Tag Archives: Don Gallagher

Inspector George Gently: Gently And The New Age. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Martin Shaw, Lee Ingleby, Lisa McGrillis, Richard Harrington, Adam Levy, Naomi Frederick, Steve Robertson, Tom Andrews, Louis Hilyer, David Prosho, Simon Hubbard, Michelle Bonnard, Jon Culshaw, Rachel Bavidge, Mandeep Dhillon, Grant Gillespie, Don Gallagher, Phil Corbitt, Christopher Brand, Geoffrey Breton, Katie West, Damien Matthews, Roger Barclay, Pip Chamberlin.

In the last few years the image of George Gently on television has been a reminder of less hectic times, still dogged by the sense of criminality that has weaved itself throughout society since records began, but one that was dealt with perhaps a more studious approach to policing and detective work, rather than relying on the science, the drip feed of automation against the human brain.

Inspector George Gently: Gently Liberated. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Martin Shaw, Lee Ingleby, Heather Carroll, Lisa McGrillis, Lorcan Cranitch, Steven Elder, Don Gallagher, Simon Hubbard, Emma Rigby, Victoria Bewick, Anamaria Marinca, Maria Stockley, Robert Lonsdale, Derek Hutchinson, Paul Warriner, Rachel Teate, Christopher Tembey.

 

A television series can too often outlive its life expectancy, the natural story that drew the viewer in coming to a stuttering halt and becoming less than the perfect ideal viewing it once was proudly claimed to be. In some cases though what might have been perceived as the final adventures of a much loved character might not be enough, the finale of a person’s life left hanging, stuck in the rounds of congratulations and non-committal farewells. Such was the fate of Martin Shaw’s Inspector George Gently, left dangling after a successful case cracked, there really was a couple of more hurrahs left in the soul but none seemed forth coming.

The Absence Of War, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Reece Dinsdale, James Harkness, Cyril Nri, Maggie McCarthy, Amiera Darwish, Charlotte Lucas, Gyuri Sarossy, Theo Cowan, Barry McCarthy, Helen Ryan, Don Gallagher, Ekow Quartey.

History could have been so different but it is the joy of speculation that only makes the subject interesting, for the time the events take place, the winner and the loser are only remembered for being in the same race. It is up to the historians, the journalists and the playwrights to put flesh on the bones and the gloss of pallor of imagination on the cheeks of the long since departed. History though is not quite viewed in the same way when there is The Absence of War dictating the proceedings.

Inspector George Gently, Gently Between the Lines. Television Review.

 Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Martin Shaw, Lee Ingleby, Lisa McGrillis, Robert Pugh, Ruth Gemmell, Steve Evets, Charlie Richmond, Matt Stokoe, Alan Renwick, Christopher Connel, Finn Burridge, Liam Caffry, Paul Dingwall, Michael Hodgson, Samantha Phyllis Morris, Fiona Boylan, Caroline O’Neil, Don Gallagher, Simon Hubbard, Cheryl Dixon.

It may be hard to define what makes the Inspector George Gently series such compelling television. After all, there is an abundance of police dramas constantly on the go, like a merry go round that just keeps getting fuller and faster as more channels are added and then you go and include the Nordic Noir series, the United States imports which these days are too clean, too clinical and far too science based as if they are an advertisement for a thousand microscopes rather than the actual detective, the dogged gumshoe approach.

The Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Oliver Lansley, Katherine Kelly, Angela Lonsdale, Tony Pitts, James Wilby, Don Gallagher, Adam Garcia, Simon Callow, James McArdle, James Floyd, Jonathon Kerrigan, Perry Millward.

The lives of those that make us laugh are often beset by some inner lingering sadness or conflicting turmoil. So it seems is the absolute truth to the life of Kenny Everett, a man who had his fingers on the pulse of a nation before they realised he had whipped out his musical comedy stethoscope and asked them to giggle.

Inspector George Gently. Gently With Class. Television Review. B.B.C. Television.

Picture from the B.B.C.

Originally published by L.S. Media. September 2nd 2012.

L.S. Media ****

Cast: Martin Shaw, Lee Ingleby, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Christopher Fairbanks, Geraldine Somerville, Ebony Buckle, James Norton, Simon Hubbard, Don Gallagher, Chris Brailsford, Nick Hendrix, Nicholas Lumley, Fred Pearson, Alex Childs, Beverly Fox.

Like Inspector Morse before it, it is the charm of the actors and the spark between two policeman that makes Inspector George Gently worthwhile and cracking television vision.