Blue Lights

A team of rookie Officers join The Belfast Police, after their initial training is completed, they're thrown straight into the thick of things. The Streets are mean, the threat, very real.

It wasn't long before a second series was announced, and if you watch even a single episode, you will understand why, you don't get many like this.

There is a harsh realism about this show, yes it's a cop show, but somehow it feels very different to what is usually presented, they show the job of The Police as being far from glamorous, it's shown as being intensely pressured and virtually impossible.

Episodes one, two and three were very good, episode four blew my mind, after that it became the drama highlight of the year.

Don't expect any half baked romance stories, that's not what this show is about.

It initially focuses on the trio of rookies, and every single one of them plays a key role, but the mix of regulars are all terrifiic. Gerry is perhaps my favourite of them, a no nonsense, Maverick, brave and supportive as they come, Jen undergoes the biggest transformation, from lazy good for nothing, to hero, she's impressive.

9/10.

I live in Belfast and I was born in London. I found this drama to be believable and most of the characters very easy to identify with. Love watching things that are filmed in Belfast too as it's such a great city... most of the Northern Irish people I know can't stand to hear their accents on the TV! I personally love it.

I enjoyed the dynamic of the new recruits - even some of the longer serving officer's stories which were a little cliched but can be forgiven because life is often the same...

Absolutely LOVED the character of Gerry and his warmth with the younger officers also.

Definitely worth a watch if you liked Line of Duty et al.

Series 1 : I'll start with a caveat. It's a drama not a documentary. If you made a police drama that reflected the real pace of things you'd soon get bored watching 90% same old mundane or hurry up and wait. Therefore some poetic licence and speeding up is required and the trick , that this series manages magnificently , is not to let that detract too much from the attempts at realism. Keeping that in mind this has the lot. Not all cops are heroes (though many are very much so ) , not all baddies are as they seem, some in authority or in responsible roles are far too far up their own whatever and some are simply stupid. There's fair amoint of of politics but balanced by lots of willingness backed up by humour be it dark or comic. It's a gritty drama well written directrd and acted that ranges from making you laugh through to holding back the tears. Most of the characters or type of characters are identifiable and are out there, maybe not all together at the same time but they're there.

Surely that's what it's all about and something many armchair critics who learn about police work from shall we say , less competent police dramas , miss entirely.

Series 2: All the above still applies . Its as easy as that . The original cast plus some great additions carry along the slightly different approach. That slightly different style is the excellent way they've slipped in a few more looks at the local residents behaviour (no spoilers), interactions with the "peelers" and the consequences. The behaviour , comments and attitude of the cops remain well researched , advised and well played, still subject to a bit of artistic licence but that keeps it going . All the unpredictable plots and sub plots keep you wondering whats going to happen next and are you watching a baddy , a hero or an anti hero . Thats what its all about and as a result it remains a fantastic series and I wish I could give it more than 10.

Much of the first episode had me shaking my head at the seemingly over-the-top stupidity and incompetence of the show's newbie cops. Just another show with tons of frustrating idiot-factor lathered on, I figured.

But then a nice thing happened. The plot lines thickened. The characters assumed nuance and complexity. Every actor came through in spades. And each episode from then on just got better. Until, at the end, I was rooting for every single player on the show. That can only happen when there's outstanding character development; so thank you, writers, actors, directors, for providing me with several hours of very high quality entertainment. Bravo.

Ignore any critics. This is really good.

It's a good insight into the type of incidents all police have to deal with. The added interest is that this is in Northern Ireland.

OK, the Troubles have been and gone, but trouble is still present.

Some of it is political.

As we all know, there are still additional problems present in NI, even though one person has criticised the BBC as depicting all Irish people are criminals.

Not so - but like everywhere else, Northern Ireland does have its fair share of criminals up to no good, and this programme is all about that element through the eyes of the NI Police Force.

There is absolutely no bias toward Irish people here. The critic that said that surely must agree that ALL of Great Britain has an abundance of criminals who are well portrayed in countless drama series.

Does he think Northern Ireland should be portrayed differently?

The programme is about criminality. Its gritty, well written and well acted with a lot of good characters.

An added bonus is that there is no irritating background music obliterating the dialogue.

Very refreshing.

It's definitely not biased toward the Irish as one critic has said. That's just rubbish.

If you enjoy the likes of Happy Valley you'll enjoy this too. I hope there's more to come.

Watch it.