This summer happened to be a harvest time of new comfort shows for me; barely had I finished "The Mentalist" and "The Widow's Bay", when I already discovered for myself another project to watch (that I probably would never pay attention to if it weren't for my desire to practice more Spanish). My first (and very questionable) experience with Spanish series was two-three years ago with "30 Monedas," which left me so horrified (and not in the good meaning of this word) that I decided to leave my experiments there.

"El Ministerio del Tiempo" does not pretend to be a grand project and faithfully accomplishes all its ambitions thanks to the pleasant cast, common yet comforting fantasy plot, and a very fresh and bold view on Spanish history. The main structure of the episodes is very simple - the characters are charged with the missions in different time periods of Spanish history in order to prevent the history from changing. Simultaneously, all of them try to resolve their own troubles from the past, fall in love, fight, betray, and take difficult decisions. While there are some not-so-honorable moments of Spanish history that the series chose to frame carefully or not to comment on, the general intention to get rid of blind patriotism and to throw light on the history of Spain with its glory but also countless cruelties and flaws can be easily followed throughout the whole series.

Besides the talented cast of three main characters, a special charm to "El Ministerio del Tiempo" was brought by the touch of routine and everyday life of an office, even in such a magical and mysterious sphere as time travelling. The amount of satire on Spanish bureaucracy and the naive, comical problems the characters encounter while trying to save the world provide a fresh perspective on something that is not new at all.

As is common in almost all series, the series slowly fell off by the fourth season, partly due to the constant shifts in the main trio of the characters and partly because the writers seemed to already have said everything they wanted. Nevertheless, the first two seasons brought me immense pleasure and entertainment. The amount of times I dug into deep research about another historical figure from the past was satisfactory. The end, no matter how rushed it appeared, managed to restore some elegance of the first season in an emotional and moving way.


P.S. Additional points of my love for this series go to:

1. Character of Velásquez

2. Storyline of García Lorca that almost made me cry

3. Endless comical interactions and confusions between the characters from the different epoques

4. Amount of medieval Spanish curses and words I learned.