Jack Taylor: Set 1

Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont in Game of Thrones) stars as the titular hard-drinking ex-cop turned private detective in this new mystery series produced by Ireland's TV3, based on Ken Bruen's novels and set in the rough-and-tumble streets of Galway. First up in this three-feature set is The Guards (2010), which finds Jack losing his job in what appears to be a mix of pig-headed contrarianism and purposeful career suicide, after which he hits the streets as a likeably gruff guy—the Irish equivalent of a '40s film-noir P.I.—in a culture just as packed with shady characters, career criminals, corrupt officials, and a working class with little faith in the cops. With The Pikemen (2011), Jack gets himself a junior partner: Cody (Killian Scott), an energetic young man who idealizes the work and makes himself useful, despite being ignored by Jack throughout the investigation of a vigilante crew. The third chapter, The Magdalen Martyrs (2011), is tied to a shameful period of Ireland's history, during which the Catholic church all but imprisoned girls for their “sins” of being sexually active and defiant of ecclesiastical authority. The Irish settings lend the series a distinctive identity, while Glen carves a great character out of the role, and Nora-Jane Noone is a solid costar as fellow officer Kate Noonan, who has a fondness for her crusty colleague. Extras include photo galleries. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)