Redwater

This show is full of twists and suspenseful moments and I hope Season 2 comes along very quickly. I don't watch EastEnders, as I'm in Australia, so these characters were new people to me. As always the acting is very good with the storyline being strong. Both of course is usual in British TV series and why I prefer UK or Canadian dramas.

Very like a soap. But the end is totally unresolved. It's all a bit of a prime for series 2.

You get to the end and ask yourself why did I waste my time with this.

I was looking forward to Redwater and watched every episode. The story line had plenty of potential with Kat's search for a son she hasn't seen since birth, beautiful scenery of a small seaside village in Co Waterford in Ireland, full of interesting but secretive characters and quality actors. The drama unfolds over the six episodes and the series finishes on a massive cliffhanger. Will there be another series? Let's hope so.

I enjoyed the twists and turns of the dramatic plot and, while I feel that some parts are overblown and not very typical of Ireland, I warmed to the characters. Oisin Stack is excellent as the priest with his changeable emotions clearly shown on his face, Fionnuala Flanagan plays the all knowing and manipulating Granny well and the two squabbling sisters are also convincing. I don't watch Eastenders but I warmed to Kat and Alfie, who seem like two innocents in this Irish nightmare that unfolds around them.

My niggling criticism is that the ages of the Byrne family are confusing, with the younger generation seeming too old to be children of their parents. However, my main concern is that Redwater doesn't contain much humour. A big mistake, in my opinion, if BBC want it to succeed in Ireland as well as the UK. If they added in more typical Irish humour, it would make the series less dreary and more likable. Many long running crime series contain glimmers of humour and the contrast can be used to good effect. If there is to be more Redwater (and I really hope there will be), please let there be a little laughter - as in real life, especially in Ireland.

When they were first introduced in 'Eastenders' Kat and Alfie were fun characters, who the nation willed and wished to be together. Because of course they were trapped in a soap however they soon got ruined, and ended up with more baggage than audiences could keep up with.

This spin-off however was a chance to lose some of that and to give the characters a fresh lease of life.

Yes, it's trying a little too hard to be like 'Broadchurch', but there's a lot of like here, not least the winning performances of Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie, who seem to be enjoying the escape from Albert Square.

Will this catch on? Time will tell. For now though this is a decent enough piece of TV drama.

I really enjoyed this series, but what happened to the final scenes? Most of the third act is missing! At first I thought maybe they finished it up on the soap opera, but no! Then I thought they must already be approved for Season 2, but no. Very disappointing. There are something like 6 story lines, including the main story line, and not ONE of them showed the resolution. I guess this is what happens when soap opera people try to do a mini-series; they don't know how to write an ending. Really a shame because it was top notch until it ended- about 40 minutes too early.