Blue Lights - BBC1 - started 27 March 2023 - binge watch spoiler thread

[IwantToRetire]

New police drama set in Northern Ireland is shown on monday 9pm slot.

Also available on BBC iPlayer.

Most newspaper reviews are raving about it, except for one.

Written by the same people who wrote The Salisbury Poisonings.

They first met as local journalists in Belfast.

I assume they were married as they had the same surname.

Gerry & Sandra were married

What?!! I know I miss out on all sorts of hints at things, but I thought their "banter" was just part of showing who Gerry was and his status / reputation. And she went along with it because of his past work in the police.

When I watch it again (not yet as too soon) I will see their scenes in a very different way.

You are all right. No wonder I get lost in plots is I didn't pick that up.

I did wonder why they asked her after he was killed should she have come into work. Talk about being a bit slow on the uptake.

I google and go this interview with Richard Dormet that explains it. https://www.pressparty.com/pg/newsdesk/BBC1/view/321198/

I don't get why Jen wasn't in deep shit for shooting the Dublin man in the back while he was walking away!?

I wondered the same @CollieFIower but presumably if the Ombudsman was happy with what she said, then that's the end of the matter (helped I'm sure by who her mum was!)

Any watchers from NI can you tell me what the police ombudsman woman has been in. One of those DOE car crash adverts maybe?

I liked it, I thought it was much less cliche than others although I think Gerry should have survived for series 2. I thought the affair was ok esp as the top guy didn't see through her.

@MeinKraft I'm trying to work out where I know her from too. Her name's Aoibheann McCann but I can't see anything listed that I've watched or remembered

Gerry is the creation of a genius.

I’m ignorant so bear with me - might it be the case that the IRA is now the country’s premier drug dealers? Makes sense. Eww, poor NI.

I got lost with the plot. So James was in with MI5 and helping them catch the guys dealing in guns? Was that why the area was OOB? Why did Gerry ignore the OOB? Thought it was excellent but got lost at the end.

I really liked it, also gutted about Gerry though ☹️

I agree @Cocolapew - absolutely loved Gerry & gutted he's gone.

Currently it's the other side that are allegedly the drug lords, certainly in current investigations in and around Newtonards. The situation in NI is very complex, the word on the street (rumour) is that the DUP rely on funds from loyalist drug runners hence their reluctance for checks in the Irish Sea. Who knows? But in my time living here the loyalist side is just as much at fault. Blue Lines is fab T.V

Yeah I'd like to see series 2 focus on the loyalist drug gangs and the marching season.

James was an informer, he offers information to intelligence and they turn a blind eye to his paramilitary activities. Gerry suspected that MI5 were getting in the way of active policing which is why he decided to go into the OOB. Sandra explained to Tommy in the hospital after that Gerry was working his way through the ranks until he got in the way of this kind of thing before so was demoted to PC.

Thanks @MeinKraft - so were MI5 turning a blind eye to the drug dealing? So that they could capture the weapons?

@Hels20 yes they were actively protecting the McIntyre against the police. They wanted to allow the transfer of the weapons because they wanted to track the shipment and see where it ended up.

Gerry is the creation of a genius.

Absolutely.

If there's another series it'll be a lot poorer without him.

Taken from BBC website about Blue Lights.

‘ So, you’ve got Annie (Katherine Devlin), she’s from up in the north, the Glens of Antrim, from an area where people ordinarily would not join the police, historically for religious reasons. In doing so she is forced, through the series, to make sacrifices with her family, with her team, with her camogie team. She has to give things up because she’s worried about the threats it might impose upon them because she is a police officer. This reflects what police officers in Northern Ireland go through every day, this continual threat. ‘

Without meaning to sound completely ignorant, so I apologise for asking this question in advance. Why would people not choose to join the police for religious reasons?

I really enjoyed it. I know people are comparing to Happy Valley. I thought it would be Jen who’d have ended up shot. Gutted about Gerry as I thought he was great. Really wish he’d have survived.

Actually just ignore my question, I don’t want to de-rail this thread!

Thanks to the link as I see that what I thought was hurling is in fact Camogie.

But what I came back on the thread to say is that in quite a few of the crime dramas set in Ireland (north or south) there are the hints at gun running from Libya, and drugs being a means to pay for them.

The recent drama North Sea Connection (which I recommend - with reservations - but very different style) has this as part of the story line, even though set in a rural fishing village. https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/telly_addicts/4735755-north-sea-connection-irish-noir-bbc4-900-945

But what they all hint at is that Dublin seems to be the organising point. But dont think I have seen a crime drama set in Dublin where this is the focus of the plot.

The last one I remember that was set in Dublin, was very depressing about the plight of women asylum seekers, relying on cash in hand jobs, but I think the criminal gangs were Albanian.

And as others have siad, if there is a second series it wont be the same without Gerry, because he was also a link to the older policing style and problems. Not sure a lot of newbies all making silly mistakes will be as interesting.

Also wanted to ask can anyone explain the story line of the man who wanted to be arrested because he was so lonely. He was so obviously sad, and again Gerry had some connection or understanding. Was it that he had lost his family in the "Troubles" (not sure how that period of our history is referred to nowadays). That the highlight of the day was to be able to make tea for someone. :'(

Happy was sitting in the backseat of a car when his dad and older brother went to the chippy. A car bomb outside the chippy went off and killed everyone in it. Happy was in the backseat with his childhood friend who was Gerry.

There have been books written about this but in short, 4 out of every 5 new police officers are Protestant (generally broadly Unionist) and more Protestant applicants make it through the assessment process. There are so many reasons you couldn't list them but generally it's a cultural thing - more Protestants have family members in the police and encouragement from them/friends/church to join. Catholics (broadly nationalist usually) are more likely to distrust the police (there are historic reasons for this), less likely to be encouraged through the process by social circle (likely to be actively discouraged) and probably the main reason is that dissident republicans target Catholic police officers. See the murder of PC Ronan Kerr may he rest in peace.

Thanks @MeinKraft for your informative reply. 😊

I really enjoyed this series much more than I was expecting. It’s a shame that Gerry was killed as he was a great character. I think it would be good if they focused on some of the problems on unionist side if they make another series, for balance.