Safe Harbor

Having seen the cast, I was definitely expecting something along the lines of the excellent "Love Hate" or "Kin".

Make no mistake, this is nothing like that.

This not an Irish show, this is a decidedly Dutch show but with Irish actors.

In general the cast and acting are good. However there is one massive error. Casting the effete Joffrey from Game Of Thrones as an Irish Gangster is laughable. As if he wasn't bad enough, the director decided to give him a dodgy looking wig and a joke moustache, that makes him look like an '80's SAS wannabe.

I was hoping for more from Mrs Doyle too.

Charlie Murphy was however brilliant as usual.

I had to stop watching after just 20 minutes - this show is nearly unwatchable. The script feels extremely unnatural, with dialogue that comes across as forced and artificial. Every scene is filled with cringe-worthy moments that make you wonder how this ever made it past the development stage. Jack Gleeson's appearance, particularly his distracting and poorly styled wig, is almost comical and takes you completely out of any scene he's in. The costume department clearly made some questionable choices here that undermine any attempt at creating a believable character.

The whole production feels amateurish and poorly executed, from the wooden acting to the unconvincing character interactions. It's disappointing to see such potential wasted on what appears to be a rushed and poorly thought-out production. The writing team seems to have forgotten that natural dialogue and character development are essential elements of good storytelling. I wanted to give this show a fair chance, but 20 minutes was all I could endure before having to turn it off. Save yourself the time and watch something else instead.

1/10.

Apart from the silly and not credible gun fights, this Series is very good and underrated. The script is the among the very best I have experienced. The combination of English mixed with Dutch is just how the Dutch speak in reality, most of them speak better English than the English. The real harbour scenes are great and the story plausible in today's world. I would watch another show from the same producers and directors. The only acting problem is that Jack Glesson (IMO) is completely miscast as an Irish gang heavyweight. The rest of the cast are top notch though. The clever script is the real winner here though.

When I saw the cast and subject matter of this series I had high expectations. Normally I love Colm Meaney, Charlie Murphy, Jack Gleeson and Alfie Allen in gritty dramas. There were some other good actors that I thought would add to it especially Martijn Lakemeier. The plot was somewhat plausible but the characters were never credible as hardened violent organized criminals, apart from Jack Gleeson who delivered in a few scenes as a psychotic entitled brat trying to prove he's is a tough guy.

When compared to Love Hate, Kin or even Hidden Assets, this series with a great cast and good locations could, and should have been so much better.

I really love the show. Mainly dialogue driven, but the action pieces are really impressive!

The first half of episode one left me wondering where it was going. But from that point onward I was completely hooked. The show is ambitious and has great action.

Special mention to Alfie Allen and Martijn Lakemeier who play best buddies and are very likable from the get-go.

I also really liked Jack Gleeson as the less glorious successor to his fearsome father, really funny. Personally I was really intrigued to see how his more powerful sister - Charlie Murphy - gains more trust from her dad and I look forward to seeing how that evolves.