Murphy's Law

I'm a huge fan of UK/Irish crime dramas and mysteries, but this one did not work for me. The Murphy character is a cartoon Irishman, shallowly- drawn and made of cardboard. The plots are pretty unrealistic. Murphy is like a character in an Irish joke, a jerk who can out-drink, out-seduce, out-daredevil anybody.

This series is one step above reality TV. I found myself wondering why I should care about whether Murphy gets killed or not. He didn't seem much more likable than the thugs he was out to get.

In every episode, he should, by all rights, be killed, but of course, he squeaks by every time. This series is all bravado and no brains. If you want something with a tiny amount of intelligence and plausibility, look elsewhere. For an Irish drama that's worth watching, I recommend "Single-Handed".

My wife and I just completed this series. We really liked it. It is very tense due to the undercover assignments that Murphy gets: one mistake and he is dead. James Nesbitt is great as Murphy.

I've only recently watched all five series of Murphy's Law - series 1 started off well but soon became mediocre. Series 2 was better but still not brilliant. All that was to change with series 3 when it all became much darker, grittier and with far superior story lines and scripts. Don't get me wrong, series 1 and 2 are still worth watching, but they are very inferior to series 3, 4 and 5.

James Nesbitt is utterly superb in the role of Murphy - he's totally believable and never lets the viewer down.

Fantastic. If I was only marking series 3 to 5 then I'd give this a 10/10, but it's only fair to judge all five series so far, in which case I reluctantly knock off one mark, so it's 9/10 overall.

Very highly recommended.

And if you want to see James Nesbitt in another excellent series, do give 'Jekyll' a go. It too is fantastic.

No comedy. No Love, but you have got to like Murphy even a little bit,,,if you like this kind of stuff...Whilst some kids get recruited to go to war - see war and do kill people, very few if any become actors like Murphy...

Murphy (James Nesbitt) has got Screen Presence...He scares the shxt out of me, and that is just on the Telly..

Way more darker than what was actually going on then, and possibly now.

This ain't Starskey & Hutch. - even the Americans had some humour....and this is most definitely not the UK Cop Series, where Bodie had a 3 litre Capri With Doyle - The Professionals..

That was Class, it was also funny.

This is not, and does not reflect reality..

Most soldiers come back from war extremely mentally and physically not well often missing legs (very brave about it).. The last thing they want to do is be a film star, thug, police or an army on any side in Belfast

If i watched any more of this I would Have nightmares. Not suitable for me, nor Children.

Try Apocalypse Now, or Silence of the Lambs.

I wasn't sure whether I would love Murphy's Law, the fact is I do. It is gripping and very well structured, perhaps a little bleak at times, but hey Taggart is bleak as well, well sort of. One thing I like about Murphy's Law is how it is shot. The photography is very well done, and the scenery is atmospheric. The music also adds to the gritty and tense atmosphere that is evident in some episodes. And then all this is coupled with some brilliant writing that is gritty yet intelligent, taut direction and interesting and well structured story lines. But I can't write this review without mentioning James Nesbitt in the title role of Tommy Murphy, a great actor who gives a superb performance throughout, bitter and indifferent, yet we love him for those reasons. Some episodes are indeed stronger than others, but it is like that with almost every show ever in existence. 10/10 for a very gripping detective series, and well worth watching for Nesbitt especially. Bethany Cox