Red Rock - General Discussion

[NJRadioGuy]

Irish TV3 drama that's now carried on Amazon Prime

[NJRadioGuy]

Just curious if anyone else has stumbled across this interesting show. Half soap-opera, half police drama, each season (as shown on Amazon in the U.S.) consists of 80 twenty-two minute episodes. When it aired live in Ireland it was shown as two of these per week, so 40 weeks per year.

Season one was compelling and went to some very dark places at times, but tended to get a little tedious at times. The last few episodes were excellent. Season two started to go downhill very quickly, and towards the end was borderline unwatchable thanks to some horrible writing and an unnecessarily plodding pace. I honestly couldn't wait for S2 to end. I'll probably watch S3, or at least try, but if it's as tedious as S2 I think I'm out.

Love the Kielys to death. I could watch a show featuring only that family and their trials and tribulations all night long. The Hennessies are a mess and unpleasant. The Rieds are painful to watch as the series goes on and they usually are the recipient of my fast-forward button more than anything else. 

Two bright stars for me are newcomer India Mullen playing Kelly Kiely, and Jane McGrath who plays Garda Sharon Cleere (who also played one of Craster's wives in Game of Thrones). Mullen has a brilliant career ahead of her and she holds a scene better than anybody else in the cast. McGrath has some great storylines, and pulls off her scenes with aplomb. Another favourite is everyman Garda "Paudge" Brennan, played by Patrick Ryan. 

The writers seriously need to understand plot pacing, willing suspension of disbelief, audience closure, when we've had enough of a character or a baddie and when to move on. They could have created a masterpiece here, but veered into the Land Of Idiotic Stories toward the end. Example: One character kidnaps another, and when it's resolved and the perpetrator is caught red-handed there are no charges laid. Another character repeatedly confesses to a serious crime while the Garda in the interview room doesn't even take notes and nods politely. I want to love this show. Really, really want to love it, but the longer it goes on, the more painful it gets.

[NJRadioGuy]

A followup since I couldn't edit my previous message. I've gotten through the 70 episodes of season 3 that are currently available. Supposedly there will be another 8 half-hours (4 full hours on Irish broadcast TV) airing in April 2019, and that will conclude the series forever.

Thoughts after watching the 70 episodes from S3: It gets better in many ways that S2. Pacing is still slow but multiple stories are in play and the pace picks up significantly in the back half of the season. The Kileys continue to be riveting as always, and Keith finally comes into his own, whereas in the first two seasons he was little more than a plank and a sounding board for the rest of the family. All the character interactions get amped up in S3 and for the better. Several new baddies arise, and we get an amazing young actress named Lorna Reid playing Aoife Burke who comes in for about a dozen episodes. Where Amazon leaves off (late-winter 2019) two of the baddies have been dealt with, but there are several outstanding storylines that need to be concluded. Hopefully those final episodes will be added to the Amazon lineup once they've been broadcast over there.

Both India Mullen and Jane McGrath left after season 2 and the show is the worse for their absence. Several other very notable departures as well. Tommy and Connor Tyrell, Nikki Grogan, and Michael Hennessy, (David Hennessey is gone for about 3/4 of S3). One big addition is Sgt. John O'Riordan ("Johno") who steals every scene he's in. Big spoiler below--and I really mean it.

Spoiler

Note: McGrath (Garda Cleere) comes back for one episode late in S3 in dramatic fashion that made me cheer audibly.

Edited March 1, 2019 by NJRadioGuy

[NJRadioGuy]

Final update from me, and I'm not a happy camper. The last two hours of this show aired in January 2020 on Irish TV. As of the same month they hadn't yet been uploaded to Amazon, nor had they aired outside of Ireland, but they can be streamed on Virgin Media's website. 

Production knew well in advance that this would be the end of the show. The complex of buildings used for filming were sold and demolished, props sold off, etc. But they ended the show in probably the worst way imaginable.

Don't expect any aspect of the story to be wrapped up except for the one major over-arching season 3 plot, which I personally never cared about in the first place. All the subtle and nuanced plots, characters with multiple shades of grey, etc...nothing resolved and everything left in a nightmarish state. A truly sad farewell to an otherwise brilliant show.