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BLUE LIGHTS. BBC 1. MONDAY 9pm. TV PACE NO SPOILERS

272 replies

Blondeshavemorefun · 20/03/2023 20:48

New police drama. 6 episodes. Shown weekly. Sure all will be on iPlayer (blondes yawns and sighs) but this will be tv paced and weekly and no bingeing !!!

Blue Lights on BBC1 follows three rookie cops trying to fight crime and navigate the tricky politics of Belfast.

Blue Lights follows Grace, played by Siân Brooke, who is mum to a teenage boy. In her 40s, she’s decided to leave her stable job as a social worker to join the police force.

It’s the biggest gamble of her life, especially as she finds herself making countless mistakes in her first few weeks on the job. Joining her are fellow rookies Annie (Katherine Devlin), who must leave behind everything she’s ever known to follow her dream, and Tommy (Nathan Braniff) who is desperate to prove himself despite being seriously inept when it comes to frontline policing.

The odds are at least one of them will fail the probation period and, to make matters worse, just being a cop in Belfast is a dangerous business.

Siân Brooke, Katherine Devlin, and Nathan Braniff as new recruits to the police force. All three are in the probation period with the PSNI, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and must deal with immense pressure in order to make it. Added to that, they must navigate the complexities of being police officers in Belfast, which means they sometimes have to hide their true selves from those closest to them.

The trio must work out whom they can trust and who wants them dead simply because of the uniform they are wearing. "I am so thrilled to be playing Grace in Blue Lights," says Siân Brooke. "There is something incredibly special about the scripts and I was hooked from the very first page. Belfast is the beating heart of this piece and it’s a city I’ve been wanting to work in for a long time."

OP posts:
Laughingravy · 30/03/2023 06:48

It stretched my credulity a bit too far - three/four naive new probationers in the same place, just those three/four and their mentors going into a known very hostile situation - unless it's the tiniest police station where are the rest of them? The inspector clearly protecting the 'princess' of the bunch. Probationer ignoring a direct order to withdraw.

Oh and as DP pointed out would an undercover car really have a reg that didn't match age of the car and then it come up as not existing on a computer check?

LadyEloise1 · 30/03/2023 08:33

@Laughingravy "It stretched my credulity a bit too far......... "

I can see your point.

OneFrenchEgg · 30/03/2023 08:46

I'm excited the opening was god

OneFrenchEgg · 30/03/2023 08:46

*good! Not that good.

Blondeshavemorefun · 30/03/2023 09:44

kingsleysbootlicker · 30/03/2023 01:14

I don't get the bit that they were meant to leave her. That it was a trap

They meant that it could be a pretend incident in order to lure the police into the (Republican) area so they could be attacked

But she didn't trap them ? She truly needed help

She dropped the knives

OP posts:
martinisforeveryone · 30/03/2023 09:49

MeinKraft · 29/03/2023 23:55

I've binged it, and it gets much more gripping with each episode. Definitely stick with it.

Thanks 😀

I can see plot holes but kind of live with them for a drama. Not sure really my criteria on that, or my breaking point. I can see if it’s procedural or you live in a particular situation, you’re less tolerant towards that artistic license.

martinisforeveryone · 30/03/2023 09:54

@Blondeshavemorefun I took it that her instinct as a trained social worker over-rode her instincts as a police officer in that location and exposed her potential naivety. As it then happened she was right, but it could’ve gone the other way, which demonstrated the huge risk to personal safety and, putting colleagues at risk.

MeinKraft · 30/03/2023 10:08

@martinisforeveryone I'm from NI and I think it's very realistic. There are things that come to make sense later in the series so do keep going with it. It's a very clever story.

martinisforeveryone · 30/03/2023 10:17

That’s good to hear @MeinKraft

I’ve visited Belfast and the wider Ballymena area twice, but the last time was about 18 years ago and I wouldn’t pretend to know too much about it really.

drspouse · 30/03/2023 10:50

MeinKraft · 30/03/2023 10:08

@martinisforeveryone I'm from NI and I think it's very realistic. There are things that come to make sense later in the series so do keep going with it. It's a very clever story.

I watched the first one after my friend told me it's realistic (and that they filmed the police station bits down the road from her), and have now watched the second one - no spoilers but it's definitely starting to grow on me and without giving anything away Grace both uses her social work experience to (it seems) completely gobsmack her partner and to do something else really silly.

I know it says a tale of three probationers, but her that keeps having to do paperwork, is she a probationer too or just a useless constable?

Blondeshavemorefun · 30/03/2023 11:38

@drspouse the one who refused to get out of the car ?

I think she is useless but not a newbie

OP posts:
kingsleysbootlicker · 30/03/2023 11:44

Blondeshavemorefun · 30/03/2023 09:44

But she didn't trap them ? She truly needed help

She dropped the knives

In that instance, yes, they had falsely identified it as a trap

It was basically a scene to show that

  1. The PSNI need to be very careful responding to incidents in Republican areas in case they are traps
  2. The PSNI do not always get it right
  3. In the show, it was a way to show that the former social worker's instincts were correct and should be paid attention to
MeinKraft · 30/03/2023 11:50

martinisforeveryone · 30/03/2023 10:17

That’s good to hear @MeinKraft

I’ve visited Belfast and the wider Ballymena area twice, but the last time was about 18 years ago and I wouldn’t pretend to know too much about it really.

I think some of the reason people don't believe it's realistic is they just can't believe the way NI is! I hope it doesn't put anyone off visiting though. There are pockets of criminality and violence but the vast majority of the country is beautiful, safe and friendly.

drspouse · 30/03/2023 12:15

My friend who's a police officer in a major English city says there are no-go areas for ambulance and fire engines and they have to go in (not no-go for police but pretty rough!). But the centre of her city is very touristy, and promoted as a major destination.

Scrumbleton · 30/03/2023 12:15

From NI - really enjoyed this- thought the security services interplay was excellent and the frustration that causes to response police. Loved the Gerry character

Blondeshavemorefun · 30/03/2023 13:09

@kingsleysbootlicker that makes
Sense

OP posts:
DelphiniumBlue · 30/03/2023 13:15

I wasn't impressed, particularly with how all 3 of the newbies were set up to fail by the more experienced police. It was absolutely unbelievable.

lazymum99 · 30/03/2023 14:47

I think the one who would t get out the car is a probationer on some sort of fast track scheme and connected to someone high up

LadyEloise1 · 30/03/2023 16:20

I too think the one who wouldn't get out of the car is connected to someone high up.

Surely going around the police station with blood on your face is a health and safety issue not to mind the unkindness of her superior officers. 🙄

XanaduKira · 30/03/2023 20:04

I agree @MeinKraft - it's a realistic series but also a fantastic city & definitely well worth visiting.

Redpriestandmozart · 30/03/2023 21:00

Just finished this on iplayer and loved it..

Moggyd · 30/03/2023 23:24

I've been watching it on catch up but for some reason episode 4 is missing and it skips straight to episode 5. Has anyone else had this problem?

Cicily · 31/03/2023 02:15

XanaduKira · 30/03/2023 20:04

I agree @MeinKraft - it's a realistic series but also a fantastic city & definitely well worth visiting.

This. Lovely city and Northern Ireland is stunning. Especially County Down.

I enjoyed this, great pace to it and good casting.

diddl · 31/03/2023 09:18

Moggyd · 30/03/2023 23:24

I've been watching it on catch up but for some reason episode 4 is missing and it skips straight to episode 5. Has anyone else had this problem?

Have you got it set up to play the next ep automatically when one finishes?

(If so how?)

I have to keep going back & choosing the next ep iyswim.

4 is there for me & playable.

Moggyd · 01/04/2023 09:22

@diddl thank you and I've gone on to look again and it has appeared now. It was so good!

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