North Sea Connection

JP Liz V1

North Sea Connection starts Sunday Sept 4th, 9.30pm on RTÉ One

Connemara family the Kennys have fished off the west coast of Ireland for generations. However, skipper Ciara might very well be the last to do so after her brother Aidan puts the family's lives in danger by facilitating a drug route for a Swedish cartel to help fund a new business venture. Crime drama, starring Lydia McGuinness, Kerr Logan and Sinead Cusack.

trashcan

Trailer looks intriguing. Will probably check it out.

pjcb

trailer looks woeful

thesandeman

Looking forward to this as it was made in my neck of the woods.

True story: One of the props stores was an old disused garage/shop/pub in the middle of nowhere.

One evening the guards saw numerous fancy cars parked outside and decided they better investigate.

They wandered in to find various members of the crew filling bags of (not real) "coke" for the next shoot.

Phone calls had to be made and production team had to go down to prove the lads hadn't stumbled on a drug den.

lumphammer2

This looks promising but with Irish drama one never knows. They are hit and miss ...

Hit

Love/Hate was the best. Depicted what it did well. All 5 seasons had something good to offer us and season 3 especially was the best Irish TV drama ever made.

Kin was not as good as L/H (so far) but was the next best thing. Great opening and conclusion. Slowish in the middle but generally this was a good show with the first season as good as L/H's first. Looking forward to season 2 and if it follows L/H in terms of getting better as it goes along we have a lot to enjoy.

Charlie was a very good dramatization of Haughey's government with many of L/H's cast.

Miss

Striking out and Finding Joy ... awful.

The Big Bow Wow ... worse.

Rebellion and Taken Down ... utterly disappointing.

Cant Cope Wont Cope and Trouble in Paradise ... bland.

Acceptable Risk and Clean Break ... so so.

PS: did not get to see Hidden Assets, Amber or Single Handed. So cannot say.

PS: I have 0 interest in hospital or cheffing dramas so cannot tell if the Clinic or Cooked Raw were good or not.

JP Liz V1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119551970#Comment_119551970

Where made?

thesandeman

Connemara. Roundstone, Leenane, Clifden area mainly. The pop up Garda station caused a lot of u-turns by locals in the first couple of days 😃

Mr.Crinklewood

Starting in a few minutes

BoroMan32

Dear me. How do you they pump money into these things and churn out this tripe?

Decent so far. Good plot to it. Although the plot is very similar to An Bronntanas which was aired on TG4 a few years ago

Sephiroth_dude

Must say I enjoyed that, looking forward to next weeks episode.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119571878#Comment_119571878

Same here. Couldnt fault it now tbh. Far better than the overrated Kin which is all over the place

MfMan

Was ok. Cast let down by a clunky, rather self-conscious script and performances were a bit too earnest and forced. As usual, things improved immensely when Stuart Graham appeared.

lumphammer2

Good opening episode ... an interesting take on the gangland theme. Looking forward to next week.

thesandeman

Accents were a bit off. Even if I didn't have a connection (pun possibly intended) with the area and been around during the filming I would definitely stay watching.

If RTE Player actually lets anybody watch it there's a "meet the characters" extra which is quite interesting.

Also it was filmed during semi-lockdown which may explain the way some of the scenes were shot.

Memoryman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119571850#Comment_119571850

You're bang on, was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the trailer for it. Too similar in actual fact, plagiarism would clearly not seem to extend to script writing??, unless the same production company or writers are behind it. Taking Poetic Licence a bit too far I would think.

A bit of trivia for all you TV buffs: This program/mini TV series (An Bronntanas / The Gift) from 2014 ran for a total of five weeks on TG4 including an edited feature length episode and was also centred around a family run fish processing business/the fishing industry. It too was also filmed around Connemara and had all the same storyline with drug smuggling and a dead body thrown in for good measure with the added ingredient of a local Search and Rescue lifeboat crew to expand the plot even further and if that wasn't enough to wet your appetite, it also had the cupla focail with subtitles, what more could you ask for !! Incidentally, in actual fact it was nominated by IFTA for an Oscar in the Foreign Language Category. The film version premiered at the Galway film fleadh in 2014. closing the festival.

It was described in a review in The Independent as: "like No Country for Old Men, as murder, drugs and the devilish temptations of money crash-land into a small town on the Atlantic coast"

A TG4 Facebook Post of the same year described it as: The show that "makes Love Hate look like Postman Pat".....😂

Talk about bigging it up to catch the TV ratings.

It even featured here on Boards.ie in that same year but didn't fare too well in the comments having come under intense scrutiny and didn't receive very favourable posts.

Then of course how could we forget, that homegrown comedy caper the Young Offenders movie, a satirical look at drug smuggling, loosely based around the whole Dunlough Bay story and filmed around the beautiful West Cork coastline.....Daycent Boy! 😉

Well that's enough about all that......

So aside from the close similarities with An Bronntanas it was ok so far. It takes time to develop the plot and the characters so we will give it a chance I suppose.

Memoryman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119572380#Comment_119572380

Which guy was he, the character towards the end who played the gang boss?

On the subject of the cast. correct me if i'm wrong but did anyone happen to take notice ( not that you could miss him ) of the guy who played the character who got killed on the boat at the start. Did he play a drug squad Garda in Love Hate (how ironic)?? .........

Memoryman

What about the nod to Love Hate with the plastic bag scene. Who could forget that grisly L/H scene with the unfortunate dentist!!

I just wonder though in fairness how much would anyone be expected to hear with a bag over their head which creates a vacuum. not to mention the panic and shock they would be under as they're gasping for air!!

....... Disclaimer, Don't Try This At Home !!!..........

Atlantic Dawn

Decent enough opener. Why they didn't initially put the holdalls in to the watertright blue drums featured later on the boat and retrieve them is beyond me, nobody is putting perishable holdalls with million dollar drugs directly in to the sea. Would have also been better to have been more realistic and featured cocaine on the west coast.

RTE really are all over the place, they put a preview for Meaning Of Life on directly after this and put a preview for next weeks episode of this on for the first break on Meaning Of Life.

Memoryman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119551970#Comment_119551970

Good one, I like it Hilarious!.....I can just imagine their faces!

A good story to tell the lads down the pub ( no pun intended! )

......Please keep us posted of anymore stories or anecdotal humour that you may have. 👍️

castletownman

Of course there is a mixed-race, and indeed multinational, couple. Of course the drug lord is from the north, with an accent veering very close to American at times.

Surely, if she got a good day's catch of fish, she'd be easily be able to hide the hold-alls underneath the bounty? That yokel country garda definitely won't suspect a thing.

Decent all the same.

Memoryman

Maybe she should have just taken the Brexit Temporary Fleet Tie Up Scheme instead and saved herself a whole pile of bother in the process! ( No offence to any of the well intentioned and hardworking fishermen and women in what is becoming an increasingly difficult industry )

Well she certainly reached her quota in drugs that's for sure!.

Strazdas

Pretty good opening episode and the scenery is stunning. I thought it was going be a bit slow moving at first, but they got to the action / criminal stuff fairly quickly.

lumphammer2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119571850#Comment_119571850

I agree but what is An Bronntanas ... I seem to associate that name with some drama about the banking crisis focused on Brian Lenihan Jr on TG4 ... or am I thinking of something else?

thesandeman

I love this bit of the review from The Examiner. It's exactly what I was thinking myself.

😃😃😃

Gadgetman496

Disappointed with the first episode, to be honest. I hope it improves over the next 5, I'll stick with it and hope for the best.

RoryMurphyJnr

Unbelievably poor, plot line done to death, wooden acting, bizarre accents. Won't be sticking around for EP2

Atlantic Dawn

How were they supposed to be originally smuggling cigarettes underwater in holdall bags? Were they waterproof cigarettes?

thesandeman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119598451#Comment_119598451

Three cigarette cases for a Euro? 😃

Atlantic Dawn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119598454#Comment_119598454

Dragon's Den - I'm In 😁

siblers

Surprised anyone can enjoy this I find it Dreadfully bad. Felt like it was a college project I was watching. Acting is atrocious as is the editing and sound. It's unbelievablely shite, makes Smother look like The Wire

trashcan

caught up with it this evening. Found it ok. Watchable enough, and better than most RTE efforts since Love Hate. Miles better than Kin @nyway. The acting is decent for the most part. I always find Denis Conway watchable, and I’d say he’s not to be easily dismissed as a country bumpkin Guard. Think they are going for a bit of a Brendan Gleeson vibe there. I reckon Bjorn is involved in setting Aidan up with the drug smugglers. He said he had helped him by giving him a contact, and he seemed to be eyeing the Swedish cop up nervously.

Who is the guy playing the stoner/ surfer ? I’m sure I know him from something. Have a feeling it’s an ad, but I can’t place it.

lumphammer2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119605828#Comment_119605828

I agree with most of what you have said ... NSC is decent so far and way better than most RTE efforts since Love/Hate ... I disagree about Kin ... L/H as it stands is the best ... Kin sagged a bit in the middle but the start & end were awesome ... plenty room to even up the ante in season 2 post Covid ...

NSC so far is very watchable ... and has potential to be awesome ... it is miles better than the disappointing overhyped Talen Down as well as obvious trash dramas such as Finding Joy and Striking Out ...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119577454#Comment_119577454

Similar plot. Fishermen and drugs. A bit more comical in parts. There was a farcical bar fight with a midget and the Ros na Run actor at one point

Atlantic Dawn

Poor episode this week, no preview afterwards of next weeks episode.

thesandeman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119605996#Comment_119605996

Not too bad for me except for the Garda stereotype.

Glad there was no preview. I always switch off during the credits for any of these type of series as I don't want to see any spoilers for the next episode.

RabbleRouser2k

I think the lead actress is underwhelming, imho. When I'm eating dinner, it's on in the background. I've tried. It's not 'The South Westerlies' bad (no Patrick Bergin, so of course it's above average if he's not in it) but the 'tense' moments feel like the lead actress is not strong enough for the part.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119605828#Comment_119605828

Were they hinting that Bjorn didn’t know what the Swedish detective said to him in Swedish?

sully123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119606069#Comment_119606069

Yeah, How long has he lived there? Its the first time he has encountered another swede since?

Bit corny last night. Garda stuff was very unoriginal. Also the stoner screw-up character. Obviously will be the first one to go.

Galwayguy35

That gobby one driving the boat is the most annoying character I've come across in a while.

trashcan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119606579#Comment_119606579

Spoiler alert - was looking up IMDB to try and see where I knew him from, and saw he’s only listed for 3 of the 6 episodes, so I’d suspect you’re correct there.

Memoryman

Genius piece of scriptwriting all the same though with your man giving the gun back to someone who was intent on killing him moments earlier!! She is a forensic scientist's dream wasn't worth her while putting on the boiler suit, she left more than enough DNA evidence around the place with all the cigarette butts!! I mean do they even care to think about the obvious things.

Cartman78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119610327#Comment_119610327

Yes.... and don't forget they also drove off without getting the drugs from the car.

The female hitman (hit-woman, hit-person??) losing her patience in the front of the van is the cringiest segment of TV I've seen in a while.

And who brought the trawler back to dock after she landed the drugs on shore?

Anyway it's comically appalling imho...somewhere between a guilty pleasure and a hate watch for me

sully123

It seems a lot better when they are speaking Swedish

The Princess Bride

Some of d'accents are rather flah, some characters not finishing their words properly too, but that happens in real life here, so...

It's watchable enough, I suppose.

PTH2009

This is not the calibre of some of the great Irish dramas but its acceptable even with the horrible accents and slow pace

Spoiler Warning

So the Swedish auld fella is in the preview for next week, so I guess he pulls through

trashcan

I still think it’s ok. Couple of plot holes though. When they explained to the gang boss what happened to the guy on the boat, why wasn’t his next question “and what about my missing drugs ?” Has he forgotten about them ? Also, has nobody missed the part of the stash the stoner pilfered ? And what about his post mortem ? Isn’t there a chance the autopsy will reveal the shooting, even on a burned body ? (No expertise here, so I genuinely don’t know the answer to that.)I liked the fact that they had the car on video on the phone.

PTH2009

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119669154#Comment_119669154

Spoiler Warning

Was there even a body left ?

beertons

Just started this areir. I sussed something straight away with the Swedish guy, the way he said and schedule, at the diner party. Asking the girl if she caught anything fishing.

I'll keep going at it for now.

thesandeman

Only caught up with Sundays episode now. Probably the one with the most twists so far. Even the accents seemed slightly less Oirish.

Atlantic Dawn

A 'ghost' car transporter with 2000 Toyota Corolla's from 1996 fitted with new 500bhp engines sinking off Clifden tonight would make the current plotline more feasible.