Striking Out [RTÉ1]

04-02-2018 10:39pm

Love/Hate was excellent on a low budget. Pure Mule was excellent on a low budget.

Vorenus400 · 04-02-2018 10:45pm

Moe Dunford should be in better things than this. he was very good in Vikings even though he had a horrible character at times. Himself and Maria Doyle Kennedy show that there is talent in the acting pool but the production is lacking

jpm4 · 04-02-2018 10:55pm

This is pretty bad TV, but I just saw the scene where the Hube is jogging about the Blessington Basin which I live next door to, think I could see my yard in the overhead shot.

Hope they cleaned all the dog s**t out of there before filming.

ignorance is strength · 04-02-2018 10:59pm

MilesMorales1 wrote: »

You're right, lets give Irish tv programmes like this and fair city a break because RTE is a **** show and they have low budgets. Give me a break, this is ****ing cack, and its only redeemed because its turned into a 'so bad its mildly amusing' scenario.

They have perfectly reasonable budgets for their size. Forgive me when I say that I utterly disregard your judgement.

Deleted User wrote: »

Love/Hate was excellent on a low budget. Pure Mule was excellent on a low budget.

Love/Hate had a huge budget by Irish standards. I think I remember reading later episodes were costing 500k+ each to commission. Of course, though, I wasn't arguing that a low-budget show can't be excellent. Just that we shouldn't have unreasonably high standards for all.

greasepalm · 04-02-2018 11:10pm

i dont look at too many or none at all but enjoyed the first series and now looking at the second series and loving it,if there is a third will also enjoy.

Radio5 · 05-02-2018 10:54am

Based on the ad, I gave up on this and watched UTV last night.

Next week's is the series Finale.....

MilesMorales1 · 05-02-2018 11:10am

I thought that whole episode was a bit of a damp squib. The funniest part of this entire show was when the secretary called Eric and he jumped like he'd been electrocuted though.

NUTLEY BOY · 05-02-2018 1:31pm

Radio5 wrote: »

SNIP SNIP Next week's is the series Finale.....

Thank God for that.

For a finale I wish that the crew from Red Rock would scream up in marked patrol cars, with armed support units, arrest the entire cast of Striking Out for crimes against legal dramas in particular, and drama in general and that they are sent to Guantanamo Bay - never to be seen again.:rolleyes:

Seriously, I have really struggled with this series which has failed utterly to improve with time. In fact, it got worse. I hope that RTE will not waste any more of the budget on a further run of it and kill it off now. At this stage I would nearly sign a petition to bring back Glenroe in preference to this irritation.:)

Better still, I would welcome a re-run of Strumpet City (1980 ???) which was one of RTE's best ever drama productions.

ignorance is strength · 05-02-2018 2:11pm

NUTLEY BOY wrote: »

Thank God for that.

For a finale I wish that the crew from Red Rock would scream up in marked patrol cars, with armed support units, arrest the entire cast of Striking Out for crimes against legal dramas in particular, and drama in general and that they are sent to Guantanamo Bay - never to be seen again.:rolleyes:

Seriously, I have really struggled with this series which has failed utterly to improve with time. In fact, it got worse. I hope that RTE will not waste any more of the budget on a further run of it and kill it off now. At this stage I would nearly sign a petition to bring back Glenroe in preference to this irritation.:)

Better still, I would welcome a re-run of Strumpet City (1980 ???) which was one of RTE's best ever drama productions.

Any chance of you actually identifying an aspect you found wanting?! How do you find it in any way satisfying to denigrate it without substantiating your case?!

BuilderPlumber · 05-02-2018 3:30pm

The quality of RTE drama has become very poor over the last 3-4 years. Could not motivate myself to watch Striking Out and feel it is just a grown up more mature take on The Big Bow Wow. Over the last 3 years, RTE have fired out one mediocre drama after another. Clean Break, Rebellion, Can't Cope Won't Cope and Striking Out. One could also note that they go from the best of a poor lot to the worst in pretty much that order.

It is a shame RTE do not employ the talents of good writers. Look what happened when they got Roddy Doyle and Stuart Carolan onboard: Family and Love/Hate. And when they decided to revive an old classic, we got Strumpet City. Those 3 dramas are always worth watching and can be enjoyed anytime. The 5 I mentioned in the first paragraph are an endurance to watch once.

ignorance is strength · 05-02-2018 3:41pm

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

The quality of RTE drama has become very poor over the last 3-4 years. Could not motivate myself to watch Striking Out and feel it is just a grown up more mature take on The Big Bow Wow. Over the last 3 years, RTE have fired out one mediocre drama after another. Clean Break, Rebellion, Can't Cope Won't Cope and Striking Out. One could also note that they go from the best of a poor lot to the worst in pretty much that order.

It is a shame RTE do not employ the talents of good writers. Look what happened when they got Roddy Doyle and Stuart Carolan onboard: Family and Love/Hate. And when they decided to revive an old classic, we got Strumpet City. Those 3 dramas are always worth watching and can be enjoyed anytime. The 5 I mentioned in the first paragraph are an endurance to watch once.

Again, merely saying it’s bad doesn’t make it so. You ought to substantiate your claims with specific examples.

BuilderPlumber · 05-02-2018 4:26pm

ignorance is strength wrote: »

Again, merely saying it’s bad doesn’t make it so. You ought to substantiate your claims with specific examples.

My main problems with Striking Out is that stories are wound up in one episode way too quickly. Tara seems to always come out on top and the other problem is the unrealistic issues such as the petty criminal working for a solicitor. The underlying affair story then is hardly groundbreaking and feels like a filler inner storyline from Fair City or Coronation Street. Still, Striking Out is preferable to the drivel that will replace it after next week. Most likely Dragon's bloody Den.

NUTLEY BOY · 06-02-2018 12:45pm

ignorance is strength wrote: »

Any chance of you actually identifying an aspect you found wanting?! How do you find it in any way satisfying to denigrate it without substantiating your case?!

The concept of denigration would extend to include notions such as defamation, belittling, unfair commentary and basic trolling. For clarity, my observations are based on none of these but rather on pure adverse criticism of the series under discussion. For balance, I should say that I found nothing redeeming or mitigating about the quality of it either. BTW I actually watched every episode so my views are based on the complete evidence

I have not the slightest intention of giving myself neuralgia with a parsed précis of criticisms. I have already expressed my views as have quite a number of posters with whose adverse views I would concur generally.

You asked a question so I will try to answer you. I would say simply that I found the series was wholly lacking in any energy, drama, tension, excitement, punch or engaging plot lines. In other words, I found nothing of what I would have expected of what was sold to us as being of the legal drama genre. What is so frustrating is that legal dramas can be very good.

I suppose my difficulty is a subconscious comparison of this series to other television legal dramas. I think of The Firm, The Good Wife [Julianna Margulies], Kavanagh QC [John Thaw], Silk [Maxine Peake], the Law and Order USA and Law and Order UK series, Crown Court (1970's) and even good old whimsical quasi-dramatic Rumpole of the Baily [Leo McKern - as written by John Mortimer QC]. Juxtapose these alongside Striking Out and what do you get comparatively ? Take that last as rhetorical :rolleyes:

I rest my case........

ignorance is strength · 06-02-2018 1:28pm

NUTLEY BOY wrote: »

The concept of denigration would extend to include notions such as defamation, belittling, unfair commentary and basic trolling. For clarity, my observations are based on none of these but rather on pure adverse criticism of the series under discussion. For balance, I should say that I found nothing redeeming or mitigating about the quality of it either. BTW I actually watched every episode so my views are based on the complete evidence

I have not the slightest intention of giving myself neuralgia with a parsed précis of criticisms. I have already expressed my views as have quite a number of posters with whose adverse views I would concur generally.

You asked a question so I will try to answer you. I would say simply that I found the series was wholly lacking in any energy, drama, tension, excitement, punch or engaging plot lines. In other words, I found nothing of what I would have expected of what was sold to us as being of the legal drama genre. What is so frustrating is that legal dramas can be very good.

I suppose my difficulty is a subconscious comparison of this series to other television legal dramas. I think of The Firm, The Good Wife [Julianna Margulies], Kavanagh QC [John Thaw], Silk [Maxine Peake], the Law and Order USA and Law and Order UK series, Crown Court (1970's) and even good old whimsical quasi-dramatic Rumpole of the Baily [Leo McKern - as written by John Mortimer QC]. Juxtapose these alongside Striking Out and what do you get comparatively ? Take that last as rhetorical :rolleyes:

I rest my case........

Your forced expression is painful to read.

"Lacking in any energy, drama, tension, excitement, punch or engaging plot lines". These are just subjective assertions, though. You've basically just listed the general features of a good drama and asserted that Striking Out possesses none, without any supporting evidence! What if I were to assert the opposite -- that Striking Out does have all those qualities, also without substantiating? There would be no way of determining which is a more compelling assessment. The only way to adjudicate would be to decide which of us seems to have a more reliable opinion. You need to be able to identify specific aspects as part of your criticism.

UrbanFox · 06-02-2018 1:32pm

Silk starring Maxine Peake was a splendid exemplar of a legal drama.
As the central character, Maxine Peake's performance was excellent.

NUTLEY BOY · 06-02-2018 1:43pm

ignorance is strength wrote: »

Your forced expression is painful to read.

"Lacking in any energy, drama, tension, excitement, punch or engaging plot lines". These are just subjective assertions, though. You've basically just listed the general features of a good drama and asserted that Striking Out possesses none, without any supporting evidence! What if I were to assert the opposite -- that Striking Out does have all those qualities, also without substantiating? There would be no way of determining which is a more compelling assessment. The only way to adjudicate would be to decide which of us seems to have a more reliable opinion. You need to be able to identify specific aspects as part of your criticism.

No. It is not about you or me or who is right or who is wrong. It is about the evidence and the respective differing views that we have formed of the series. On the evidence of what I watched the series simply failed to impress me remotely as I have already explained. I am not alone. You, on the other hand, might well be right in your views.

One thing that I don't know about is the viewing figures. Any ideas there and how they might compare to other programmes ?

ignorance is strength · 06-02-2018 1:55pm

NUTLEY BOY wrote: »

No. It is not about you or me or who is right or who is wrong. It is about the evidence and the respective differing views that we have formed of the series. On the evidence of what I watched the series simply failed to impress me remotely as I have already explained. I am not alone. You, on the other hand, might well be right in your views.

One thing that I don't know about is the viewing figures. Any ideas there and how they might compare to other programmes ?

That is exactly my point: it is not about either of our opinions, it's about the facts of the show. But unless you include specific references in your criticisms, it will remain that way.

310k viewers last week, which is decent but not stellar. Late Late Show had 430k.

dee_mc · 07-02-2018 12:53am

Anyone else not have a bulls what's going on at this stage?!
I try to focus but I struggle to keep up with/care who all the various men in suits are.
No sign of the mother this week - obviously pushing for a third series as they haven't developed the affair storyline enough to have any kind of convincing conclusion to it next week.
It's a 'meh' from me.

BoroMan32 · 07-02-2018 2:33am

dee_mc wrote: »

Anyone else not have a bulls what's going on at this stage?!

Indeed, this 'Inquiry' that rumbles along without anyone knowing wtf it's all about.

Horrible acting, boring storylines, sterile characters.....

As bad as it gets.

freshpopcorn · 08-02-2018 9:09am

I don't think he can pull off the mustache!

https://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/celebrity-news/former-bond-girl-gemma-arterton-goes-public-with-new-boyfriend-and-hes-an-rte-star-36580874.html

Exclamation Marc · 08-02-2018 1:20pm

I find that a whole lot of nothing goes on and the overarching story proceeds with the pace of coastal erosion.

This weeks 'case' for example had the crazy ex wife wanting money and to destroy her ex which ended up being resolved offscreen on the basis of 'ah sure, the son had a word with me' and then no explanation of the agreement as it was a secret but everyone was suddenly happy families. Its all in a manner displaying that the writers clearly had no idea how to see stories through.

I like Amy Huberman, Neil Morrissey and Rory Keenan but the story lines seem so muddled, complicated and aimless that there's not a lot to work with most of the time.

I still watch it in the hope it improves though.

ignorance is strength · 08-02-2018 4:42pm

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I don't think he can pull off the mustache!

https://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/celebrity-news/former-bond-girl-gemma-arterton-goes-public-with-new-boyfriend-and-hes-an-rte-star-36580874.html

Depends what look he’s going for.

joeysoap · 08-02-2018 4:56pm

I enjoy striking out,even though I know it’s poor. Poor storylines and a happy ending every week.

Meg is a direct lift (poor imitation) from the Good wife (Kalinda)

As regards RTÉ drama, I thought Love/Hate was terrific, as was Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope.

AndrewJRenko · 08-02-2018 9:46pm

ignorance is strength wrote: »

Depends what look he’s going for.

The 'Marty Whelan is my Daddy' look?

ignorance is strength · 09-02-2018 11:46am

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

The 'Marty Whelan is my Daddy' look?

Yeah, exactly, and if that’s the case I’m sure he’s very pleased with how it’s turned out.

brian_t · 11-02-2018 5:00pm

darkdubh wrote: »

They nearly always have a token English character in RTE dramas, probably to try and sell it to a potential UK audience.

Series one starts on My5 this week - Thursday at 9pm.

BuilderPlumber · 11-02-2018 7:40pm

joeysoap wrote: »

I enjoy striking out,even though I know it’s poor. Poor storylines and a happy ending every week.

Meg is a direct lift (poor imitation) from the Good wife (Kalinda)

As regards RTÉ drama, I thought Love/Hate was terrific, as was Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope.

I watched Striking Out last year. It is poor but I would take it above what they will have from next week. That is a series of Room to Improve and then a series of Dragon's Den. Of those 2, I'd take RTI before DD and SO before any of them.

This year, I was catching up on DVDs and therefore did not get around to watching SO. Love/Hate was excellent and I would like to see RTE do another similar drama like it. I think RTE should hire someone like Stuart Carolan or Roddy Doyle to write a drama and let them have full control over its production. Stuart could do a new Love/Hate or a Love/Hate spinoff or a similar drama and Roddy could do something new along the lines of Family or a Barrystown next generation series.

political analyst · 11-02-2018 8:42pm

BoroMan32 wrote: »

Indeed, this 'Inquiry' that rumbles along without anyone knowing wtf it's all about.

Horrible acting, boring storylines, sterile characters.....

As bad as it gets.

It's about corruption in the awarding of a contract for the construction of "Leinster General Hospital".

freshpopcorn · 11-02-2018 11:06pm

What meat/fish are they eating?

ednwireland · 11-02-2018 11:24pm

freshpopcorn wrote: »

What meat/fish are they eating?

spam

Striking Out [RTÉ1]

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