The Fear

When I stumbled on to this show I was very hopeful and excited- Peter Mullan playing an aging crime boss, set in the UK , with other good actors in it too. I was hoping for a Brit version of "The Sopranos", and I "sort of" got it; Sopranos if produced by Lifetime network, maybe.

Mullan is of course great as usual, unfortunately the writing is not. I had recently watched an Aussie series called "Wentworth" which was great, gritty and realistic, so it didn't help that I had been reminded of how good shows could actually be.

Early in the first episode we see Mullan beat a guy to a pulp for touching his car, and also for riding a unicycle, like a nerd. Next we are introduced to the "Fredo" of the family, he is a not too good looking guy with an ugly affinity for under aged girls. At this point it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this guy will be punished, and if pedo-looking uni cyclists are any harbinger we can assume that punishment will be severe. I was already half expecting a mannish looking lady cop to jump out and start kicking him in the testicles.

Next, they show Mullen groveling as he practically begs his wife to "allow" him to get into bed with her. No matter that she is is aloof, insulting, and condescendingly belittles Mullen, refusing his request with a Hillary-esque eye roll ("you stink" she cleverly quips). He has apparently provided her with a mansion worth millions or tens of millions, set her up with a "business"-i.e. art gallery, so she can pretend to do real work, and his given her two sons however nebulous one or both might be. Oh yea, she is cheating with multiple men including so called "artists" who likely don't do any real work either.

Note to the writers- putting lipstick and designer eye wear on a skinny elderly actress does not morph her into a hottie, and if Mullen was going to be portrayed begging they should have at least cast an actress born after The Beatles hit US shores. At this point, the show lost all credibility as well as this viewer, as I just could not buy a cuckolded Tony Soprano even if it was Brit style. Oh well, maybe there is something better on The Oxygen Network.

I got sick of the Old man's mental illness. He played the part well because his character really got on my nerves with the flash back. A lot of vices in season 1. Good crime series i found on netflix...

As others have said, Peter Mullan was brilliant.

I enjoyed this series, although 4 episodes was plenty. I was rapidly tiring of Richie's hallucinations (which became repetitive).

I'm no medical expert, by my understanding of Alzheimer's is that it is a fairly gradual decline. Richie seemingly went from having a mild cognitive impairment, to being almost fully incapacitated in a matter of days?

Anyone know the artist/s who painted the artwork admired by Richie and his wife? It is spectacular and suits the basic theme of the show.

Peter Mullan gave a stunning performance in a series which just dragged on too long. The flashbacks would have been better as a prologue at the beginning as they became boring to the point of being really annoying. I know that the intent was to show Richie losing his mind, but the four part series could have been reduced to two hours with no loss.

Two things puzzled me: why did no one turn the illegal immigrant gangsters into the police/immigration service, then they would have been rid of them? and the progression of Ritchie's Alzheimer's Disease must have been the fastest on record. My observation of dementia and Alzheimer's has been that it takes years rather than days.

Overall, 'The Long Good Friday' did it better.