Television review: Red Rock

RED ROCK Garda officers

This Irish television crime soap opera is great viewing.

It was on in prime viewing time on TV3 a year ago and now for those at home in the daytime there is a gritty piece of drama to watch on TV One weekdays.

I was surprised to read it described as a soap opera because it's not a bubbly piece of tele at all.

Set in the fictional seaside town of Red Rock near Dublin, the show is set around the town's local Gardai Station.

Perhaps the soap aspect is because of ongoing battles between two local families which usually erupt into violence and the gardas are called out frequently so drama, drama.

Red Rock is a typical small town in that there is gossip abounding at the station. There's always a couple of around the corner hushed chats going on.

The subject matter currently is focusing on one of the sergeants, Brian McGonigle (Sean Mahon), who has been sexually involved with the 15-year-old school girl daughter of the local cafe owner.

This has resulted to date with the sergeant clubbed over the back of the head, resulting in his murder.

His hot sexual liaison had been spotted earlier by new garda Sharon Cleere (Jane McGrathj), who tackles the sergeant head on about it, asking him what the hell was he thinking of. Of course he told her to back off and keep her mouth shut.

The writers have spread this part of plot wide but they haven't laboured it.

There's pervy sex and of course drugs. A senior station officer's 18-year-son has got himself a pretty stiff heroin habit, and then our young schoolgirl attempts suicide.

All this with the lilting Irish turn of phrase and most of these actors having that bonny Irish look, deep blue eyes and lustrous dark hair.

This series equates well with good BBC crime programmes and though the writers have had to spice up the plotlines, they have kept it real.

We're not plagued with the American style screaming car chases, endless gun battles and crashing heavy metal music.

It amused me though that the Garda yellow blue and white cars were not particularly grunty, in fact where two officers left on a job I actually wondered whether the car was going to fire or not. Now that wouldn't happen in American crime show.

Maybe if you're one of those chaps sometimes at home during the day it's worth tuning into even if you feel daytime tele is not your bag but you know if it's raining, go for it.