Single-Handed (2007–2010) User Reviews

An intriguing goldfish bowl.

[davoshannon · 8/10 · 16 December 2010]

There's only a first review, so I have to add another plaudit.

Reading the cast list, there are a lot of the "usual suspects" from Irish drama. And the location looks pretty, if a shade more marine than the Quiet Man. So you could be forgiven for passing through, and not watching. That would be your mistake.

This goldfish bowl may be geographically and scenically extensive, but it's emotionally claustrophobic. I live in the West, but it's not as intense as this (generally).

The cast is superb, and all the production values are excellent. But the real nod has to go to the scriptwriter (Barry Simner) and screenplay.

This is a dark, twisting, integration of (Sgt.) Jack Driscoll into his idyllic law enforcement posting in Connemara. Don't start thinking rural means isolation from the all the vices of modern urban society. They're all there, and have been for some time. But carefully disguised and hidden. And just when you think you see the next step, a left hook leaves you reeling. And often a hard and tragic revelation.

This is excellent material, and all the more surprising that it's "just" television. Excellent, and highly recommended.

Dark Irish drama

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 19 August 2009]

When I saw this advertised in the TV guide I assumed it would be "Heartbeat" meets "Ballykissangel" however when I watched it I realised that is was nothing of the sort, it may be set in a beautiful part of the world but there is nothing twee about it, instead of making the place seem appealing it came across as a dark and dangerous place where nobody can really be trusted.

Garda Sergeant Jack Driscoll has been transferred from Dublin and to the remote area of Co. Galway where he'd grown up and his father had been sergeant before him. When he is investigating the suspicious death of an eastern European the locals, including his father, seem to think everything would be best if the case were quickly written off as suicide. The deeper he investigates the case the more he discovers about the dubious behaviour of the locals, including his father. This doesn't just include the recent case but events many years before where an unwanted baby was apparently murdered.

The two other cases also include fairly dark subjects where we aren't sure who we can trust and few people are what they originally seem. The actors all do a good job in the three interesting stories, if RTE are making other dramas of this quality I hope they too get an airing on this side of the Irish Sea.

Realistic and gloomy in many ways

[BeneCumb · 7/10 · 4 April 2016]

/refers to all 4 seasons/

In my country, there are not too many series-films available, but it is always nice to have some change from time to time. As I am fond of UK and Scandinavian crime series, I did not expect something "out of the way" - and so it was. Poor climate with harsh, yet oddly beautiful landscape, relations among people used to live in underpopulated areas and work hard for daily living, small community vices and virtues - all this is properly depicted in Single-Handed as well. True, there are several protracted scenes, the cases are often subordinated to personal issues, and some supporting/infrequent cast (particularly Stephen Rea in The Lost Boys) overshadows the main one (although e.g. Owen McDonnell seems appropriate for the role).

Thus, the series in question is no Luther or What Remains, for example, but brings realistic moments in front of TV and decent familiarisation with life and people in distant Ireland.

Excellent series set on wild coast of County Galway in Ireland

[robert-temple-1 · 10/10 · 19 May 2012]

The Irish, like the Danes, live in a small country which has produced its fair share of theatre, film, and TV drama. This excellent RTE police series is no 'Celtic Twilight' story, but is instead a disturbing exploration of the under-surface of modern Irish society as it extends even to such a remote place as County Galway, beside the Atlantic Ocean. The hero of the series, superbly and quietly played by Owen McDonnell (who was born in Galway and has its soil in his bones), is a young sergeant in the Irish police, who are known as 'the Garda' (a Gaelic name). This review is of the entire 12 episodes produced so far, comprising Seasons One and Two. It is not known if there will be any more, but I hope so. It is a very absorbing series which goes at a gentle pace, revealing intrigues and crimes slowly, rather than at the breathless pace of a Hollywood film which has to squeeze everything into 90 minutes. McDonnell's father had been a senior Garda figure, and in Season One, McDonnell comes face to face with the fact that he had been dishonest and criminal in his job, as most of his colleagues had also been. McDonnell is a thoroughly honourable man struggling to keep his honest nose above sea level in this wholly corrupt place. The series is shot entirely on location and the scenery is remarkable for its bleak beauty, a nearly treeless landscape running down to a shattered sea and endless shimmering water dusted by drifting clouds, with spectacular sunsets. The area is extremely isolated and under-populated. The locals are deeply inbred and introverted, clannish, secretive, suspicious, brutal, and, well, Irish, which means they can also be charming and amusing while they are scheming against you. The wickedest character in the series is a perfect serpent, retired Garda Inspector Dennis Costello, played with sinuous menace and cunning by Sean McGinley. He runs the local pub called Mallons, a den of iniquity, scheming, and plotting. Everyone in the area seems consumed by greed, lust, perversity, or unnatural passions of one kind or another, and none of them are honest apart from stalwart Owen McDonnell, whose character is called Jack Driscoll. If anyone ever wondered how so many murders could possibly be committed in the small town of Oxford in order to justify the INSPECTOR MORSE series, try County Galway for limitless decadence. How can such a desolate place be seething with such much corruption, brutality, and quiet crime? The series is clearly meant to be a reflection upon contemporary Ireland, a country where all the politicians are said to be corrupt, where all the businessmen are said to be corrupt (and I have met some of those!), and where incest, rape, murder, brutality of every kind imaginable, and of course the sexual perversities and crimes of the Catholic clergy, are rampant. It is also a country where greed ran amok and resulted in the economic collapse from which Ireland is still struggling, with doubtful success, to make some kind of recovery. There are some powerful performances by supporting players in this series, especially the sinister and knowing mother of McDonnell, played by Ruth McCabe, who conveys as much by her eyes as many actors do when they scream. She refuses to condemn the immorality of her late husband and thinks her son is a fool for being such a 'good guy', which certainly is a new angle on the cozy mum theme, for she will sit down and have a nice cup of tea while justifying dishonesty and immorality. McDonnell's bewilderment and exasperation at the hypocrisy and dishonesty he finds on all sides never breaks him, but he looks sadder and sadder, and says a great deal when he does not speak, rather like those silent Danes in THE KILLING Part One (see my review). If the Irish can produce a series like this, they have not lost their touch. Let's have more.

Ireland, looking Irish and acting conflicted as everywhere

[E Canuck · 8/10 · 28 November 2017]

I watched most of Series One and Two before a self-driving week in Ireland with my husband which included two nights in Galway and a day on the Connemara Loop. That was 2 months back and I've just concluded a second viewing, including the final episode I'd not seen fully the first time round. I have to admit my primary motive was to revisit the landscape and do some place-spotting but the quality of the drama kept distracting me from my touristic infatuation with the Republic of Ireland generally and Connemara, specifically. At times villains of the stories can be a bit over the top, but for the most part I thoroughly enjoy the writing, the acting and of course, the setting. If this series wasn't so hard to get hold of here in Canada I'd be recommending it to people I know.

I enjoyed seeing Charlie Murphy, again, who did a fine job in the mini series Rebellion about the Easter Rising that laid the groundwork for the foundation of the Irish Republic. She's a good actress who adds substance and credibility to the final story, A Cold Heaven, in her mixed-up adolescent role. One of the most interesting parts of the series overall is the father-son struggle that lingers even once Jack Driscoll's father is out of the picture, literally. His ghost is a brooding presence over all of Connemara, in this drama, and sparks lots of tension between Jack's second-generation policeman character and his mother. Police corruption or wrongdoing is an issue that makes this ten-year-old series seem fresh and topical.

Addictive.

[sagei · 27 September 2011]

Surprisingly addictive.

Ugly humanity set against beautiful landscape.

The stories are almost unrelentingly bleak. People here don't magically turn around and do the right thing when push comes to shove. Instead they continue to show their true colours. No neat endings either.

Welcome change from most dramas where writers always try to force redemption etc down your throat with all the subtlety of a shotgun blast to the face.

No car chases, no csi voodoo, no sped-up hand to hand combat or parkour.

Just a cop trying to do his job and still have something resembling a personal life. Sounds boring and yet the characters are so engaging it's hard not to get caught up in their struggle.

Wish them well.

Thank you.

Episodes seem to jump all over the place

[qui_j · 6/10 · 1 September 2016]

While the concept behind the series is an interesting one, the stories and writing is just not that good. The plots are hard to follow, and at times the story moves from A to C without ever going to B. This leaves the viewer confused. I think a better job could have been done with continuity and better editing. In some of the episodes, the scenes seem to be inserted in a random order as if no story-board was used to show plot development. The acting is all very good, and the scenery of the west coast of Ireland, stunning. It is a series set in contemporary Ireland, and so has all the integral pieces of modern culture e.g. drug use, deviant behavior, corruption. It does show that it's not all idyllic in this beautiful setting.

Quality series

[hannemaria-lara · 10/10 · 13 May 2018]

Intelligent show that doesn't let a viewer off too easy. I love it, when a show doesn't assume that their viewers have intelligence of rice krispies. It leaves room for your own perception and insight.

Single-handed is able to handle the ugly side of life without becoming cynical and that's extremely rare in TV nowadays.

Solid 3 series and one final loser

[Pizzaowner · 6/10 · 15 May 2023]

This series is incredibly well done and provides just enoiugh twists and turns in the plot to make almost anyone happy. The characters are well acted and written and the plot, although simplistic at times, is sufficiently believable to keep the viewer viewing. The fourth series however is little more than an extended soap opera and becomes more and more romance-driven than is really good for a police drama. In my opinion the writers have by the end of series 3, run out of ideas and have fallen back to the tried and true rules. If all else fails, make some romantic conflicts between the participants and let the sparks fly.

Without series four this would have earned a solid 7.5 but the addition of a weak and LONG series 4 adds nothing except time.

Absolutely terrific

[w-e-fullerton · 10/10 · 12 August 2013]

This is a wonderful show with fantastic scenery. It reminds me of my trip to Ireland many years ago. The characters seem to be REAL PEOPLE and the scripting is really true to life. They are certainly not artificial as are the American actors that we have to put up with. The story lines are true to life. Even the bad characters are very well acted. I wish American TV would take a lesson from this program when they are making our shows. I believe that the Garda is depicted in a realistic fashion. Perhaps that is why I like it since my Grandfather was a Detective with the same kind of attributes I will watch it many times and I hope that you do also.

Got better

[Headturner1 · 6/10 · 3 August 2020]

Omg. I almost turned this off around half way thru the first episode And the run time is loooong). But then I saw Tommy( from Red Rock which ironically is his characters name in that) and a few more actors from it( one of my favorite Irish series.) Honestly thought Jack was inept. I kept figuring things put way before a darn Garda should. I also thought it was cheezy. So I was in the other room when episode 2 came on ( was like someone else had written/ shot it.) Well I ended up turning it off after the second episode. I must say it had improved greatly and what's kept me watching is I'm seeing some actors I love from other series. At first I couldn't stand Garda Finbar but he's growing on me and his character reminds me of Garda Pauge in Red Rock ( ha can you tell I really liked that). Any ways I think now the story will continue on from the previous episode because of the brother. So I will probably finish up tonight and revise my review if needed. This is definitely no Line of duty or even Red Rock but it's a decent Irish copper/ crime series.

Sophisticated plots and nuanced dialogue

[msghall · 8/10 · 6 January 2020]

At first skeptical of this lower-budget show, I was won over by the sophistication of the story line, peeling away layers of hidden sins and human frailties of the fallible but all too human characters.

This series concentrates on the reality of lives, exploring the undercurrent of motivations and foibles of human nature. If you looking for elaborate chase scenes or gunfights, this is not for you; instead sit back and be prepared to be won over but subtle but provocative treatments of the human condition, all presented with fresh scripts and fascinating characters.

Not as good as I was hoping

[mymeister · 7/10 · 18 January 2024]

I didnt like this as much as I expected to. Yes the scenery was beuatiful. The premise should have worked: a father and son copper duo but very different styles.

I think I just found the whole culture that shaped the story lines to be boring. The religion. (And lets be clear I expect other similar almost fundamentalist or orthodox religions to break a culture in a similar way. )

And how does religion break a culture? When it is applied in an unbalanced way to the populace: the men can get away with what their own religion considers grave sins while the women can't. The copper dad commits them and what is insult on injury is his smug wife condoning it. Feeling that her husband was representative and emblematic of tradition and worthy of respect. Did you see how she treated her own younger brother and the fact her own husband that she continued to revere was a big part of the damage to that young child.

Now I am not one of those people who rejects a show because characters are unlikable. And In fact it is good to highlight and show characters like this as they also exist in the "real world". So that part is good and in fact not common. Its just there is only so much of this cultural backdrop that I can take.

The plot, the main character's backstory and subplots just can't make up for it.

Good plots with poor characters...

[jimde-81117 · 1/10 · 3 December 2019]

I realize it's not the actors fault they are playing the role that was written for them. However, I could not believe the two Keystone Garda (cops) that "continually" kept making horrendously poor judgments and kept their jobs! This series gave the Irish a bad name, which I did not appreciate.

Shows are not easy to find and the series was not that long so, we watched the entire series and it tried our patients! Even though the last show tried to make him out as a conscientious Man it came across to me that he was no more than a dimwit; that could not do his job and thus put others in terrible situations they should've never been in.

Overall not bad acting, I'd even say good acting, just very poor written characters.

I must say that I doubt you publish this because of my criticism but here goes anyway...

Pure atmosphere

[pnpete9 · 10/10 · 29 February 2020]

Very good acting from all members of cast. Well above average script. So difficult to leave your mark on this saturated genre but this series manages just that. Has that added bonus of beautiful scenery like Shetland which always leaves you slightly breathless. Would highly recommend a watch to remind you how well these crime series can be made before they become overworked like Vera and become a shadow of their origins. Some of the episodes are comparable to the likes of Wallander or other Nordic classics for the strength of the story telling. This is an undiscovered little gem worth a binge watch. Give it a go, you won't be disappointed.

Brilliant

[pvwilson-204-852889 · 10/10 · 17 August 2012]

Husband and I were really looking forward to the rerun of Single Handed. We set to tape and only got 2 programmes. What is all that about. Brilliant actors, especially Owen McDonnell (obviously). This guy was so obviously made for the part, as was his mother. It was great. Scenic and well acted, dialogue great, WHERE IS THE REST? We have so few good police based shows on British television, unlike America, and when we get a good one it disappears in a puff of smoke. 55 dgrees North was another basic policeman show. What happens to them? If you can't think of any story lines give me a call, ran an Irish club for 6 years - I'll give you a few.

Nice stories

[gbroze-989-602198 · 7/10 · 1 May 2022]

He is truly single-handed. No allies in town, lots of behind-the-back dealings. But he always get the girl!

The episodes with Stephen Rea were a treat. I wish we could see more of him.

Sean McGinley is great as the local baddie.

Not A Cozy

[b_clerkin · 8/10 · 2 October 2023]

The image of the irish is always of a fun-loving, hospitable, humorous gregarious and musical culture set in a stunningly gorgeous place. Once you learn about its actual history l, though, you marvel at how they manage to laugh at and celebrate anything. Single-Handed is a stark view of how intensely Ireland's past informs its present. The scenery is breathtaking- and the reality of it is even more astounding. I drove through this landscape between Galway and Donegal, from where both sides of my family come- the Irish bits.

This show does focus on the darker aspects though, there are few light moments and Jack Driscoll is relentlessly dour and righteous (does Owen McDonnell ever get a role where he's allowed to smile? I see comedies in his credits, but I've only seen him solitary, conflicted and rather joyless) but one can see why he is like that- his father was a monster, who terrorized the town in an affable, sociopathic way. His mother's a perfect example of an abused woman who was given just enough freedom to think that she wasn't. The oppressive weight of brutal Irish history weights Jack down and he is constantly trying- and succeeding- to Do The Right Thing, always needing to prove that he is not his father. The failure of so many to understand why he does what he does makes him crazy. He judges himself more harshly than anyone else, even his Mother - atypical of Irish women with one son, she does not dote on her son, mostly because he refuses to support her delusional view of his awful father.

The stories are mostly very credible, realistic portrayals of the bad choices, sheer stupidity and casual cruelty that cause most small town problems. The intrusions of Big City Crimes seem organic and are viewed by Jack as no more important to the people he protects than the day to day ones that define his job.

He is the epitome of the Celtic Warrior Hero - flawed, but unbowed and determined to protect and avenge (if possible) the vulnerable and even rectify the wrongs of the past. No wonder he never laughs.

I recommend this series for its thought provoking themes, its excellent writing and cast and its breathtaking beauty.

More Owen McDonnell, please

[dellastreetpm · 10/10 · 17 February 2021]

This series was so great. Wish there had been more.

Love This

[jessewriter · 10/10 · 7 November 2018]

Found Season 1 by accident and what a wonderful surprise! Good acting. Solid writing with creative plot twists. Likeable cast. And breathtaking views of Ireland. Hope Season 2 is just as good.

This Wasn't That Great, Actually.

[mcjensen-05924 · 2/10 · 4 April 2024]

First, the strong points. Beautiful scenic vistas and an effective soundtrack for the most part. Unfortunately the music appears sometimes where there's no need for music. Not too distracting, but I noticed it. A very beautiful woman playing the role of one of the cast member's daughter helps make the show watchable at parts. The stories are good, but sadly the writing and directing are woefully lacking and unbelievable. It's insulting to portray the Irish as so callous, stupid and foolish. The lead actor wants to do the right thing, but he's just a bit sanctimonious and really not a very good cop. But the thing that's really irritating is how indifferent the older men are to heinous and despicable. Oh, it was a long time ago. She was just a foreign tart. The baby wasn't born dead. They just didn't care one bit about how nasty and reprehensible what they did was. Just made light of it and shrugged it off. Like it's no big deal no sweep crimes under the rug and let people get away with anything they want to. It's ridiculous beyond belief. The high rating here makes no sense. Just because it looks good and deals with good scenarios, the execution of each episode just gets worse and worse until the show is wallowing in it's own clueless mediocrity. I suppose the landscape shots I mentioned earlier are worth a star, the loveliness of the woman I mentioned earlier is worth half a star, and the stories themself are worth half a star although the execution of said stories are bewildering and mind numbingly absurd.

Well written script, interesting plots, accomplished acting

[preppycuber · 9/10 · 28 December 2020]

It was never boring and kept we wanting more by the end of Season 4. I loved the sub plots in addition to the main crime solving story. This series gave a good account of the tough life that the people in these parts of the world go through. Outsiders tend to have a romantic view of Ireland and Scotland due to the beautiful landscapes and the history. However, we tend to forget that there are some real people struggling for survival in a rough place with an ever gloomy climate.

Very entertaining show with great characters

[kylecurry · 9/10 · 3 October 2022]

I enjoyed watching this series very much. The characters felt real and the stories were interesting.

I wish there were more episodes but I guess the main storyline came to a very logical conclusion. Any future stories would probably be just the weekly police procedural type of plots.

I was annoyed by the mother character, as she was the one that didn't seem to grow or change during the series. She was kind of a stereotypical mother in denial character. The villain in the second season was a little too obviously villainous. Almost like a cartoon character villain. I guess he could've had a little more depth.

But overall the characters were very well developed. I especially liked Finnbar the lazy overworked tired dad with kids at home Deputy. He actually seemed like a real person that I might've met in the past.

Very good acting, story lines, & Real LIfe Charactors + scenery

[bobandkathyray · 9/10 · 31 March 2022]

My wife and I thought this was one of the best detective stories that we have ever seen, and we've seen a lot. It tells both personal stories and small community issues that one doesn't expect to find in Ireland, but we know those issues do exist. The best part, though, is the development of the the main characters, seemingly real people. We would have given this a 10 rating, except some of the story lines do seem a bit out there, in terms of reality.

Much of the scenery of this part of Ireland is desolate, but nonetheless more attractive than the streets of London.

Good show with a few reservations

[Laight · 8/10 · 2 April 2022]

All in all, this is a well-acted, well-directed cop series with a strong lead character and good supporting roles. The scenery is perhaps the most important part of the show -- it's gorgeous, and the camera never fails to tale in large swathes of it in almost every outdoor scene. But equally good, and balancing the beautiful setting, is the darkness of the stories -- the plots are unflinchingly, almost scarily dark, but in a way that's so credible it feels as though it's just a true representation of the area.

The only real flaws are the constant, almost silly plot holes; whenever the writers dig themselves into a corner they just skip over reality and hope the viewer doesn't notice. Some of the these holes are so large they feel bigger than than entire coastline of Ireland, other time you have to watch closely to spot them, which almost in itself becomes kind of fun. You'd think that someone would have at least tried to read over the scripts before it was too late.

Still, all in all, definitely worth watching.