RED ROCK [News, Spoilers and Discussion]

walshb

An Garda Siochana will be delighted with their portrayal.

The Kiely mother is comical, as is her dopey son who she has acting like her robot!

TOMs WIFE

I believe the second episode has built excellently on the first one. For some reason I didn't feel it was as rushed, possibly because the first one was spent introducing all the characters.

I like the outside filming, and overall I think the acting and storyline is refreshing, and dare I say it, exactly what I was hoping for.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

I think it's great. Cathy Belton is brilliant as head of the Hennessy family... Proper Soap Villain - very Machiavellian.

The scene is set, the characters are introduced (well the majority of them - think there's one or two more still to meet), and there's a few storylines underway.

Reminds me a lot of Ros na Rún in many ways.

changepartners

Not bad but a bit boring!

cloud493

That episode was definitely better. Some real poor acting though.

Atlantic Dawn

Pity it's only 2 episodes a week, only really gets going and it's over.

m'lady

Anyone know where it's set?

Elmo

m'lady wrote: »

Anyone know where it's set?

Howth or Dun Laoghaire! Hennessy's are from Dun Laoghaire and the Keily's are from Howth.

Kerrydude1981

Its not bad thought we would have another "Deception" on our hands,but so far its not bad,

That lazy cop is good,just happy to be a cop and get away with doing sweet FA if he can manage it

desbrook

Elmo wrote: »

Howth or Dun Laoghaire! Hennessy's are from Dun Laoghaire and the Keily's are from Howth.

Ahem.. I take it you aren't from Dublin. It's so Blackrock! Clue is in the name

emanresu esrever

desbrook wrote: »

Ahem.. I take it you aren't from Dublin. It's so Blackrock! Clue is in the name

you clearly aren't! all howth, dun laoghaire and drimnagh. The name is terrible if you ask me for a town but catchy as a title which is its main aim

desbrook

emanresu esrever wrote: »

you clearly aren't! all howth, dun laoghaire and drimnagh. The name is terrible if you ask me for a town but catchy as a title which is its main aim

Where is it set was the question - not where is it shot .

emanresu esrever

desbrook wrote: »

Where is it set was the question - not where is it shot .

Its set in Red rock, a north county dublin coastal town.?! It's filmed in Howth/Dun Laoghaire/drimnagh

You can use that answer if anyone else asks!

SarahBM

I am very impressed I have to say. It has all been set up nicely, and when the Sgt walked into the Hennessy family meeting at the end of the first ep I was like whoa! which is what you want a good tv show make you do really.
I really am looking forward to next week.
It's a bit strange to see Anthony Brophy without a spanish accent though

emanresu esrever

SarahBM wrote: »

I am very impressed I have to say. It has all been set up nicely, and when the Sgt walked into the Hennessy family meeting at the end of the first ep I was like whoa! which is what you want a good tv show make you do really.
I really am looking forward to next week.
It's a bit strange to see Anthony Brophy without a spanish accent though

What made you "whoa" about the seargent walkig into the family home!

Grab All Association

They should have it as an hourly episode once a week. Also I think the bad cop underage girl story line was a mistake. You want to keep bad guys like that in the show. Maybe have him involved in drug dealing but impossible to prove.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Dunne

That one actor who should have been approached. He is a great bad guy.

Also change the plastic number plates on the squad cars to aluminum. They have done an excellent job replicating real patrol cars.

mikom

Chris___ wrote: »

They should have it as an hourly episode once a week.

Quite right.
An hourly episode once a week.......... after 9pm..........
Considering the topics and storylines that could be dealt with I would have a big problem suspending my disbelief if the violence and bad language is always missing.
As it currently exists I would class it as a slimmers cup-a-soup; weak, thin, and not very long lasting.

Richard Hillman

I enjoyed it. There is something about that just draws you in.

I like the short episode format too. It's much more convenient when you want to watch online or on the xbox.

MelanieC

Much better second episode but still not fantastic. Hopefully it will continue to improve. I'm gonna stick with it for a while I think.

Strazdas

mikom wrote: »

Quite right.
An hourly episode once a week.......... after 9pm..........
Considering the topics and storylines that could be dealt with I would have a big problem suspending my disbelief if the violence and bad language is always missing.
As it currently exists I would class it as a slimmers cup-a-soup; weak, thin, and not very long lasting.

A hour long episode once a week post-watershed with swearing and violence would be no "soap"......that would be heading more into Love Hate territory, when it's raison d'etre is to be TV3's resident soap opera.

mikom

Strazdas wrote: »

A hour long episode once a week post-watershed with swearing and violence would be no "soap"......that would be heading more into Love Hate territory, when it's raison d'etre is to be TV3's resident soap opera.

Centering it around feuding gangs and a garda station would seem to have been a mistake so.
To have a Raison d'être you have to exist, and I can't see this show in its current form lasting long tbh.

Elmo

I was being sarcastic with my howth / dun laorghaire remark as both are at opposite ends of the city.

Any everyone knows howth is the posher of the 2

Proud northsider here

AwaitYourReply

eviltwin wrote: »

I thought it was okay. Its going to take a while to establish so I'll give it the chance it deserves. No great soap ever started on a high. The one thing I hated was the terrible theme tune. A harmonica? Really? And that gombeen guard is already starting to annoy me but maybe thats the idea.

I missed the 2nd episode and I was only half-watching 1st episode on Wednesday as I was on a laptop at the time. If anyone looks at long lasting soap dramas and takes a look back at very first episode and early editions, you would be surprised how the same soaps managed to survive at all.

I have searched You Tube and found 1st episodes of popular soap drama serials: Emmerdale Farm and Neighbours and they were not great - after a while they often tend to improve and Emmerdale Farm really changed when they moved away from an over reliance on farming (they even dropped Farm from soap name) and it became more about the village and relationships and the very odd bit of farming. Actually now that I recall, the village used to be called Beckinsdale in the Emmerdale Farm days but the village became Emmerdale when the Farm was dropped some years ago. Looking back, it was probably a smart move as the soap survived and remains quite popular to this day.

Eldorado set in a Spanish resort was heralded as the replacement for Wogan which used go out live three nights a week: Mon/Wed/Fri from 7:00pm on BBC 1 from around 1985-1992 period. Eldorado never caught on and was axed after a short time on air. They axed tea-time soap Crossroads on ITV and after a long gap it was revived for a short time again only to be buried again! Take the High Road was another one in the afternoons on ITV. Fair City which started in 1989 took about 5 years to really catch the general public's imagination but has managed to obtain consistently high ratings once it took hold from 1994 onwards.

I believe Red Rock will develop and can improve in time if they learn from errors made by other productions over the years.

AwaitYourReply

eviltwin wrote: »

I thought it was okay. Its going to take a while to establish so I'll give it the chance it deserves. No great soap ever started on a high. The one thing I hated was the terrible theme tune. A harmonica? Really? And that gombeen guard is already starting to annoy me but maybe thats the idea.

The theme music for Red Rock has everyone disappointed (including myself too I might add) but that said, I am now starting to wonder if this is exactly why this style of theme signature tune was chosen in the first place - a lot of folk have made reference to it which is no bad thing when you are trying to generate any publicity and comments in public forums/news media/social networks and so on...

It will be interesting if the soap lasts medium-long term and if the theme signature tune is left alone altogether or re-worked shortly? Time will tell...

TOMs WIFE

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

The theme music for Red Rock has everyone disappointed (including myself too I might add) but that said, I am now starting to wonder if this is exactly why this style of theme signature tune was chosen in the first place - a lot of folk have made reference to it which is no bad thing when you are trying to generate any publicity and comments in public forums/news media/social networks and so on...

It will be interesting if the soap lasts medium-long term and if the theme signature tune is left alone altogether or re-worked shortly? Time will tell...

They said that the theme was supposed to be modern western type or something like that. I hate the harmonica. But having said that, I wasn't as annoyed about the theme last night on the 2nd episode. It's certainly memorable!


Edit: Just saw that Red Rock is going out as a 2 episode omnibus on Sunday from 6pm to 7pm.

walshb

I am not sure if this is a comedy/soap or drama.

JohnFalstaff

I caught the second episode and thought it was pretty good for what it is. Good mix of serious storylines with a few lighter moments.

I thought the female characters were definitely the strongest and most interesting - getting Cathy Belton on board was a bit of a coup, great actress.

I think this will do well for TV3... but that harmonica has to go!

walshb

JohnFalstaff wrote: »

I caught the second episode and thought it was pretty good for what it is. Good mix of serious storylines with a few lighter moments.

I thought the female characters were definitely the strongest and most interesting - getting Cathy Belton on board was a bit of a coup, great actress.

I think this will do well for TV3... but that harmonica has to go!

She's a very attractive lady, is Belton. Her character is quite pantomime like. Not really believable.

gazzer

I was expecting the worst from this but I enjoyed it. Some good story lines and some pretty good acting. Not sure how the "crime of the week" element is going to work but so far so good. The harmonica needs to go though

Dan Chipowski

Not sure what to make of this really. It's one of those 'so bad it's good' type of things.

I enjoyed it anyway.

Strazdas

Dan Chipowski wrote: »

Not sure what to make of this really. It's one of those 'so bad it's good' type of things.

I enjoyed it anyway.

I don't think it's bad at all. Visually it looks like a drama you'd see on BBC1.....quite slick and stylish.

walshb

It needs a few more episodes before we start to slate it....:)

pmasterson95

I love every talking about this harmonica. Reminds me of Father Ted *WE NEED TO LOOSE THE SAX SOLO*

xalot

I think it got off to a reasonable start. The first episode should have been an hour to establish everything, felt like it was just getting going when it was finished. The acting varies from terrible to very good (Belton) imo.

JP Liz V1

Is it just two 30 minute episodes per week?

emanresu esrever

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Is it just two 30 minute episodes per week?

they are not even 30 minutes, barely 20 minutes, and that is excluding the opening and closing theme music,various location shots and background music, amounting to about 15 -17 minutes dialogue at most. not near enough for a soap. Imagine if Coronation Street started taking camera shots of Manchester, EE of London etc it would get annoying after a while for a halkf hour soap.

This is why i cant classify it as a soap, it just doesn't have that feel. I think it would be better served as a drama, 45 minutes to an hour long, twice a week, or even once a week.

Elmo

emanresu esrever wrote: »

they are not even 30 minutes, barely 20 minutes, and that is excluding the opening and closing theme music,various location shots and background music, amounting to about 15 -17 minutes dialogue at most. not near enough for a soap. Imagine if Coronation Street started taking camera shots of Manchester, EE of London etc it would get annoying after a while for a halkf hour soap.

This is why i cant classify it as a soap, it just doesn't have that feel. I think it would be better served as a drama, 45 minutes to an hour long, twice a week, or even once a week.

Drama and Soap does always need Dialogue to provide a story, it can also be done through visualisation. The only soap thats a full 30 mins is EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale are both around 22mins.

emanresu esrever

Elmo wrote: »

Drama and Soap does always need Dialogue to provide a story, it can also be done through visualisation. The only soap thats a full 30 mins is EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale are both around 22mins.

i didn't say there were rules, i am saying there isn't a soaply feel due to the lesser dialogue than most soaps. corrie/emmerdale are on 5 times a week with ED on an extra episode also so they can afford lesser duration (even though i disagree that their episodes are that short, they generally touch 25 minutes).

A show that is on twice a week, and only starting out trying to find a niche needs to be more agressive, dialogue wise.

The more dialogue the better, and it will cost them a lot less than location shots.

There is a fine line between what people perceive as a soap opera and drama and i think the style of this production should have edged moreso to drama type and lengthened its episodes to accommodate for that.


ps, in retrospect i think that corrie would be only 21 - 23 minutes, as would ED but as i said, 5/6 times a week allows for that imo


pps, you mention visualisation, but pictures of the coastline/shots of dublin add little to the storyline!

Elmo

emanresu esrever wrote: »

pps, you mention visualisation, but pictures of the coastline/shots of dublin add little to the storyline!

Very true just becomes stock footage their for filler, but dialogue sometimes particularly in soap can just be filler for the sake of get to write 22 - 30mins. Wanna a cuppa of Tea? Love!? etc.

emanresu esrever

Elmo wrote: »

Very true just becomes stock footage their for filler, but dialogue sometimes particularly in soap can just be filler for the sake of get to write 22 - 30mins. Wanna a cuppa of Tea? Love!? etc.

ah, yeah but it gets you more familiar to characters. one sentence can tell a lot about a character. Like a snidy remark from Donna in Eastenders on the stalls to a cheery joke comment by someone like Bob Hope in Emmerdale. It gives a more homely and familiar aspect to the soap and its characters and attaches you to them.

pointless location shots add little apart from the overused comment of the week re Red Rock, "slick production"

Strazdas

emanresu esrever wrote: »

they are not even 30 minutes, barely 20 minutes, and that is excluding the opening and closing theme music,various location shots and background music, amounting to about 15 -17 minutes dialogue at most. not near enough for a soap. Imagine if Coronation Street started taking camera shots of Manchester, EE of London etc it would get annoying after a while for a halkf hour soap.

This is why i cant classify it as a soap, it just doesn't have that feel. I think it would be better served as a drama, 45 minutes to an hour long, twice a week, or even once a week.

Though the likes of Casualty, Doctors (and formerly The Bill) are classed as "soaps" in the UK. I think any sort of daily or weekly drama that goes out before the watershed and all year round gets lumped into the soap category.

I suspect Red Rock will go out three nights a week soon enough if it is a success in the ratings.

Elmo

Strazdas wrote: »

Though the likes of Casualty, Doctors (and formerly The Bill) are classed as "soaps" in the UK. I think any sort of daily or weekly drama that goes out before the watershed and all year round gets lumped into the soap category.

I suspect Red Rock will go out three nights a week soon enough if it is a success in the ratings.

They became Soaps as time went on. The Bill I think only had a half hour episode per week when it first started and slowly became an hour long and then into soap teritory towards the end of its run.

EB_2013

walshb wrote: »

She's a very attractive lady, is Belton. Her character is quite pantomime like. Not really believable.

I agree, I've only seen her in the children's tv show Roy before but she looks great in Red Rock. She's a very good actress.

I didn't think the second episode was as good as the first but I'm still going to keep up with it. I've been impressed so far with the characters and storylines.

maurv1

Haven't seen this yet, but I see there is an omnibus on TV3 on Sunday at 6.00 o'clock. Might have a peep and see what all the fuss is about

Strazdas

Elmo wrote: »

They became Soaps as time went on. The Bill I think only had a half hour episode per week when it first started and slowly became an hour long and then into soap teritory towards the end of its run.

Indeed, The Bill was quite a gritty police drama in it's early years, and Casualty was a hard hitting medical drama which went out post-watershed and was a lot more graphic than the current soapy version (in those days they scarcely focussed on relationships between any of the characters at all).

Elmo

EB_2013 wrote: »

I agree, I've only seen her in the children's tv show Roy before but she looks great in Red Rock. She's a very good actress.

I didn't think the second episode was as good as the first but I'm still going to keep up with it. I've been impressed so far with the characters and storylines.

I used to think she was the Bruce Wanye's mother in Batman Begins.

SMJSF

Am I the only one who sees it like a Romeo & Julie storyline? between the families hating each other and they are actually in secret relationships with each other!?

emanresu esrever

SMJSF wrote: »

Am I the only one who sees it like a Romeo & Julie storyline? between the families hating each other and they are actually in secret relationships with each other!?

the feuding family and star crossed lover secret affair thing is very cliche and cheesy. Not their most imaginative idea im sure we will all agree!

rogercar

I really like Red Rock, it's different, and as time goes on, we will get to know the characters better. I hope that they introduce more older charaters later, as all communities have people of all ages living and interacting with each other. My only gripe is that it's a long wait from Thursdays epiosode to Wednesday. I hope in time that TV3 will will put on a third episode and spread them out over the week. I saw the first two episodes and I liked them. Well done to TV3 and to all envolved.

AwaitYourReply

rogercar wrote: »

I really like Red Rock, it's different, and as time goes on, we will get to know the characters better. I hope that they introduce more older charaters later, as all communities have people of all ages living and interacting with each other. My only gripe is that it's a long wait from Thursdays epiosode to Wednesday. I hope in time that TV3 will will put on a third episode and spread them out over the week. I saw the first two episodes and I liked them. Well done to TV3 and to all envolved.

I also think any TV channel that takes a risk on producing OR commissioning home produced material from Ireland is to be commended. In this case, it happens to be TV3 with RedRock as I understand they have sunk something in the region of €7,000,000 into this programme. My biggest concern is that they were always gonna have a tricky time with placing it in a suitable prime-time slot in the TV schedule with so many soap opera slots running during early evening period 5 days a week.

The idea of no follow-up episode after the Thursday 8:30pm screening until the following Wednesday 8:30pm episode which is almost a whole week later (6 days later to be exact) may have earned the loyalty of TV viewers 20+years ago but I'm not confident this can work in today's tv schedules. TV3 have a very tough task on their hands to make this a success as all TV drama tends to be prohibitively expensive to produce. If they get this badly wrong, it could sink the station so the stakes are very high for them!