"Fair City" (1988) TV series 1988-????

Directors:

Vivienne Cozens
Deirdre Friel

Writers:

Colette Cullen (scene breakdown writer)
Jayne Daniel (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | unknown

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Soap

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Mick Nolan	...	Ray O'Connell (94 episodes, 2000-2009)
Orlaith Rafter	...	Robin McKenna Doyle / ... (93 episodes, 2001-2009)
Tony Tormey	...	Paul Brennan (78 episodes, 1988-2009)
David Mitchell	...	Jimmy Doyle / ... (71 episodes, 2003-2008)
Anne Kent	...	Angela O'Connell (68 episodes, 2005-2009)
Alan O'Neill	...	Keith McGrath (67 episodes, 2006-2009)
Jim Bartley	...	Bela Doyle (66 episodes, 1988-2009)
Hilda Fay	...	Tracey McGuigan / ... (66 episodes, 2001-2008)
Sarah MacDowall	...	Suzanne Doyle / ... (64 episodes, 1988-2008)
Doireann Ní Chorragáin	...	Ali O'Shea Foley / ... (62 episodes, 2005-2009)
Tom O'Leary	...	Brendan Daly (59 episodes, 2005-2009)
Kiva Murphy	...	Waitress (58 episodes, 2005-2007)
Maclean Burke	...	Damien Halpin (57 episodes, 1998-2008)
Clelia Murphy	...	Niamh Cassidy (57 episodes, 2003-2009)
Dave Duffy	...	Leo Dowling (55 episodes, 1996-2008)
Tom Hopkins	...	Christy Phelan (55 episodes, 1998-2009)
Una Kavanagh	...	Heather Lyons Daly / ... (55 episodes, 2003-2009)
David Johnston	...	Ken Fahey (53 episodes, 2002-2008)
Una Crawford O'Brien	...	Renee Phelan (51 episodes, 1998-2009)
Gerard Byrne	...	Malachy Costello (50 episodes, 1996-2009)
Rachel Sarah Murphy	...	Jo Coughlan Fahy / ... (50 episodes, 2000-2009)
Seamus Power	...	Dermot Fahy / ... (48 episodes, 1997-2009)
Ryan O'Shaughnessy	...	Mark Halpin (47 episodes, 2001-2008)
Tom Jordan	...	Charlie Kelly (46 episodes, 1988-2007)
Bairbre Scully	...	Deirdre Burke (46 episodes, 2005-2008)
Jenny Kavanagh	...	Cleo Cullen / ... (46 episodes, 2006-2009)
Aisling O'Neill	...	Carol Foley Meehan (45 episodes, 1999-2009)
Patrick David Nolan	...	Barry O'Hanlon (41 episodes, 1998-2009)
Gareth O'Connor	...	Pierce Stanley (41 episodes, 2006-2007)
Joe Gallagher	...	Dominic Kavanagh (40 episodes, 2005-2008)

Runtime:

25 min

Country:

Ireland

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company:

Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ)

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Once (2006)

Bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Compared to the soap operas that are based in Great Britain and Australia, Irelands Fair City looks amateurish in it's execution. Set in the fictional town of carrigstown in Dublin City it charters the lives of its inhabitants in the area. Among them is the business elite consisting of Pub owners, a deli, and a restaurant called the Bistro plus other modern day business's you would expect to find in Ireland. Along with the owners of these premises we also meet there customers and between these places of business and pleasure and the citizens of carrigstown's homes we are given what the folks in RTE's scripting rooms think is their version of Irish life.

Fair City is of a very poor standard and in this day and age it really should not be tolerated. The acting is so bad that for many of it's cast it is first time on television, and for many more it will be their last. The problem lies in that many of the actors have been working in theater for many years that they are not able to relate to the camera. What maybe considered as consistent acting on the boards of Irelands national theaters can be considered as a wooden performance on television. What's worse is that you would expect that with time and experience that they might improve but it is never to be. The acting in this is so bad that the Fair City cast makes the cast of Hollyoak's look like Academy Award material.

The story lines that are crafted are sloppy and listening to the words it makes you wonder was it five year old that were let loose at the type writer. The story lines of course are supposed to reflect modern Irish therefore most of the men by the time they hit 40 will be on their third marriage have two children to two different women. We will show up at a wedding in pursuit of the bride whom we have discovered as the love of our lives. She'll die tragically in car crash but we will end up looking after the kids whom are beginning to get difficult because of their age and are seriously becoming an handful. But we will still find time to have a drink in a nightclub that is owned by one of Irelands most dangerous gangland leaders. But not before we have battled alcoholism, impotence, went bankrupt and paid our mortgage. After witnessing some of these story lines I only wish the lifestyle of the Irish male was as exciting. If for any other reason I would not half to sit down and watch this drivel called Fair City. Of course to be truthful most soaps are overly dramatic and that is the whole point to their existence. But other soaps while do it better by employing actors that are somewhat like their characters in real life and writing decent scripts.

I hate this soap with a passion. I find it is a real pity that a the majority of Irelands population are put off by it's crap acting and writing yet it is allowed to continue to run on television. Crap. 1 out of 10.