoist Spain.
42	* GoodCopBadCop: Montenegro, as the NiceGuy in the police force, is the Good Cop to Camacho's Bad Cop.
43	* HeterosexualLifePartners: Jesús with Rodrigo and Montenegro. He used to be this with Camacho as well until their fallout.
44	* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: DoubleSubverted with [[GenkiGirl Reme]]. While Aníbal is clearly smitten with her, the El Caso staff already knows her and they doubt that she appreciates what he does for her. When he's left almost without resources, and is thus unable to maintain her, this piece of dialogue happens:
45	-->'''Aníbal''': Reme, you'll see, I won't be able to help you out anymore. I'm sorry but I... have my obligations, and...\
46	'''Reme''': ''(Appears overwhelmed and angry)'' Don't you even think about [[BaitAndSwitch apologizing]]! You've given me so much in exchange for nothing!
47	* {{Hypocrite}}: Cabrera tells Jesús not to "justify degenerates" when writing about a homosexual relationship [[spoiler:being in one himself]].
48	* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Eventually, Espósito realizes that he is doing a disservice to Rebeca, and eventually arranges things so that she will marry Camacho.
49	* IfItBleedsItLeads: Invoked by Rodrigo during an argument with Clara on episode 4, over her refusing to take photos of a burnt woman for the front page. [[spoiler:It later turns out she did take the pictures, but did not want them published.]]
50	* IntrepidReporter: Clara quickly becomes this after joining the staff of El Caso.
51	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Camacho genuinely loves Rebeca and becomes notably distraught when she's kidnapped.
52	* LastNameBasis: Captain Cabrera gets promoted to this from NoNameGiven on episode 3 after being designated as the new censor of El Caso.
53	** According to the show's website, his first name is Manuel, but it hasn't been mentioned in the series yet.
54	%%* LoveHurts
55	* LoveTriangle: There's one brewing among Jesús, Rebeca and Camacho.
56	%%* MyCountryRightOrWrong
57	%%* NaiveNewcomer: Clara.
58	* NeverSuicide:
59	** Jesús immediately suspects that Garcés did not kill himself after leaving prison. His suspicions are confirmed on the following episode.
60	** The official story that Kerry killed herself, [[spoiler:right after being arrested by police]] is an obvious coverup to everyone.
61	** The first official story about the train accident is that one of the train drivers committed suicide, but a little research proves that he is being used as a {{Scapegoat}}.
62	* NiceGuy: Montenegro, especially when paired with Camacho. He's probably the WhiteSheep in the police force. Gerardo qualifies as well.
63	* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: Episode 3 has an in-universe instance, when the ticket sales for Laura's latest theater play shoot up after what appear to be remains of a Satanic rite are found in one of her houses. [[spoiler:It later turns out [[InvokedTrope she had set up the whole thing herself for that purpose]].]]
64	%%* OminousLatinChanting: "The Rosary Killer"'s motiff.
65	* OneSteveLimit: Averted with Cabrera and Father Sanchís, both of whom are named Manuel. LastNameBasis is usually in effect with both of them, however.
66	* PornStache: Since this is UsefulNotes/TheSixties, several male characters sport this look, with Montenegro and Cabrera being the most prominent examples.
67	** Cabrera might in fact be a literal example, considering the [[HoYay circumstances of his first appearance]].
68	* RabidCop: Camacho is the most notable example. This is the Francoist police, after all.
69	* RippedFromTheHeadlines: Several of the cases shown in the series (in fact, all of them, according to WordOfGod) are inspired on actual murders the real-life El Caso reported about. Those real-life cases are from different decades, which causes the series, set in 1966, to often veer into VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory territory (more on that below).
70	* RunForTheBorder: [[spoiler:Stevens]] in Episode 1. The "border" in this case is the American military base, but it works the same because legally it is American territory.
71	* RunningGag: This exchange happens several times:
72	-->'''Rodrigo:''' I have the rotary presses stopped, and that costs me...!
73	-->'''Everyone else in the scene:''' A fortune!
74	-->'''Rodrigo:''' Exactly, [[PrecisionFStrike fuck]], a fortune.
75	* SerialKiller: "The Rosary Killer" has five victims attributed. [[spoiler:A tally that grew on episode 5 with the killing of María Belén, the newsstand girl.]]
76	* ShipTease: There seems to be something going on between Clara and Montenegro. [[spoiler:He kisses her on episode 4.]]
77	* ShoutOut:
78	** Blanca Apilánez's character, Margarita Moyano, is inspired on real-life El Caso journalist Margarita Landi.
79	** Also, there's one to the TBO comic magazine, and to some of the characters in it:
80	--->'''Clara:''' My favourite character was [[PerpetualPoverty Carpanta]].
81	--->'''Jesús:''' I thought you would be more into [[IntrepidReporter Reporter Tribulete]].
82	* SpinningPaper: Happens OncePerEpisode, when the new issue comes out at the end.
83	* SteppingOutForAQuickCupOfCoffee:
84	-->'''Montenegro:''' I can't give you Garcés's confession. But if someone searches for it in the files, there's nothing I can do about it.
85	* StraightGay:
86	** Clara's husband, Gerardo. He actually passes off as a straight man the first time we see him... until Clara surprises him cheating on her with a man at the end of the first episode.
87	** Cabrera. Other than Clara [[spoiler:(who saw him with Gerardo)]] no one in the El Caso office seems to even suspect he is homosexual.
88	* TestedOnHumans: TheReveal of Episode 2 is that [[spoiler:a doctor is experimenting techniques of the CIA's MKULTRA project on the asylum's patients.]]
89	* ThrowTheBookAtThem: Camacho's weapon of choice when interrogating suspects is a phone book.
90	* TroubledSympatheticBigot: Most characters are this. Justified as the show is set in the 1960s.
91	* TwoGirlsToATeam: Clara and Margarita are the sole female editors of El Caso.
92	* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: This is a crime show, not a documentary.
93	** The first episode "The Crime of the Water Tank" is loosely based on the unsolved "Crime of the Clay Jar", in which a dead prostitute was found inside a big clay jar in an abandoned farm near Torrejón Air Base. In the real case, which took place in 1969 rather than 1966, there was no American woman involved (the victim was identified as American at first because she pretended to be American when she worked) and the idea that she was killed in the base or by an American soldier is just one of several theories.
94	** The third episode, "The Case of the Boy Artist" is inspired by the 1987 disappearance of David Guerrero in Malaga, which is still unsolved.
95	* VomitDiscretionShot: In the first episode, when Clara suffers a fit of heaving the first time she sees the victim's body at the morgue.
96	* WeUsedToBeFriends: Jesús and Toño were friends when Jesús' girlfriend was killed. They both became cops, but Jesús left the force, implicitely over his doubts regarding Garcés' conviction.
97	* WhamEpisode: In Episode 9, [[spoiler:Camacho is relieved from his position as comissioner in chief and Cabrera is brought in as his replacement.]]
98	* WhiteSheep: Clara works as a journalist at a newspaper with a blatant disregard for the Francoist censorship. Her father, a close associate of the Minister of Information, is none too happy about it.
99	%%* WillTheyOrWontThey: Clara and Montenegro, Jesús and Rebeca, Camacho and Rebeca.
100	* WomanScorned: Rodrigo's wife is furious to learn that [[SleepingWithTheBoss he has an affair with the El Caso secretary, Paloma]] (who apparently used to be a maid at their house, as well). Since her family invested the money to open El Caso, it takes a few pleas from Jesús [[spoiler:and his word that he'll convince Rodrigo to fire Paloma]] to talk her out of shutting down the newspaper.

Context Series / ElCaso