Clean Break - RTE.

hatrickpatrick

PTH2009 wrote: »

Still lost at the ending ???

So rane planned the tiger kidnapping ??

I got the impression that Frank planned it and gave the idea to Noel, but Noel double crossed him and ratted him out to Rane instead, who told them to go ahead with the plan but he'd keep Frank's share of the cash and still foreclose on Frank's stuff.

What I don't understand is why Noel would betray Frank and go to Rane instead. Did I miss something?

20/20

hatrickpatrick you didnt miss anything,It was just another piece of krap.

jca

Terrible just terrible. That bank manager has to be the worst actor quickly followed by Frank s wooden daughter. All for a stamp?? Very disappointing. The little girl Jenny is a great little actress.

Happyman42

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

I got the impression that Frank planned it and gave the idea to Noel, but Noel double crossed him and ratted him out to Rane instead, who told them to go ahead with the plan but he'd keep Frank's share of the cash and still foreclose on Frank's stuff.

What I don't understand is why Noel would betray Frank and go to Rane instead. Did I miss something?

Think it was intimated that Noel and Rane had worked together before (the threat from Rane to Noel over all the stuff the Gardai would discover if they looked into him) and that they went way back to boyhood (the frog story)
Rane then gave the go ahead to Noel because he was bitter about the wife and the true parentage of the girl (he knew he wasnt the dad bit I dont think her father's name was mentioned)

jca wrote: »

Terrible just terrible. That bank manager has to be the worst actor quickly followed by Frank s wooden daughter. All for a stamp?? Very disappointing. The little girl Jenny is a great little actress.

I think Noel's daughter was a case of woeful acting but I think the actor playing Rane was badly directed not necessarily a bad actor.

jca

The casting was bad. The car salesman would have been better as the bank manager and the anorak clad snake would have been perfect as the car salesman. I won't be looking out for series 2.

PTH2009

so what did the body in the river have to do with anything

JimboJones99

PTH2009 wrote: »

so what did the body in the river have to do with anything

Think I am right in saying that was the body of the previous casino manager/owner. Something to do with the lads (Kirwans Cross Group ??) brought in for questioning at the end of the finale. I'd imagine this would be explored further if there is a new series.

prodsc

jca wrote: »

The casting was bad. The car salesman would have been better as the bank manager and the anorak clad snake would have been perfect as the car salesman. I won't be looking out for series 2.

Very stereotypical that. i liked the twists of the last episode..it made enduring the first 3 worthwhile.

Interesting to see series 2!

Dan Chipowski

Some serious cliffhangers in the final episode. Did the owner of that ladies watch come forward or what? We're just left wondering.

Instantly forgettable nonsense overall.

Shifty Shellshock

There has to be a 2nd series. So much more to go with. Danny still on the run, bank manager and Jenny in the same house. Snowy and his addiction to petrol bombs. The randy daughter. The buried stash of cash around the well. The guy with the weirdest character name ever - Teeth, was good. Gave it an IRA type feel anytime he opened his mouth.

BuilderPlumber

Enjoyed it. Overall, not near as good as any of the 5 seasons of Love/Hate but it was a good steady drama. It seemed to be a bit restrained and held back that bit when the violent scenes were shown unlike Love/Hate. But it had a lot of good moments and the clubbing to death of the Noel character gave us that glimpse of the Love/Hate in it waiting to break free. The second series if it happens (I think it is deliberately set up to have that potential) should try and incorporate a few strong gangster type characters and if they were to go down the road of turning it into a Love/Hate spinoff, maybe bring Patrick Ward and Fran the Man onboard.

s8n

Terrible muck. Terrible script, pacing, acting and plot

Atlantic Dawn

Finished watching it today, have to say it was terrible. The need for the psycho child character daughter of the bank manager and him being a stamp collecting idiot made no sense at all to the story, they belonged in Tales Of The Unexpected. It was only ever going to be a 4 parter there was no need to create characters like this. It was a typical pre Love/Hate era show that RTÉ banged out each and every year thinking people could relate to but the actual plan was simply to take in enough ads during the show to break even. Good luck with the DVD sales, they will go nowhere, I have not heard one person I know even mention watching it at all. Terrible ending, what happened the money did he buy the crap stamp with it or what and not one character in it that appealed to me at all, brutal. What made shows like Love/Hate was they were to a degree based on normal actual criminal lives and scenarios, this show was not in any way.

Atlantic Dawn

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Finished watching it today, have to say it was terrible. The need for the psycho child character daughter of the bank manager and him being a stamp collecting idiot made no sense at all to the story, they belonged in Tales Of The Unexpected. It was only ever going to be a 4 parter there was no need to create characters like this. It was a typical pre Love/Hate era show that RTÉ banged out each and every year thinking people could relate to but the actual plan was simply to take in enough ads during the show to break even. Good luck with the DVD sales, they will go nowhere, I have not heard one person I know even mention watching it at all. Terrible ending, what happened the money did he buy the crap stamp with it or what and not one character in it that appealed to me at all, brutal. What made shows like Love/Hate was they were to a degree based on normal actual criminal lives and scenarios, this show was not in any way.

Couldn't agree more ! Very poor acting and story line . Rubbish . Like watching a film length version of Fair City in terms of credulity .

jezzer

anyone know if there will be a second season of clean break?

jca

jezzer wrote: »

anyone know if there will be a second season of clean break?

Jesus wept, I hope not!!

Atlantic Dawn

jezzer wrote: »

anyone know if there will be a second season of clean break?

I would doubt it, the show was terrible, was all over the place.

jezzer

ah it wasnt that bad was it? i enjoyed it

BuilderPlumber

jezzer wrote: »

ah it wasnt that bad was it? i enjoyed it

Clean Break was ok but restrained and a bit all over the place. I don't think it is getting another season but I know it is much better than the rubbish they have planned for this year.

Clean Break could have been improved upon in a second season. The concept was good and could have been developed more. It was no way near as good as Love/Hate but it had potential to be another Love/Hate if some of the problems were ironed out and the restraint shown was abandoned.

It seems RTE have totally shied away from no holds barred crime drama of a very high standard such as Love/Hate. Now it seems they don't even want to make watered down versions of Love/Hate such as Clean Break either. They have reverted back to making poor fare and that Striking Out sounds like The Big Bow Wow or Trouble in Paradise set in the legal profession.

The main issue is that Clean Break was watchable and I enjoyed it. It was certainly not the best drama I ever saw but it was certainly not the worst either. A second series could have done it a world of good.

The main problems I had with it were apart from it being restrained related to it not knowing its identity. It started off by robbing (forgive the pun) the tiger kidnapping story straight out of series 4 of Love/Hate and then 3 episodes later it ended (as an earlier post said) Tales of the Unexpected style with the stamp collecting being the main reason for all that went on. Another problem is that there were no memorable characters in it. No one of the adult characters stood out or else were underutilised. That creepy guy was a derivative of Luke the swan murdering prowler from Love/Hate series 2 but the restraint mean that he was underused. In a less restrained drama, he could have been a classic villain.

All in all though Clean Break may well turn out to be the last decent enough RTE drama for some time.

20/20

Jesus jezzer I hope not. Four hours of my life wasted watching that ****e last year.

BuilderPlumber

20/20 wrote: »

Jesus jezzer I hope not. Four hours of my life wasted watching that ****e last year.

There will be worse dramas this year I'm afraid. RTE have gone right back to their lazy old ways and are dishing out subpar fare that no one is asking for. The long awaited sequels to The Big Bow Wow, On Home Ground and Trouble In Paradise may as well be made while they are at it!

I reckon if Clean Break had been made and shown between 2010 and 2014, it would have been awesome. RTE's deliberate restraint that was evident in Clean Break and Rebellion took the edge away from both series that could have been awesome otherwise. Another problem is that Clean Break did not have any standout character like Nidge or Fran from Love/Hate. Not many could even remember the names of any of the ones in it. It lacked the right combination of suspense, violence, action, humor, character development and tension that Love/Hate had.

RTE I think listened too much to those who knocked Love/Hate because it was violent and decided to show a realistic portrayal of gangland. Scenes like what happened to Fran in the prison, or Git's attack on Siobhan, the kneecappings of Ado and Dano, the bloody toilet and prison fights Fran was involved in, or the killing of the cat are all examples of what goes on in this world. Clean Break and Rebellion gave us a watered down version of gangland and war respectively. The restraint shown couldn't be more obvious.

Clean Break I feel is not getting renewed as ratings were poor. While it could have been awesome, it was in my opinion okay but not a DVD I'd buy. Apart from Love/Hate, RTE have always seemed to have a fear of going the full way with dramas and that's why RTE's back catalog is littered with things like The Big Bow Wow which could have been better if produced and edited in a better way. Identity is a major problem: Bow Wow did not seem to make up its mind if it was The Commitments, Miami Vice, Sex In The City or Fair City. It took elements from all of these and didn't do it as good. Clean Break did not know if it was Love/Hate lite or Tales Of The Unexpected and drifted closer to Trouble In Paradise (although it was better than TIP).

Occono

It's now on Netflix for anyone interested: http://www.netflix.com/title/80144770