Single-Handed: Set 1

Single-Handed is an Irish television series. .It is filmed in the west of Ireland, and focuses on the life of a member of the Garda Síochána (police), Sergeant Jack Driscoll. It is said that the series is partially inspired by garda corruption in County Donegal.Garda Sergeant Jack Driscoll has been transferred from Dublin and to the remote area of County Galway where he'd grown up, and his father had been sergeant before him. When he is investigating the suspicious death of an eastern European woman, the locals, including his father, seem to think everything would be best if the case were quickly written off as suicide. The deeper he investigates the case the more he discovers about the locals, including his father. This doesn't just include the recent case but events many years past where an unwanted baby was apparently murdered. Owen McDonnell is the lead star, Garda Sergeant DriscollThe two other cases also include fairly dark subjects where we aren't sure who we can trust and few people are what they originally seem. The actors all do a good job in the three interesting stories. I would love to see more series from Ireland.Highly Recommended. prisrob 10-20-12 Garrow's Law: Series One Single-Handed, Set 2

I was eager to see this police series set in a small town in Ireland. I have watched many British and American police shows so I looked forward to seeing an Irish version. I totally agree with other reviewers who said the main gem of SINGLE-HANDED is the beautiful green Irish countryside. The scenery is outstanding. Much of filming is done outdoors so there is a visual feast of lovely Ireland. Saying that, I have to sadly say the other aspects of the series are rather dull and tedious. The stories have potential but the action is so slow-moving and the dialogue unmotivated.The real problem is the writing. Garda Sergeant Jack Driscoll has returned from Dublin to his small hometown on the west coast of Ireland. It is never really explained as to why he returns and how he happens to replace his father as the head of the two-man police department. Driscoll may be working in a small town but there are lots of secrets and the locals look after each other while the police look the other way. It seems like everyone in town is hiding some dark secret and here is where the stories begin to fade into oblivion. A few secrets are evetually revealed to be hidden away again, but in most cases thinks are left unresolved or not understood.Few, if any, of the major characters are likeable. Jack's father is under investigation for his unscrupulous handing of various arrests through the years. The townsfolk are tightlipped. There is so much potential in this series that is just wasted. In episode one, a beautiful illegal immigrant is found dead under mysterious circumstances. Jack Driscoll is determinded to find the truth. A potentially compelling story becomes a twist of confusion and a bit of farce. Driscoll questions Tommy and Tommy says Driscoll should be talking to his own father. Driscoll drives to his father and is told he should be asking Tommy questions. Anyway, the episode is a ping pong of back and forth questions. I actually wanted to keep track of how much of each show is dedicated to Driscoll driving back and forth from his parents to the police station to crime scenes and to interview witnesses. Back and forth over long stretches of country rode. I guess it is better to drive than use the phone.Even Jack's mother is "mum" about Jack's father and all she knows. People keep quiet in this town. It's also a bit uncertain as to how big or small this town is. Lots of people seem to live in the country but the town has a big hotel, new office building, meeting halls and the like, yet the police station does not even have a computer. The local pub has a rotary dial phone and Jack's mother has a cassette player. Of course, everyone has a cell phone. It's a small town, yet it seems to have the mob and organized crime bosses.I kept watching each episode even though they were incredibly slow moving. A couple big plot twists in the first episode are revealed and then hidden. The last episode was called "THE DROWNING MAN" and finally the writers seem to have more control over a storyline. It was still lacking but the added mystery of an unexplained drowning along with two suspicious tourists in town made more a more interesting story.Sadly, the characters are never fully developed. Driscoll doesn't have luck in relationships and has a different lady friend in each episode..not bad for a small town police sergeant. I expected so much more and was so disappointed.

Great actors and characters good stories!

Why can't American television be this good? Seriously. This is my new favorite program. I will admit the subject matter in these episode certainly deal with very adult themes. I would not let my kids watch this show. That said, the writing is SOOOO good! And I am afraid the writing has spoiled me. Having seen the first 2 episodes, I just knew there would be a payoff at the end, and this one didn't disappoint. The screw just keeps twisting tighter and tighter. When the final twist came, I quickly paused to find out that it all happens in the last 7 minutes. The payoff is what makes the setup worth it. That is always the case, whether in a book or a TV show or a movie...the writer/director/producer/actors all ask you to make the investment, with the promise of making it all worthwhile.I hope people reading this review take the time to watch the show. It's really really good! It was interesting to me that after this episode, I took a very deep breath, and smiled. I felt like I'd worked out, or gone for a long run, and wanted to savor the feeling. These episodes take an amazing amount of concentration...no playing Words With Friends while watching, or cooking or knitting or whatever...they require you complete and full attention, and I love it.I am very sad there were only 2 seasons made, because I am already half way through!Simply amazing. And although the acting is top notch, the real star here is the writer(s). Well done.

Having a close family member in the Garda I appreciate the series. It really does a good job of showing what the new Gardaí are up against being a "team of one" in the counties. The other thing I appreciate about this series is it makes no effort to hide that "the old school" gardai had definite issues and some did abuse their power and now the young ones are having to prove to people that things have changed and they can be trusted. This series deals with all that, plus the personal issues being faced by a young Garda in dealing with his family and his own personal demons. I liked it but it move slow and steady - no edge of your seat moments in this series but more than one shocker that sneaks up on you in every episode - just good story lines and solid acting.

the series was good slow by spells and I would probably not buy it again --it is more of a soap style shownot mystery oriented

A very well done police drama/mystery/detective series. The 3 stories are interlinked through the main character's family, but the detective side of each episode stands alone. This Irish series must have flown under the radar in Britain as nobody in my family, who live in England, had heard of it. Watching the first 20 minutes or so of the first episode we thought we were going to be disappointed, but the layers started to reveal themselves and we found that each episode had a gritty, dark edge to it. Caroline Catz, Louisa in the Doc Martin series, appears in the second episode. The Irish landscape is stunning and the acting first rate.

We,my friends and I, watched this at our condo over the holiday season and everyone enjoyed it.It is moody and edgy and Ireland looks bleak and rainy. The cast is great and the charactures interesting and flawed. You don't like most of them but get a really good feel for a small town where all is not as it seems and secrets are many. Great for a snowy evening with a good glass of single malt.

Excellent drama filmed in the Irish village of Connemara. I loved this moody, dark, introspective show. The crime in each episode is almost secondary to the internal problems of the Irish police force called Garda. The episodes focus on the Garda's relationships with the community over the years & their internal corruption problems. The landscape is wonderful, at times very bleak & desolate. A very realistic portrait of a land, its problems & its people. Perhaps, not for all tastes, but I loved it so much that I also purchased the second set.