PeterDuggan wrote: » Taken Down (from the makers of LoveHate) starts on RTOne on Sun, 4/11/18 at 9.30pm.
jvan wrote: » I wonder is the pace of the show a metaphor for how long people are in direct provison!
yourdeadwright wrote: » In this case the tv show just happens to be slow and the majority think the same ? ?
yourdeadwright wrote: » In this case the tv show just happens to be slow and the majority think the same ? What majority would that be
Deleted User wrote: » No one disputed his education or the fact he has a certain amount of intelligence but his views on immigration are deeply flawed. If Western countries keep taking in refugees then the origin countries will never learn and will continue to act the bollócks. Leaders with some bit of back bone should be coming together and warning these dictators that their carry on is a burden on the rest of the world instead of resorting to this unsustainable madness of direct provision and forced migration.
quinnd6 wrote: » It's too boring to watch. Nothing happening. Then followed by more crap. No the licence fee is not worth it. It's wasted money. TV is just crap on all channels anyway.
The Late Late Show wrote: » Was just reading the number of viewers tuning into Taken Down has decreased drastically. Not surprising at all after 3 lame episodes deliberately toned down to be the antithesis of Love/Hate. Go and watch McMafia, The Handmaid's Tale and Peaky Blinders and do not waste time with Taken Down is my advice. Unlike the other 4 series mentioned, Taken Down will not be part of my DVD collection. I'd say Stuart Carolan's script after all the RTE meddling is reduced down to less than 5%.
youre boring me now wrote: » Thanks so much for your advice Late Late Show!!! I'd be super grateful if you would check back regularly with your latest thoughts on the programme that you don't like but continue to heroically watch!!!
The Late Late Show wrote: » Who said I will continue to watch this? I've watched 3 episodes and wanted to give it a chance but 50% of the way through it, there is nothing impressive about it and it is just boring. Rebellion was a masterpiece by comparison so far. I REALLY wanted to like Taken Down and thought that it would give us a good drama that would catch the imagination of the nation like Love/Hate did. So far, Taken Down is actionless, humourless, dark (as in set in the dark), draggy, tame and boring. There is nothing there to recommend it. Across 5 series, Love/Hate was always interesting and it essentially documented the violent life of Nidge from happy go lucky second in command to paranoid gang leader. Even in its quieter episodes of each season, Love/Hate was a billion times better than anything in Taken Down so far. Each season and each episode of Love/Hate had something interesting and added to the story. And unpredictable stories came into being: for example after an IRA heavy series 3 and first 4 episodes of series 4, suddenly a seemingly forgotten story of Nidge bombing Fran's wife's place comes back into focus and the pipe bomb maker dominates the rest of series 4 and almost all of series 5. Even when it felt most likely Fran or the cops posed the greatest danger to Nidge, it was the pipe bomb maker in the end who proved most lethal. Can I see Taken Down get 5 series or go through the twists and turns of Love/Hate? Not based on the first 3 tame episodes. If RTE have an aversion to violent dramas, they should do one about Bertie Ahern or about the banking crisis or something else. They totally ruin gangland dramas now because they are afraid of the people who criticised Love/Hate then and The Handmaid's Tale now.
robwen wrote: » Why does the Handmaid's tale get mentioned in here so often, similar subject matter or what's the comparison?
youre boring me now wrote: » It was critically acclaimed, and those people see nothing foolish in comparing an independent Irish production to a lavishly funded American adaption.
The Late Late Show wrote: » The Handmaid's Tale and Love/Hate both are excellent with one being also an Irish drama with less funding and the other an American drama with a big budget. Both are critically acclaimed and both did not shy away from their subject matter. There is no way Taken Down can compare to either of these 2 dramas and is the antithesis to them.
FrancieBrady wrote: » Love Hate had all the same cliches as this. Including the same actor playing almost the same part.
The Late Late Show wrote: » Love/Hate was a million times better. The important issue was this actor played a minor rather than a major character in Love/Hate. She is a backup actor rather than a main character.
Deleted User wrote: » Yeah..would love/hate really hold up now even..apart from the 'gritty/glamour Irish drug dealers hitting the big time' hype that kind of surrounded it at the time..was it really that gripping, or was it just that it was RTE doing something other than fair city..I never really watched it..I probably will at some stage..
RabbleRouser2k wrote: » Handmaid's Tale was fine for the first season-but it dropped off enormously in the second season-probably because there should never have been a second season. That's another issue that American Drama has had in the last few years-too many shows dip after their first season-be it Lost, or Girls (which had a brief flirtation with popularity) or The Walking Dead. Audiences dip out, and if the quality isn't maintained, they're gone. True Detective S2 was a mess compared to S1. Breaking Bad maintained it's quality-whilst shows like Mad Men just didn't click over here, so it's hard to judge the quality of product. If RTE interfered in the script-and I don't believe they did, then there are workarounds to that. But the writing is one thing, the acting is something else-and that's down to direction, and poor casting. We're getting a politically correct story-with no meat.
FrancieBrady wrote: » I was talking about the Git character. Same actor, same part. Cliched. Both series are. Love Hate was just ok, just. Some tedious writing and over wrought characterisation in it as well. I always think the people who hate RTE, making an exception for Love Hate to be hilariously funny tbh.
hatrickpatrick wrote: » Love/Hate really was incredible. Not without its flaws obviously, but seasons two and four in particular were incredible - the perfect mix of crime action and personal drama. I think two crucial elements of Love/Hate added to the realism - one being the on-location film shoots at familiar locations in Dublin along with familiar landmarks in scene-setting pans, and also their use of contemporary music in the background of various scenes - to take one example, Season Four begins with the lads trying to have a meeting in the car park of a nightclub, and in the background you can hear the muffled verse of We Found Love (Calvin Harris / Rihanna) which was big in the charts at the time. The Christening scene in that same scene was similar - the background music was exactly what you'd expect from a 2010s private function at a Dublin hotel with a DJ. Because of this, the show nailed that "this really could be real life and happening right now and just around the corner" feel. Ado's gaff was a block of old flats in Dolphin's Barn beside where some of my friends lived, and that definitely enhanced the show at least for us - could cite many more examples of excellent use of Dublin scenery and landmarks to fully immerse viewers, assuming they actually live in Dublin or are familiar with it. Taken Down is far more claustrophobic, which its meant to be, but it does mean that it can't easily go for either that sense of geographical familiarity, or strategic deployment of background music to properly date the show as happening in the present time, right now. Maybe others would disagree, but in my view those were two of the defining features of Love/Hate - and, indeed, RTE's inability to make a deal with IMRO for using the same music on the DVD release definitely took away from that immersive atmosphere, which is why I will always rewatch it from my Sky box's planner rather than any of the DVDs.
The Late Late Show wrote: » I enjoyed both series of The Handmaid's Tale. The first season was the best because it was based on the excellent book of the same name. Series 2 though I enjoyed as well and it is streets ahead of anything RTE did recently that is for sure. I was a late comer to Breaking Bad but have really enjoyed it and it is an excellent series. Mad Men I have yet to see but I like Elisabeth Moss' acting style and she is excellent in The Handmaid's Tale. RTE's recent dramas are poor and I would very much think RTE are toning them down. They probably didn't interfere with the script but just sanitised it and decided what should be shown and how it should be shown. Taken Down clearly is poorly directed and the actors are not suited to the role. Lynn Rafferty was grand as Aideen in Love/Hate but she is not a convincing Garda any more than Amy was a convincing solicitor in Striking Out. But the sad truth is this is more likely the type of cop RTE will show. They won't be doing a Dirty Harry type one that's for sure! Gar is a watered down version of Git that is for sure. Watered down being the operative word when it comes to Taken Down in general.I enjoyed Love/Hate a lot and it is something I have watched several times. There is so much stuff in Love/Hate that today's RTE would not make: let alone the violence, all the scenes with the taking the drugs would not be shown either. With all the ultra-Catholic doctors like Frank Murray breeding down our throats with misinformation about drink, RTE will soon no longer be able to show people drinking in their dramas. This is how sad things are going in RTE. Yes, it does stand up. Watch Love/Hate and just compare it to Taken Down or Striking Out and you see the difference. Love/Hate was not afraid to show its word and it should have been followed up with more such dramas. Since then, RTE are afraid to show anything offensive (meaning violent) or anything that goes against the puritanical agendas of the likes of Dr Frank Murray (a Catholic religious fanatic who also happens to be a doctor). Sadly, the 'new' Ireland and the old Ireland are not as different as we are lead to believe. It is now only the PC types and health types can use these to peddle their religious extremism when people no longer take note of religion. Sadly, this agenda is creeping into how our dramas are made. Fair City too while just a soap is still better than Taken Down or Striking Out. But it is the same here: once, there was Billy Meehan and gangland, now it is a lot tamer. I agree with this. Love/Hate is a treat to watch I think. The music in it I agree was well chosen too. Look at the use of the spiritual at the very start of season four to hone in on Nidge's guilt while visiting Darren's grave. Or Roy Orbison's Crying used when Fran found out about Nidge and Linda. Or the rebel songs for the IRA episodes. The lack of the original music often is sadly a feature of the DVDs and takes from them. Taken Down just comes across as a drab, tame, toned down drama. While it is goodnatured, it is tame. Being good natured and OTT PC is not the same. The Dirty Harry character for example is good natured but he is not OTT PC for example. As an antidote to the poor episode 3 of Taken Down, I watched Sudden Impact the most violent Dirty Harry film after it. It showed how an evil misogynist gang get their comeuppance and was the perfect tonic after an hour of boredom on RTE. I'm sure back in the day when the Dirty Harry films were made, bishops and hardline priests were preaching against them. Today, the priests and bishops have been replaced by even more sinister health fanatics who will peddle misinformation that violent drama along with food, alcohol and intelligent forms of music are all bad for us!
FrancieBrady wrote: » So it can only be good if it has geographical familiarity to 'you'? The reaction to Love Hate was really skewed by over reverence in my opinion. Not sure at what point it happened in the series but the writers, actors and RTE could do no wrong with it with it, with a certain set of viewers, after a certain point. But some of it was dull cliched writing that aped so much other stuff.
hatrickpatrick wrote: » I never said it could only be good if it has geographical familiarity, I'm merely saying that this geographical familiarity was surely part of the reason Love/Hate was so incredibly successful. The entire program was shot on location and a huge amount of it took place outdoors and in public areas. Taken Down is a claustrophobic kind of show (intentionally and rightly, IMO) - most of its scenes take place indoors and in close quarters with the characters. I'm not saying this makes the difference between a good show, but surely it could be argued that it might make the difference between a show with mass hype appeal?
youre boring me now wrote: » A 4am post?! You must have a busy life! I wonder if you’re aware of how vapid your criticisms are. Nothing is substantiated. You simply contrast Taken Down with another show and assert that it is far inferior. Your quantity (a tad excessive, maybe?!) doesn’t mask the poor quality.
RabbleRouser2k wrote: » I think I understand what you mean- the real world locations were another character in the show. Instead of a set, it was a real world location. And being 'real' made it feel more real. (The Wire did similar-the city was the main character. The main cast were all supporting characters.) I can understand wanting to preserve claustrophobia in Taken Down-the only problem is they've mismanaged it. Interestingly, someone above mentioned Billy Meehan and Fair City. The actor who played him, Stuart Dunne, seemed to never escape the role afterwards. He was interviewed years later (dunno what magazine it was) but he was trying to get a movie made based on Vincent Van Gogh. He even removed some of his front teeth to get it made, and had falsies fitted until he could afford dental implants. Anyways-the interview I read, he came across as very bitter. He had a theory as to why Fair City 'killed off' his character-he felt that the character had far more stories to be told, could even have left and come back to the show at a later stage. But he felt there was pressure from the government and Bertie Ahern to 'get his character out of the show'... I don't know how true that is, tbh. If anything, it felt far more like conspiracy theory than anything. But I thought it was an interesting side note with regards to others feeling like RTE interfered in the show.
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