Clean Sweep

This is an excellent drama series that starts slow and builds. And then builds again. I rarely have any expectations before I watch any new drama series as this can open one to disappointment. So I kept an open mind. And can safely say that I was completely engrossed from start to finish. The acting was on-point throughout with a superb and commanding performance from the lead actress, Charlene McKenna: this is HOW you act! The direction was very clever but please be patient - it is like pieces of a jigsaw that comes together at the end. The script too was extremely well-written and easily passes the test of believability.

But it is the very final scene between the lead actress and her detective husband that brought in equal measure a smile and tear to my eye that copperfastened for me, how a proper drama should be made.

I highly recommend. Enjoy!

On the plus side the lead actress was brilliant,a shame that does not apply to the rest of the cast. The two youngest kids were fine but the older son can't act to save his life,also the female detective based in London was portrayed like a cartoon character. I found the plot involving the characters from England to be confusing and there were times i did not know what was going on. Will be interesting to see whether or not there is a second series,but not really sure if it warrrants one. Overall it just about held my interest but there are far better series out there to watch,but if you have nothing better to see it is not a complete waste of time.

This drama deserves your attention, because so much of the details on the plot, narrative are done, excellently. The interfaces between the various members of the family, and the subtle nuances of what it is like to feel the friction of family. Life are done absolutely wonderfully...

The main characters, including the husband and wife and the children all play magnificently and deserve to be applauded.

Some of the supporting actors, including the female partner, Cop, the nightmare of the parent teacher Association, and the persistent London. Cop are all a bit overdone, but they cannot take away from the core magnificence of the leads.

It is set an island and has many other things going for it, but really taken as a whole piece, this is a very worthy drama that deserves your time and attention..

I enjoyed this, partly, I think, because I'd never seen an Irish police thriller before. The main plot was gripping and well acted. I thought the ending was very well executed and certainly doesn't need to imply a second series, as some reviewers have said.

On the negative side, I found the family soap opera a bit tedious. The stories with the three children had nothing to do with the main plot. It's as if there were two competing programme ideas and someone had the not-so-bright idea of putting them both into one.

The English police scenes did not ring true at all and the histrionic outburst near the end was bizarre. Why was the superintendent (?) in charge of the case referred to as the "commissioner". It made no sense. The accents weren't always quite right either.

I think there is some hometown cringe going on. I thought it was a very good show with a complex plot and complex family relationships .I thought the main character was excellent. We grew to know and love her and her children. We were invited into a real family, doing believable things. I cared for the characters.

Dealing with cystic fibrosis without grandstanding it, just quietly demonstrating the work required was noble and nowhere were issues overstated.

For me not living in Ireland, the scenery and different way of doing things deepens interest. The intertwining of the past and present keep the tension at a fairly high level. At several points when you feel the crime is about to be solved, they wriggle out of it but always in a believable way, easing the tension momentarily but not for long.

Did think it ended without a real resolution but I thought that was because a second series was planned. Is this not so?