Quirke

Quirke is one of Dublin's finest pathologists, he's smart and clever, but hides some dark secrets, and is too much of fan of the bottle.

Three very good, high quality episodes, the second one quite literally held me captivated, the other two aren't perhaps that standard, but still a very good watch.

They are beautifully shot, they look incredible, I'd you're a fan of the 1950's, you will see that era brought to life, both visually, and in terms of atmosphere.

Best element, the acting, every single person plays their part, Gabriel Byrne is fabulous as the tortured Quirke, he is in good company, Michael Gambon is wonderful, as is the velvet voiced Stanley Townsend.

It is such a shame that only three of these were made, I would have loved to have seen more. Always struck me that The BBC were looking for a replacement show for George Gently, such a shame we only got three.

A very, very good watch, 8/10.

Honestly I do not know they expect to get viewers on a regular basis with only 3 episodes? It did not play like a mini series or long movie. Was it suppose to? It is well done. Different and interesting. The acting was good. But I was sure this was a TV series. Three episodes does not make a TV series. I guess it was not meant to be more. This is from Wiki. Quirke is a British-Irish crime drama television series that was first broadcast on BBC One and RTÉ One in 2014. The three-part series is based on the books by John Banville, writing under the pseudonym Benjamin Black, and was adapted by Andrew Davies and Conor McPherson. I would like to see them actually turn this into a real series.

Another top notch offering from the BBC. (2 episodes in) Wonderful, atmospheric settings and unusually artistic cinematography, a gripping back story and marvellous, marvellous acting. A very good insight into life in Ireland in the 50's also.

Quirke, the outstanding Gabriel Byrne in one of his better efforts ever, is an alcoholic pathologist in Dublin in the 1950's. Quirke, an orphan of unknown parents, was adopted into the wealthy Griffin family. A family where not is all what it seems, and where people love and hate each other at the same time, and harbour secrets, some of them quite terrible. (like a lot of real families). While Quirke tries to help find out what happened to bodies who used to be people with the help of a jaded garda inspector, we unravel his past life episode by episode, and watch his life unravel as well.

It is compelling stuff, I can only highly recommend it. Preferably from the start. While produced by the BBC, it's an all irish cast and location. It looks a million dollar, it's original, the characters are interestingly complex, and it's just very, very good.

It feels very much like the Maigret series with Bruno Cremer, only better (!). Note that the solving of the mystery is only a part of the drama, most of it revolves on the interplay of the family, their problems and their secrets, and the telling of life in a Ireland 60 years ago, with its obedience to the catholic church, treatment of women etc...therefore you can enjoy it even if you aren't fond of murder mysteries. It is nearly an anticlimax to come to the end and have the murder solved (sometimes rather too conveniently - hence the 9 instead of 10 - very small complaint) , so engrossed are you in the actual story in its entirety - you want it to go on!

Do not expect CSI or NCIS, it is as far removed from those shows as possible.

I did not read the books, so that I have no idea how accurate is the adaptation, but I can guarantee the story is perfectly clear and simple to follow, unlike some adaptations that require former knowledge of the written medium to understand anything at all.

I also highly recommend it in HD with a good sound system. The terrific atmosphere deserves that.

Contains smoking and drinking. [;-)]

Edit: Episode 3 is a straight 10/10. Very emotional, and even improved from the other two on all fronts, if that was possible. Classic television in the making. - I just read the first two episodes were adapted by Welsh screenwriter Andrew Davies and the third by Irish playwright/director Conor McPherson. Now it makes sense and it actually shows.

I'm glad to see that there are users who enjoyed the series. And there were those who didn't. To both camps, may I recommend that you give a look to the novels on which this series is based? Benjamin Black's Quirk plots are an excuse to display language that is a both joy and a marvel to behold. It's unfair to ask that the richness and complexities of these books be translated to a TV series. Even so, watching, I kept thinking, 'There is so much more.' To the naysayers of the series, if nothing else, may its existence lead you to give the books a try.

On another note, I thoroughly enjoyed Stanley Townsend's Inspector Hackett. Just right.

Someone said I should post my comment as a review, so here goes...

There are so many procedurals,and cop shows out there,doing the same thing over and over again. This is not one of those regular TV- shows. Crime plays a part of course, but more than that, this is a series that is driven by character development. For each crime we also delve deeper into Quirke's family relations and history. There is a logical development in the way the story is built,so that the plots of the different episodes combine into a whole. And consequences are far from as clean cut, as it would have been in an ordinary cop-show.

I have tremendous respect for Gabriel Byrne and Michael Gambon as actors, and I think this material may well have provided the foundation for some of the best acting of their career. The supporting cast is also uniformly excellent, and that nearly all actors in this series is Irish, also makes it that much more convincing.I enjoyed the mood set by the music,and the portrayal of the era. From Smoke-filled streets and bars, to the clothes they use, the cars they drive, and all the small details that make up this wonderful mini-series.