Blue Lights Review

Is it just me or does the promotional image for Blue Lights make it look like a police comedy? The way they are lined up against the wall creates an image of Naked Gun meets Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The adventures of three probationary coppers in a Belfast version of Police Academy. While there are some laughs and many police officers believe they are hilarious, it is a hard-hitting drama that does not depend on shock and awe to stand out.

I only half watched the first series of this police procedural as my subscriptions to Amazon, Disney and Netflix make me reluctant to watch terrestrial television. Then I remembered I pay a BBC licence fee for top quality shows like this. I watched episode three and decided to go back to watch it from the start as I am a sucker for watching probationers learning the ropes and battling for survival in challenging environments. Maybe that’s why I like working in HR.

It cleverly uses Belfast as another character in the show to draw you in, steeped in its post-Troubles history without depending on it to tell its stories about organised crime, sectarianism and the mundane crime and societal issues that police deal with. Weaving together the intricate nature of the history and politics of Northern Ireland to a wider audience. It is testament to the acting that you care about Grace, Tommy, Annie, Stevie, Gerry and Helen. It sometimes dances on the edges of Holby City melodrama.

Belfast cops being armed helps build tension and conflict like American cop shows. However, the actors do a great job of making you believe they are trained yet uncomfortable with weapons and shooting to kill. Normal people doing a difficult job that has consequences. The aim is not to kill people but people get killed. The gangsters are clever, violent and pathetic, a combination of motivations and emotions. Many get their comeuppance. There are sneaky beaky spies, hotshot detectives and disgruntled British Army soldiers back home in Belfast.

I know I like a show when I start to rewrite what I see on screen, be it dialogue, action or endings. This is not a criticism of the writing, rather a desire to be in the writing room. For series three, I would have turned the tables on the two female crime lords as I suspect the men under their command would have turned against them and then struggle with the business side of drug trafficking.

The third season must have boosted Westlife’s popularity with Annie and Shane singing World of Our Own in their police car. Annie deserves plaudits for staying in character in her singalong rather than going full karaoke. It was clever acting and she could be a breakout star in television drama. I hope she swerves Doctor Who as the Tardis might come calling.

I rarely look at my phone or laptop when watching the show live. If I miss an episode I might struggle to find the time to watch it on catch up. The fourth series should put organised crime groups on the sidelines and find another antagonist for the police to combat. A chief constable with a vision of how policing should be done which leads to the cops applying for their jobs to prove they are the future. While this is happening, they must stop a Russian hit squad killing a Kremlin defector and his family.

Belfast has become a global hotspot for TV and film production thanks to its world-class studios, skilled workforce, generous government incentives and stunning variety of filming locations. It was interesting to read actor turned director Angela Griffin was behind the camera for season three.

I have never been to Ireland but am fascinated by the Troubles and if Amazon makes a James Bond origin TV series, he could be learning his trade against the IRA. It would have to be a Michael Mann style show with methodical research to make it authentic and more serious than the films. The producers can contact me if they need a pilot script.