Love/Hate: Series One Episode One

The Wire in Eire. The Woire. OK, I'm all out of Wire gags. First episode of Love/Hate reviewed here.

Channel 5's had a distinctly hit and miss record when it comes to importing drama from other shores - for every Walking Dead there's been two Law and Order knock-offs (a show that's proliferated so quickly it could probably have its own channel). There's a long way to go but in Love/Hate, it looks like the buyers might have hit something big.

Latest and Greatest?
Let's get the hyperbole out of the way. Comparisons to The Wire appear a touch misjudged; Sopranos references are well wide of the mark, if only because the scale of The Sopranos was so huge by comparison to TV peers. The Sopranos could also call on genuine Hollywood names - the likes of Joe Pantoliano, Steve Buscemi and the sadly deceased James Gandolfini will not crop up in Love/Hate any time soon.

But..?
On first glance, it does look good. There's certainly a few Wire-esque influences; the bottom-up storytelling through low-level players that made the American show so compelling has been restyled for a modern Ireland here. The grimy views, mundane estates and ever-present gloom are all present and correct. It squints at institutions and mines a rich black vein of humour in moments of tragedy. And it does have one or two very good characters. Aiden Gillen, who plays gangster John Boy Power exudes just the right mix of charm and menace and Nidge could be a great comic foil. A bit of an Irvine Welsh character.

Just your friendly local gangster: Aiden Gillen's John Boy Power

Good Boy Gone Bad
There's a certain irony that Gillen, who played Councilman Tommy Carcetti in the American drama, is now on the other side of the law as John Boy Power, and as an aside it does at least show how versatile Gillen is - Idris Elba got most of the plaudits as Stringer Bell so I'm looking forward to seeing the Irishman in this. Assuming he survives the brutal Dublin environment of course...

Marathon Man
The Wire prided itself on ensuring no-one was off-limits - the murder of Stringer Bell in Season Three was shocking for viewers (Simon later cited it as one of his all-time favourite Wire moments precisely because it was so shocking) - it'll be interesting to see who survives Dublin's gangland ruckus. My early thoughts are Power making it through, given he's Aiden Gillen and all that. Not so sure about Tommy.


Techno File

This handsome chap might kill you. Love/Hate's Darren

TV shows that use current technology to deepen plot always run the gauntlet. But given the ubiquity of it anyway, it'd be ridiculous of writers not to. It can also be what makes the show work - witness Series 1 of The Wire, which involved a giant wiretap operation on budget mobile phones around Baltimore by the city police. And Nidge learning how to use a gun via YouTube does make for interesting character development. Surely that website will come back to haunt him though...

Gangsters, by Chanel
A few people have pointed out this is a good looking cast, considering it's about the Dublin
underworld. I agree. But is it Darren's fault he looks like Danny Cipriani? In the quest for realism in TV, should you pursue a certain type of face? Admittedly there's no one in Love/Hate with a mug like a bag of spuds. But being good looking was never a crime. Which is fortunate, because otherwise this show would be over before it got started.

Love/Hate is on Channel 5 on Wednesday nights at 10pm.

Photos courtesy of What's On TV and Tumblr

The Returned: Final Episode Preview

Series One comes to an end on Sunday, but will the writers of The Returned tie everything up - or keep everyone guessing?

A second series is a doubled edged sword at the best of times. Will the quality drop? Will your favourite character make the cut? Will the writers clearly run out of steam well before the end and settle for an infuriatingly mundane conclusion?

These three issues have cropped up in various shows at different points throughout the last decade and the worst news for me last week was the existence of a second series of The Returned, due to begin filming in early 2014.

They're coming, very slowly.

Not (just) because I want answers. God, do I. But also because the show risks grubbing up its opaque narratives through another eight episodes. It's difficult to argue that the show's numerous mysteries will all be successfully resolved by 10.05pm on Sunday 28th July. But it's equally difficult to differentiate which can 'wait' and which need an answer now.


Nonetheless I do think quite a lot will be explained, particularly after last week's sharp veer into the distinctly supernatural. The return of Simon (again) would be frankly tiresome and would spoil the tone, so he should be explained (did he really commit suicide and why does he keep returning to life?)
 
Simon's relationship with Adele, and her descent into depression and attempted suicide surely can't survive the leap from Series One to Two, particularly after Sunday's shocking images. Expect a tying off there. And what to expect of Serge, mysteriously pulled under the water as he and brother Toni attempted to cross the lake? Possibly the last we've seen... until a shock return next season.

Elsewhere, the mystery of Lucy Clarsen and her psychic sex sessions with the men of the village is coming to its natural conclusion (really, no pun intended) and her presence may well be a big key to the story behind the village and her interesting appeal to the opposite sex. And other more natural elements are revealing things; the water, still draining away and flooding the power station, has uncovered the remnants of a deserted town along with hundreds of dead animals. 



Charming, rugged, kills people: Les Revenants' Serge

Some characters feel set up for the long haul. Victor and Pierre, both deeply unusual people, feel as though they are reaching the top of their character arcs - Victor has awakened from near-catatonic silence in recent weeks to discuss his weird new ability to rekindle horrible memories in physical form. Pierre meanwhile is fast becoming a sort of David Koresh-type figure as he leads the confused population towards 'a new beginning... it will be wonderful.' He is definitely sticking around for series two - expect him to get weirder still.

There are still many more loose ends to be tied up, not least the tenuous, slowly re-blossoming relationship between Julie and Laure, the fractured family unit of Jerome, Claire, Lena and Camille, and of course the true nature of the large group of returned glimpsed at the end of the penultimate episode.

But these should all survive well into the second series. Assuming of course the town makes it to the second series. Wouldn't that be an interesting ending?

Images courtesy of Den of Geek and Between Screens

Les Revenants, Episode Four (Victor)

My thoughts, 24 hours late. Thanks Blogger.

Mostly a really satisfying episode. It's pretty much about the details now I think. Here's what I'm thinking.

Splashing around
The water. You should never put your eggs in one basket, but hey. I'm going to do just that. Here's what's going on: I think I heard from the two dam boffins that this has happened before. There's another charming French town down there. Maybe a bit like this one. Geddit?

Creep roll call
Creep number one trying to outrun a former life (or not): Pierre. Almost omniscient in how he can control the most mundane of circumstances to lure the risen dead to the Helping Hand. Could be a script defect. Almost definitely isn't...

Creep number two: Thomas, who begins the programme as a nice, sensitive guy, gets odder by the episode. Also kind of a jerk to his subordinates. And what of the revelation that Simon may not have died in an 'accident'? Is he a liar too, desperate to keep a family together through his deceit? 



Victor: sinister kid with predilection for horrible drawings.

Poor Victor (sort of).
His absolute lack of speech is explained. He was trying to be quiet 35 years ago when he was murdered by two burglars, one of whom tries to save his life by suggesting he 'sing a song in his head'...

Which he hears again after being taken to the Helping Hand by police who may or may not be complicit in something much bigger. Plus: I must admit I didn't figure Pierre for a burglar.
Nice touch.

Gore department
Lena's horrible incision down her spine is getting grimmer by the episode. Courtesy of creep number three: Jerome, who appears to be getting his end away with a clairvoyant hooker (see Lucy Clarsen WTF) She also appears to share a telekinetic relationship with Camille, her sister (did I miss something here?). And of course the murder from Episode 3. More suspects than a Cluedo convention for that one.

Where the real men at

As of this week's episode, this image just got a lot creepier

I can't even say Claire is a spectacularly bad judge of character here as both men in her life are straight from an Agatha Christie novel. In fact the majority of men in the town are horrible weirdos. Including Serge, who I didn't even mention here.

Bad religion
I'm beginning to think that priest is exceptionally pious. His patronising putdown of Thomas's inquiry into belief in a second life suggested he's well aware of what's coming and is sort of looking forward to it. Git.

Lucy Clarsen WTF
The story I really want to know more about: Lucy Clarsen, contacting the dead, during sex with men. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat. Is she the centrepiece to the whole mystery? 

Excited for next week.

Pics from The Guardian and Channel 4.com