Single-Handed

2007

Seasons & Episodes

  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1

7.5| 0h30m| en
Synopsis

Single-Handed is an Irish television drama series, first broadcast on RTÉ Television in 2007. Set and filmed in the west of Ireland, it focuses on the life of a member of the Garda Síochána, Sergeant Jack Driscoll. Three two-episode, single-story series aired one each on consecutive nights in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Series Four, consisting of three stories told over six episodes, began in RTÉ One November 2010. The series is partially inspired by garda corruption in County Donegal.

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Reviews

Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.
Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.
AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
hannemaria-lara 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.
E Canuck 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.
w-e-fullerton 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.
davoshannon 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.