Synopsis La Piovra 1 (1984)

Corrado Cattani is a police inspector whose life is devoted to fighting the Italian mafia (known here as "La Piovra" or "The Octopus"). Even as his family and life are being destroyed by ruthless criminals, the intrepid comissar keeps fighting... Written by Boris Shafir

Episode 1 - Police commissioner lives a family nightmare: he is too straight to accept the one-time infidelity of his wife, thirteen years ago, may be because he is unsure of the paternity of the twelve-year-old daughter he loves. Police commissioner finds diversion in a new job recently opened in a small Sicilian village, when local commissioner is found dead in his car, shot by the Mafia. Episode 2 - Police commissioner searches for the truth and finds love in the eyes full of sorrow of a 22-y-o countess who, by sheer coincidence, lost her mother by suicide the night the commissioner was murdered - open and shut case, says local police. Police commissioner is too suspicious of everybody to find his way up the social ladder, though he benefits from the counsel and protection of his former Law Professor. Episode 3 - Police commissioner does not find a way out of his criminal puzzles, and his wife leaves for their house in the North; their daughter is broken-hearted. Episode 4 - Police commissioner sets the trap to catch a few large mice, and his daughter is kidnapped. Episode 5 - Police commissioner starts lying to everybody: his wife, about their daughter's whereabouts, and the handful of good cops who trust him about how to go on with the investigation. First his mistakes, then his implied admission that he shot two men and planted evidence of a murder in one of them, sets a murderer free. Episode 6 - Police commissioner sets a few scores right, but he his resigning his post, his family is more in a shambles than ever, the Sicilian Group "I Culturati" is more powerful than ever, and he is visiting the tomb of his lost countess. The open and shut case is not closed, and the police commissioner is too tired to go on. Written by Artemis-9 (See here)

Synopsis La Piovra 2(1985) (mini) (TV mini-series)

Part 1 - PAOLA - Police Inspector Cattani fights a losing battle to save his loved daughter's sanity, after what she suffered (see "La Piovra", original mini-series). He loses her, and his only trusted magistrate in the fight against The Octopus. Part 2 - FRIENDS IN COMMON - Cattani is approached by the Number 2 of his best friend in Rome to conspire against him, and ends up fighting for his life in prison, against thugs who are friends of his worst enemy. Cattani must swallow his pride, and recurs to the lustful Contessa who has other friends in common. Part 3 - RETURN TO ROME -Cattani's love life is as confused as his behaviour; he sleeps with the enemy, and is recruited to ITALA, the cultural association for the study of the ancestral popular traditions of Italy, The Octopus by another name. Part 4 - VENGEANCE - It leaves an acrid taste in Cattani's mouth, has he loses yet an important ally, and severes his ties with the beautiful Contessa, when he wakes up fire in enemy ground. Part 5 - CRIMINAL AMBITION - Cattani's major achievement so far leaves him without friends in Rome; his former teacher explains between whiskeys how easy it is for an intelligent man to fall into criminal ambition. Part 6 - DESTINY - Cattani's takes one year leave without pay from his desk job at the Intelligence Services, and then destiny presents him with a couple of revenge opportunities against the tandem of corrupt politicians and mafia expatriates, again at heavy personal cost. Written by Artemis-9 (See here)

Synopsis La Piovra 3 (1987) (mini) (TV mini-series)

Part 1 - GOOD AND EVIL - After the mafia killed his family, and a number of people who trusted him, Cattani sees a couple of criminals condemned to light sentences only. A DEA team brings him back from the mountain retreat with good monks, to the evil world of a drugs-for-arms deal. Solace comes in the form of new affections for a banker's daughters, who look like his lost wife and daughter. Part 2 - NO ESCAPE - Cattani uses a TV interview to reveal he found out about one of The Octopus telephone numbers. That is enough to spread havoc in the criminal rang, but the mafia leaves the American investigators no escape. Part 3 - THIRSTING FOR VENGEANCE - Cattani falls in love with Giulia, but his inquest does not go far, until Giulia's father dies, and her grandfather takes hold of the family bank again. Part 4 - REFUGE - The Antinari bank is backing the illegal arms deal, trusted friends and servants may not be what they seem, and Cattani is undecided between personal vendetta and life in a monastery. Part 5 - MASSACRE - Anna Antinari gets hold of documents that are essential for the arms deal, and trusts her life and that of her child daughter Greta to the good monks who were already hosting Cattani. For the mafia in liaison with a member of parliament, monastery walls are no protection against a new massacre. - Part 6 - TO THE SOUTH AGAIN - Cattani meets Giulia again at her mother's funeral, and research and luck bring him up North to Rome, in order to discover the way to the South again, from where a ship will depart with an illegal arms cargo. Part 7 - MEETING AGAIN - Giulia reconciles with her grandfather Nicola, and her second meeting with chief inspector Corrado Cattani is yet a probe for his loyalty to duty. One man ends a life of power tragically; the other hangs desperately to life because, as Giulia says, ?He lost; and quite a lot!? Written by Artemis-9 (See here)

Synopsis. La Piovra 4 (1989) (mini) (TV mini-series)

A couple of years have passed since Corrado Cattani and Giulia Antinari broke up; during this time, Giulia died in an accident (that might or might not have been planned by Tano) and Corrado has lived alone in a place when he can be guarded 24/7. A new investigation brings him face to face with his old enemy Tano Carridi again: at a reception organized by the Antinari bank, a casino owner named Tindari,someone with close connections to the mafia, is brutally murdered.It turns out that the asassin, Salvatore Frolo,had personal reasons to commit the murder: back in Sicilia, many years ago,Tindari had killed his wife and daughter. While Corrado investigates the case with the help of judge Silvia Conti and journalist Davide Faeti,hoping to find more about the mafia's involvement in Tindari's casino business, Tano has three main points on his agenda: 1.Get Greta Antinari's custody in order to have total control over the Antinari bank; 2. Invest mafia money into a huge corporation called "International Insurances", the first step towards taking over the company being a convenient marriage with the "Insurances" manager's daughter, Ester Rasi; 3. Get rid of Cattani once and for all... Written by nadia-b (See here)

Synopsis La Piovra 5 - Il cuore del problema(1990) (mini) (TV mini-series)

Superintendent Corrado Cattani is dead. After his lover, the beautiful judge Silvia Conti, recovers somewhat from the shock over his death, she decides to take vengeance and carry on his long standing battle against the Mafia. She vows to put the unscrupulous businessman Espinosa, upon whom she lays the blame for the killing of Cattani, behind bars. Tano, who killed his wife, is already in prison; Silvia offers him mitigation if he testifies against the Mafia and Espinosa, but Tano remains silent. When Mimmo, the son of the influential Mafia-family Linori, is murdered in Sicily by an American, Masino, Silvia follows the killer all the way to the U.S., where his tracks disperse. Silvia has no idea that at the same time the former Italian policeman Davide Licata, who had to flee from the Mafia to New York for fear about the safety of his wife and son, is infil-trating the Linori family disguised as a domestic servant in order to prove their participation in international drug-trafficking. Back to Italy Silvia learns from Quadri and Trevi, two former colleagues of Cattani, that there has to be a connection between Giovanni Linori and Espinosa. At the same time Linori reports the disappearance of his son Mimmo to Silvia. Neither Silvia nor Linori are aware that Linori's collaborator Corvo is actually working for Espinosa, upon whose orders Mimmo was murdered in order to gain his position in the Linori's company "Italtecnosud". Espinosa wants to carry out large-scale drug deals with Africa through this firm. Giovanni Linori frees Tano from prison. In return Tano is to help him take his revenge on Corvo. Giovanni Linori feels that his family is in danger because of him taking his revenge on Corvo. He therefore plans to take them all on a boating trip on his yacht. However, they are caught in an ambush by their servant Filo. Giovanni, the head of the family, dies. Just before his death he tells his family to retreat to his villa in the Bavarian Alps. Owing to the fact that Davide was present at Linori's killing and was otherwise seen time and again together with Mafia-men, Silvia suspects him of murder. She is unaware that in the meantime he has been put on to Saverio's scent by the latter's own brother, the traitor Filo. He was involved in the attack on a police squad twenty years before, in which nearly all the policemen were murdered. Davide was one of the few survivors. After the death of Linori, his youngest son Andrea is now head of the family. He wants revenge for his father's death and Tano is meant to help him. According to a plot devised by Tano, Andrea is to pretend not to know that Corvo is responsible for the murder of Mimmo and Giovanni, pretence cooperation is to arise between Corvo and Andrea. Meanwhile Silvia has had Davide arrested, but he saves her life from a murder attempt at the police-station, almost convincing her that he is on her side. When he is then confronted with his ex-wife Marta and his son Stefano, now twenty years old, who confirm his identity, there is nothing more to stop Silvia and Davide from working together. Silvia supports Davide in his search for Saverio, whose brother Filo was murdered not long ago on Andrea's orders. He eventually finds Saverio, who now calls himself Brother Gillo, in a remote monastery and persuades him to break his vows to testify against the Mafia. The monk actually admits being involved in the attack on Davide's squad twenty years before. His mission had been to murder the killers of the policemen. He had been hired by a rich and distinguished man whom he would certainly recognize - but for the sake of him being blind. However, Saverio feels able to recognize the man's voice even after twenty years. Meanwhile Tano has visited his schizophrenic sister Maria. He had entrusted her with documents long ago, which could become dangerous for the Mafia. Tano contacts Espinosa, to whom the secret documents could be incriminating. He suggests Espinosa to cooperate: because Andrea, now chairman of "Italtecnosud", follows his advice, Tano offers guarantee that all the drug-deals with Africa proceed correctly. In return he demands a free hand in his own doings. Espinosa agrees. Silvia succeeds in having Masino, Mimmo's murderer, extradited form the U.S.A. Upon setting foot in Italy, however, he is assassinated by a minor, hired by Andrea Linori. Revenge for this killing is taken when the attempted kidnapping of the Linori-family fails and Ninni, Andrea's and his wife Gloria's little son, is murdered. Silvia Conti then receives incriminating evidence - anonymously sent to her by Tano Cariddi. This enables her to arrest several of "Italtecnosud's" corrupt top executives. Corvo too is hand-cuffed and taken away as was Tano's intention. While this is happening, Silvia and Davide discover a link between "Italtecnosud" and the Waxman bank in Luxemburg. In fact the money from state subsidies given to "Italtecnosud" for building a harbour is being transfered via the Waxman bank to be used in drug-deals. Just as Silvia is trying to motivate Puparo, who is living in Bavaria in seclusion with Lorella, who still believes he is her father, to testify against the Mafia, Corvo's men open fire on them. In the nick of time they manage to escape to the Linori villa, a refuge known to Puparo, where they find Linori's "life-assurance": an undeveloped film. Puparo knows that Lorella is in danger as long as she is with him, so he sends her away with Silvia and Davide. Whilst taking off in a helicopter the three of them are forced to watch helplessly as Puparo races his car into a tank full of fuel... In Luxemburg the policemen Quadri and Trevi find out that the Waxman bank is very exclusive. Lorella offers Puparo's inheritance to Davide, not wanting to touch the money because it is dirty Mafia-loot. Using the money, Davide opens an account at the Waxman bank and becomes holder of a safe-deposit box. Thus Trevi, a computer specialist, can obtain access to "Italtecnosud's" safe-deposit, where he finds what he expected: documents on the company's illegal trans-actions. Owing to the tough investigating, the dangers they shared and now the success, Silvia and Davide have become closer. Nevertheless Espinosa is still at large, now having had his go-between Corvo murdered at his son's wedding because Corvo had become inconvenient. And since the press has got wind of "Italtecnosud's" illegal transactions, Espinosa wants to divert the public's attention: Tano's schizophrenic sister Maria is to detonate a bomb in a busy train station... Back to Italy Davide learns, to his own horror, that Andrea has kidnapped his ex-wife Marta and his son Stefano, and made them reveal his real identity. Davide's attempt to free his family fails, he is captured. However, Andrea's wife, Gloria, who diapproves of her husband's dealings, helps Davide, Marta and Stefano escape. Shortly afterwards, Tano kills Andrea. At last Silvia has a valuable clue: the film found in the villa shows Giovanni Linori and Espinosa. Davide picks up Saverio at the monastery and confronts him with Espinosa: Saverio identifies Espinosa without a shadow of a doubt as the man who hired him twenty years ago. Espinosa, beside himself with rage, yells at Silvia that he also had Corrado Cattani murdered. Espinosa is arrested, the drug trafficking via "Italtecnosud" is stopped. On hearing that all is over, Tano informs Silvia that his sister Maria is already at the station with a bomb. In a dramatic race against time Davide rushes the device through the panicking crowd. Seconds later it explodes outside, a blood-bath is averted. Written by Anonymous (See here)

Synopsis La Piovra 6 - L' ultimo segreto(1992)

In Episode 1, The Killing Attempt, police detective Davide Licata survives badly wounded, so much so that his personal and love life will be affected. In Episode 2, The Core, he is tempted by the General directing the Government's "nucleous of operations and investigations (NOI)", a secret service built to do the dirty anti-crime jobs that the police can't do. In Episode 3, The Man of the Letters, exposes the hideout of Tani Cariddi in deep Africa - and again, the retired detective and the retired criminal must come to grips with violent action in Europe. In Episode 4, The Trap, not one but several traps are set from both sides of the law. In Episode 5, Codename: West, a desperate chase is given by The Core and two countries magistrates to catch the new drug lords that are aiming at deluging drugs into Europe's Eastern countries from a former Nazi concentration camp in the West. In Episode 6, A Secret Is Revealed, the detective exposes and destroys the man who secretively had taken the place of octopus' head - but crime will not stop because the criminal's son escapes with enough power to restart it all. Written by Artemis-9 (See here)

Synopsis La Piovra 7 - Indagine sulla morte del comissario Cattani, La (mini)(1995)

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! Episode 1 - RETURN TO SICILY - is the coming back of several characters to the little town where, years ago, the police commissary Cattani was set up and murdered by the Mafia. Rosario Granchio is transferred to the local prison against his will, tries to reach the prosecutor magistrate Silvia Conti but is killed due to the poor protection offered by an inexperienced deputy commissary Breda and an inept inspector Livotti. Silvia fails to get information from Rosario's daughter, Sara, who prefers to confide what she knows about his father's dangerous liaisons to Antonio Ragusa, a young thug. He aims at destroying the ascending Mafioso, Nuzzio, but is soon disposed of by the ruthless Nuzzio. Sara decides to punish the lecherous boss by killing his lover, but in the doing, she accidentally kills Nuzzio's natural son. Meanwhile, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saverio is working underground in cahoots with Marcella, a banker's assistant, to discover a strange Mafia money laundering project. Episode 2 - THE BARROTTI GANG - Sara and Biagio, her brother, create an extortion gang, named after the village's suburbs where they live. They are taking the ?business? out of Nuzzio's hands. Don Aragonese forbids Nuzzio to take vengeance against Sara, but Nuzzio's friend, now a widower and a grieving father, tries to take revenge on Sara. By mere chance, a career promotion takes Silvia Monti off the Mafia's trail, and an overconfident commissary Breda blunders the case against a top Mafioso. Meanwhile in Russia, Saverio's long and discreet digging brings results: now he knows who is sending the Mafia's treasure in bank notes through what cargo ship to what numbered bank account and where. He knows enough, and can now return to Sicily for his vengeance against his former Mafiosi friends. Behind him, he leaves a broken-hearted wife, and his mistress. Episode 3 - LOOK-OUT FOR SAVERIO - Saverio comes home to reunite with Nuzzio against the higher powers of the Mafia, but these are alert and after him, after torturing his mistress in St. Petersburg. Also after him, is his wife, still under the protection of Oleg, Saverio's bodyguard. Silvia Conti enlists the help of a computer wizard with a past, and a pirate radio reporter who is a revolted young man, son of an old industrialist who married the sexy countess Olga Camastra who ordered the killing of Cattani, after failing to stop him by using her personal charms. The ghost of that cop killing, and the countess's escape from justice for lack of evidence years ago, is even more presence after a sort of re-enactment of the murder, now with commissary Breda and his wife as targets. This time, Silvia Conti gets a confession from Olga's husband - but he suffers an heart attack, and is killed in the hospital by a Mafia paid doctor. Episode 4 - THE INQUEST - The local television channel, owned by Olga Camastra, puts the blame of her husband's death on Silvia Conti's harsh interrogation of the old man. Saverio's ascension to power seems unstoppable: he masters over Nuzzio with his superior intelligence, and helps him escape an ambush; the Barrotti gang is massacred by Nuzzio's men; and he breaks and enters into the countess's palace, frightening her, and demanding the names' list. The countess plays for time, and decides to print and keep a list of all the Mafiosi names and account numbers for her own protection, while deleting them all from her computer. The password is a Latin motto, Salus Nostra Extrema Thule (literally, the northernmost-isle is our salvation, Ultima Thule being an ancient word for the most far-away inhabited land by humans known to the Greek culture). Olga owns that medallion of the ?Thule Academy?, similar to the one Saverio gave his wife as something that would be her best protection. After laboratory expertise on the remains of three human bodies are complete, Silvia Conti knows the identity of three of the six men who killed her former lover, Cattani. Since another was Rosario Granchio, recently killed, only two remain - those not yet crossed in a photo Saverio kept, of six boys: one is himself, the other is Nuzzio. Olga arrests the countess for interrogation, but she refuses the questioning, claiming that they were rivals in love once, for Cattani, and the chief prosecutor puts Silvia off the case. By accident, Camastra's son-in-law discovers the secret cache where she had hidden the Thule's list, and Cattani's broken wrist-watch. Going against the rules, Silvia Conti forces a meeting with Olga Camastra in prison, and confronts her alone, showing her the wrist-watch - thus implying she owns the names' list, too. Olga breaks, and starts her confession. Before she is taken to court, the Thule's leaders, made powerful by their police informers, has her killed. Episode 5 - THE KILLING ATTEMPT - Silvia is blamed for another strange death, the young commissary Breda is sent away to his hometown far north - something he had requested before he was into this case - and their only witness, Sara, is pressed by a police inspector and the new prosecutor to deny her earlier testimony. Yet, Sara's conscience leads her to a drastic solution: she does her confession to a music tape recorder borrowed to her by Breda, and kills herself in prison before the new trial hearing. The corrupt inspector cleans up her cell, and gets hold of the compromising tape. However, Silvia confronts the corrupt chief prosecutor with what she knows, and he breaks into a full confession. Outside the magistrate's villa, there are Mafiosi in watch, and a new killing attempt on the courageous woman magistrate and her aids is being prepared. Episode 6 - THE SENTENCE - The killing attempt worked almost to perfection, and more blood runs in the streets. Silvia Conti's life is spared due to the intervention of Oleg, Saverio's bodyguard, who decided against Nuzzio's opinion that she would be more valuable to them alive. Stefano Mura, the computer wizard is killed by the corrupt inspector Livotti. Olga Camastra's son-in-law almost dies when the Mafia sets a bomb in the factory where he was alone, working overnight in his father's double accounts, to expose the Mafia's money laundering schemes using his companies. The workers and the village shopkeepers unite under the guidance of the schoolteacher, and a demonstration is set to the day of the funerals of the repentant magistrate and Stefano's. Chiari who was now very fond of Stefano Mura, is devastated by his death, but is able to finish his computer puzzle by replacing the missing letters in the password with the letters she saw on the medallion her husband had given her. The day of the funeral is long in events, from a bomb in the church's crypt, a last-minute intervention by commissary Breda, a confession from a repentant corrupt member of Parliament, a truck chase, and a shoot-out between Nuzzio's men and the police. Silvia Conti manages to bring the all-powerful Professor Piemonte to court. Even before he is sentenced, though, a car travels north to Tano Cariddi's mountainous hide-out. Piemonte's young prot¨¦g¨¦ shows Cariddi the Thule medallion and, according to his instructions, buries a small box with the floppy-disks that contain the secret history of the last thirty years of the affairs between company owners, Mafiosi and the secret society. One day, they will be revived. Written by Artemis-9 (See here)

Synopsis La Piovra 8 (1997)

La Piovra is a gripping masterpiece of TV crime drama, but Season 8 was in a class of its own. Taking the story back 30 something years to Sicily in the 1950's it follows the story of the corrupt banker Tano Carridi, his childhood, the death of his mother and his education by the grateful Baron Altamura after Tano helps the Baron's kidnapped son escape. The two part series was filmed in Sicily and the stunning exterior locations and interiors get away from the Made for TV look. This film could have been released as a theater film and would have appealed to fans of The Godfather, in fact, the whole 'look' of the film resembles the Sicilian section of the Godfather films, and the location shooting in Sicily gives it a very authentic feel.. (See here)

Synopsis La Piovra 9 - Il patto (1998) (TV)

A woman investigates the shady dealings between her husband's bank and the mafia. She has a series of secret liaisons with a police captain, once her lover, just to pass on the information, but the passions of their love affair soon flare up again. Barbara tries to escape from her husband but she is discovered and finds herself trapped in a web of murder, politics, dark conflict and struggles for power (See here)

Synopsis La Piovra 10 (2001)

The final instalment in the legendary Octopus Series fro RAI Italy. Throughout The Octopus series we have seen many generations of the Mafia, starting in the 1950's and now ending in the 1990's. We return to find an ageing and solitary Tano Cariddi in his hideaway on the slopes of Mount Etna, where we left him at the end of Octopus Series 7. He is tormented at night by his past, his mother, father, sister, wife, lost loves and villainy are the nocturnal phantoms from which Tano is trying to escape. Men, young and old, obliged to defend a proud past, young sons, knowing or oblivious, having to make cruel decisions, whether to be ruined by shame or to embark on an extreme and lawless adventures. £¨here£©

La Piovra 8 Lo Scandalo£¨Paolo Buonvino£©