Give My Head Peace

During a standard police raid on the headquarters of the Lower Falls Rd battalion of Sinn Fein/IRA a young RUC officer falls in love with the daughter of the leader of the battalion. However he lives with the leader of the local UDA who hangs out at the local pub, The Knee Breaker. The pair marries when a ceasefire is declared but old habits die hard for both families.

Given that I have spent my last few years in England as opposed to Northern Ireland I had never seen this series until I returned to Antrim recently for some leave. I had heard of the hole in the wall gang and knew the sort of humour to expect. I saw the pilot and a handful of other episodes, including the 50th episode. The humour is basically mocking all the groups within Northern Ireland by having each represented roughly by a character in the show. It is the sort of self-mocking humour that Northern Ireland is very good at (gallows humour) and those in the UK may be most familiar with it through Patrick Keilty. However the plots aren't always given as much work as they may need and the end result is that it can be a bit hit and miss at times.

However it is still funny even if it's all a bit chaotic. Other reviewers have wondered why this hasn't made it to the mainland yet, but watching it I can see why. The jokes and the humour are too locally based. UK viewers may get the more general jokes but the majority of it requires a basic knowledge of what's what in Northern Ireland. In the UK (and living there, I know this) the vast majority of people believe that there is no crime in Northern Ireland and that the IRA has disarmed! They think this because England hasn't been seriously bombed for a while and the ongoing troubles are given no real coverage in the press (unless you search for it). Also the series has quite low production values (even 50 shows on) and wouldn't match the higher quality (in looks) sitcoms on the BBC. However I do think they might have at least given it a shot!

The cast are OK but like one character says in the pilot `I'm a one-dimensional stereotypical loyalist caricature'. The characters aren't characters so much as just stereotypes that make fun of themselves and their situations – thus mocking the wider situation. The cast do well but I did feel the standard was higher in the pilot than it is now.

Overall this hits and misses but it is still worth a look and definitely most people who live in Northern Ireland will find something to laugh at in it. UK viewers may never get the chance to see it unless they take a holiday (and not many go to Belfast for a summer break!) but I suspect that it is a local thing rather than something that would have wider appeal.