Quirke

Quirke is an excellent miniseries. Hence, I can't believe all the low ratings and bad reviews of Quirke. I don't normally post reviews on IMDB; in fact, this one may be my first. But the naysayers prompted me to action.

Quirke is brooding. Atmospheric. Serious drama with more than one plot line. Excellent acting performances are delivered by Gabriel Byrne, Nick Dunning, Aisling Franciosi and others.

Perhaps thoughtful, serious drama isn't for everyone. But Quirke shouldn't be panned because of it. I highly recommend this drama and only wish there had been additional series produced.

If you love Gabriel Byrne you will love this. The soundtrack is on point. It's a great representation of alcoholism and depression. The character relationships are very believable. The family dynamics are accurate as well. I really enjoyed it and it was way to short. There is a sad grit to it I appreciate. It's not the most original thing I've seen but if you like the actors involved than you will really enjoy it.

The new BBC drama 'Quirke' takes us into postwar Ireland - seedy, drunken, dominated by the twin evils of the church and the wealthy and corrupt. It's a somewhat clichéd view, made palatable by the series' muted tone, although at times in the first episode I struggled to follow the softly spoken dialogue and relatively (for a murder drama) understated plot. Unlike many such series, there's an overall narrative as well as individual stories; the fact that Quirke's niece has a separate, personal connection to all three murders reduces the overall plausibility. The cast is an impressive one, but the scripts don't really call on them to do anything extraordinary; the detail with which their characters' feelings are observed is often weaker than its symbolic depiction (endless booze and cigarettes). To me, 'Quirke' fell between two stools: too low-key and gloomy to be fun family entertainment, but not truly deep either.

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.

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.