Jack Taylor: Set 2

Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont in Game of Thrones) is Irish detective Jack Taylor, a hard-drinking ex-cop turned private detective in Galway who has a way of making every case personal. Jack is a likeably gruff private citizen in an Irish culture of shady characters, career criminals, corrupt officials, and a working class that has little faith in the cops. “The Dramatist,” the first entry in this 2013 second set of made-for TV movies, opens with Jack six months “off the sauce” and working to maintain his sobriety while he helps former colleague Kate (Nora-Jane Noone) look into the apparent suicide of a college girl that she thinks is connected to other deaths. The case takes a toll on both Kate and Jack, who returns to the bottle. Things only get worse in the second mystery, “Priest,” after the murder of a cleric leads to the revelation of buried church secrets, and Jack's young protégé, Cody (Killian Scott), ends up suffering the consequences. By the third episode, “Shot Down,” Jack has fled Galway, and he helps out a group of travelers (Irish gypsies) when a killing puts a young witness's life in danger. Throughout, Glen embodies the soiled hero in a corrupt world—as flawed as they come, but ultimately just the man to walk these mean streets. The culture and setting lend the series a distinctive identity, while Glen carves a great character out of the role. Extras include an interview with director Stuart Orme, and photo galleries. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)