Jack Irish

I like a lot of the Oz tv and film I see. The Jack Irish films were fun, in large part, because of the supporting ensemble, many familiar to me from other productions. S 2 puts the film gang back together and is much better for it. S1 I rated 5, S2 rate 8 so 7 overall.

I'd long had the intention to watch Jack Irish, having missed the boat when the three telemovies were aired and the subsequent series. Finally I got stuck in, and there I remained glued to every instalment.

The quality acting ensemble, the look and feel, the tangled webs woven by the writers, the diverse characters and dry humour - everything about Jack Irish is a joy.

It's understandable this show may not be everyone's glass of Scotch - it certainly enhances the experience to be familiar with the locations and uniquely Melbourne references. But difficult to understand are the critiques owing to the protagonist (brilliantly played by Guy Pearce) being dismissed as a loser / dead beat. For good reason he is damaged and flawed and thus makes questionable decisions in the pursuit of the truth, which imperil himself and those he cares for. I guess some need their heroes to wear capes.

The strongest series is open for debate. What the final season lacks in uniqueness by travelling down the corrupt cop road is more than offset by the full circle narrative which lays bare the opening scene of the first telemovie underpinning Jack's character arc. The memorable final few minutes of this memorable show were beautifully executed, serving to exacerbate the bittersweet satisfaction Jack Irish has resolved his last case - himself.

The show has it's merits as it attempts to have the quirky comedic side story parallel the serious detective story. The quirky side has characters and plot lines that go from inane to stupid, the detective side has serious business going on. Unfortunately the inane and stupid too often migrate to the serious side. The police are either invisible or incompetent, the bad guys get to be bad without consequences episode after episode, and poor old Marta Dusseldorp gets hung out to dry (luckily she has a much better gig in Sydney circa 1950's). Jack seems confused more than not, and manages to get himself nearly killed every episode, and the cops just laugh. And they're not even shooting for satire!

I'm sure many agree that the writing, acting, direction and overall storyline are simply excellent. What really appealed to me, however, were the side stories. In most shows they are annoying and irrelevant, but the story lines related to race horses, the old footballers in the pub, the carpenter, and others make this a truly complete and enjoyable "universe."

I loved the first three "Jack Irish" movies, they just went from strength to strength.

They formed a body of work that can stand comparison with the best in the crime/mystery genre such as "Morse", "Lewis", "Wallander", "Jesse Stone", and "Vera."

All share key ingredients that are even more important than a cutting-edge plot, the critical one being that the lead character must have feeling. It doesn't matter how tough or worldly-wise they are, these people know your pain. All the best ones understand human failings even if they don't always forgive them. Wit serves their characters well - not so much cynicism, but a knowing, world-weary wit.

The first three "Jack Irish" movies had those qualities in spades, plus unique, beautifully realised characters right down the cast list.

But I'm not so sure about the latest 6-part series. I think the extended format works against the tighter format of the movie length episodes. Where the filmmakers edited to fit 90-minutes, they now extend to fill 4-hours plus.

There are still clever touches and some very funny lines, and you can't fault the performances, but there are definitely some well-worn themes: a trail that leads to crooked politicians; ruthless multinationals; terrorists, and that old favourite of just about every series, the cult church with dark motives. Despite sub-plots going off in all directions, the principle that 'no one is introduced for nothing' is applied with a vengeance - no one is random, everything is connected.

Familiar elements added spice to the first three movies, but here things are perilously close to being over-spiced. Jack's buddies get a major workout with a lot more business to get through.

A factor is possibly the creation of more content for a voracious medium, but I can't help feeling that the six episodes would have made two more succinct movies along the lines of "Bad Debts", "Black Tide" and "Dead Point".

It will be interesting to see where "Jack Irish" goes from here.