Bang

Very often I start watching a TV series and don't persist beyond an episode or two, but "Bang" has held me through series 1. I'm not sure why, as typically I find very dark stories repulsive. I think the brilliance of the acting is undeniable, and Catrin Stewart and Jacob Ifan have very attractive faces. The smaller parts don't disappoint either. One reason I'm surprised at the series' appeal is that it is largely in Welsh, whereas "foreign language" films are usually a big turnoff for me. The story and the dialogue are good enough, despite some implausibilities. Why does Sam let Rhys beat him up without retaliation although he is the larger man? Need some time in the gym, Sam! The other frustrating thing is that there are several men with short dark hair and chiselled features representing different characters, and I couldn't retain who they were or which one was on the screen at a given time. So I'm sure I missed quite a lot. I'll dip into Series II but be ready to bail out, as series often seem to deteriorate. Anyway, worth a try if you're looking for some quite gripping viewing.

The most interesting thing about this series is that fact that it is performed in English and Welsh. Other than that, it is absolute rubbish that is at the level of a university drama project that is done for academic credit! The script is all over the place and not well thought out. It contains a mass of tangled stories, some of which are related to the plot, others are not. The writing and dialog is childish. The ending makes it look as if there might be a second series but hopefully we will be spared that suffering. There have been better series coming out of Wales in recent years. This one is just not one of those.

My fascination with Welsh Noir started with Hinterland, but has just gone to a new level with Bang.

Yes, I was drawn into the darkness of Hidden. Keeping Faith teetered just to the right side of preposterous, with overuse of pop video style lingering to music over the attractive female lead. Requiem was super creepy, folk horror. 35 Diwrnod is OK, but limited by its small budget and cast. Bang seemed to reconcile all of these shortcomings and make a powerful virtue of each one, with much use of a popular technique of location centred drama - long location shots, and very smart use of music.

Like I said when Hinterland broke through with its take on the Scandi noir set up - cop outsider with demons - the strongest cast member in a heck of a strong field was the landscape of Ceredigion, and the dark secrets of Aberystwyth. They also ended up smothering the plot and compensating for a drift into borderline cod. But like in Hidden, the stark survival of the Welsh working class was an ever present, if a little on the hopeless side.

Bang had all of this and more. The backdrop being Port Talbot, warts, beaches, steelworks, motorways and all. It didn't pull a single punch in the portrayal of the daily stuff of a police beat, following a spree of gun crimes in Series One and a savage killer on the loose in Series Two. But though life at times for a whole load of characters was unremittingly tough, it didn't seem as universally grim and hopeless as Hidden, or have the stolen idyll of Keeping Faith. Life is hard in this world of loan sharks, low wages, drugs, domestic violence,crime and decay. Yet for all that, there are characters who still bring warmth and joy, office banter and small tender moments of friendship and family life. Even poor old Sam Jenkins, bullied, friendless and prosecuted manages to have happiness and a sense of humour in his grasp. I say this having just wrapped up a stunning conclusion to the six part second run, which certainly didn't cue things up for happy ever afters.

There lingers too the possibility of justice not being served. It's possible that bullies, murderers and rapists might break an unwritten rule of TV drama and get away with it. Bang also has an earthier menace to it, man-made malignancy, rather than an ethereal lingering evil of the kind we saw so profoundly in Requiem, and hinted at from time to time in both Hidden and Hinterland, where there's always a hint of the weird and the eerie. Hopefully there are no spoilers here, and this is enough of a recommendation. Just watch it, absorb yourself in it and try not to have nightmares. The cast are (mostly) tight and the creator Roger Williams' script sparkles with bilingual delights. But in Catrin Stewart as Gina, and Jacob Ifan as Sam, you have two performances that would earn a BAFTA, or equivalent, in any language.

A final thought though, did nobody care what happened to creepy Russell?

The rugged backdrop of Port Talbot works incredibly well as the backdrop for this compelling Welsh drama. Mostly spoken in Welsh, with sections in English, it gives the drama a unique appeal. It's a fantastic story, multi layered and deep. If I'm honest I found the first episode a little slow, but after that it's literally all guns blazing.

There's a fact of Welsh (and Scottish) talent on show, and although Gina appears to be the focal point, the story focused more so on her troubled brother Sam. The cast are terrific, Jacob Ifan is a standout, you get the impression that he truly is a troubled character.

Some violence, some shocking scenes, it is incredibly gritty. We get to see the real Port Talbot, we also get some incredible shots of the areas around it, which are remarkable.

It's in the same mould as Hidden and Hinterland, so if you enjoyed those, you will love this. I hugely recommend it.

Was that rubbish I just sat through? Dopey cops, a pathetic brother to one of the dopey cops, cardboard cut-out "baddies". Did I mention the brother is a moron? Actually, so is the cop sister.

Having them speak Welsh was neither here nor there as a plot point. In fact as the plot was all over the shop, they could have spoken Swahili and it wouldn't have made it any more ridiculous.