The Responder

Well said Urms I agree with you. I watched the programme and shall continue to the end. Although, I agree with everyone who says it is dark and depressing. But then, it is so for the officers' who do the job.

Yes, it made me realise how hard this sort of job is, and how much stress they must be under. Also how lucky I am to live where I do.

I will watch it on catch up. Whether I stick with it or not remains to be seen. It was written by the policeman on nights (played by the brilliantly talented MF) who had a breakdown with the emotional toll his job created. I suppose we all ought to be very grateful that somebody tackles this type of work with baddies whilst we are all snugly asleep in our beds. Someone has to do it. I’m sure it’s not entertaining. Just an insight from a responder who knows (if we can bear it) about the awful people who live amongst us.

I think Martin Freeman is wonderful actor who always gets inside the character he plays. But I found the accent and the general overall sadness hard to take and switched off after half an hour or so. I can't sit through five hours of depression.

Oh this was so slow. I don't think I could watch five whole episodes. Yes the acting is good but the lack of speed spoilt the whole thing for me.

I didn't enjoy it either. Martin Freeman was believable in the role. I found the whole thing dark and depressing.

We watched it and will watch again tonight, it’s different and quite gritty.

I’ll stick with it for now the acting was superb the swearing didn’t bother me as someone else said it’s how it is in the emergency services a lot of the time.

I watched the first 35 minutes and then gave up.

I have decided that I only want light and fluffy entertainment at the moment.

I suppose ‘ enjoyed’ isn’t the right word but it did hold my interest and I will watch again tonight. Thought the acting was remarkable. Whether I will stick it out for all the episodes remains to be seen.

We watched to the end but didn’t enjoy it, agreed not for us. Struggling with tv schedules we watch less and less.

I hate to tell you this but swearing is endemic in all the emergency services, not in front of patients/general public but in crew rooms/ break rooms/vehicles etc it will be every other word. a way of letting off steam I guess as most of us don't at home. Most of the general public the police come into contact with are even worse.

I haven't watched this programme but if it didn't include multiple swear words it would be totally unrealistic.

Ambulance crews filmed for reality TV know they have to behave totally differently in front of the camera so you don't see it then.

I put this on, but after reading the write up in my TV guide, wasn’t sure I would like it. Well, I didn’t. Don’t want to offend Liverpudlian grans, but the accent grates on me, find it hard to follow even with sub titles. And it looked just another miserable police drama.

I switched off after a few minutes and watched CTM, also a bit miserable, but familiar.

I watched, I didn’t enjoy it I m not bothered about the language the f word is a very ordinary word now and not deemed as swearing by the younger generation but I wasn’t inspired by anything in it
Understanding it didn’t bother me I always use subtitles for all dramas I don’t know why people don’t, but although I ll probably stay with it for the next episode I m not chomping a t the bit for it

I am delighted with the vast consensus here. I thought maybe it was me! I do so like MF and I was so looking forward to this. Ugh! I persisted for twenty minutes but the dark mumbling and unkind mockery was too much for me. Maybe it will improve but I won't be discovering that. Shame...... I'm definitely moving on to light and bright and, if that means golden oldies, so be it.

I stopped watching it because I found the constant use of foul language by the script writer really offensive; the insulting belief that this conveys an air of realism and true drama when it just covers up a sensationalist plot and poor writing.

I loved it. Completely different from other police dramas. Showed another angle from the usual 'tough cop' stuff.

It’s not often we give up on a new drama, but we switched off after 20 minutes. I’m getting so tired of relentless gloom and misery. Then to cheer ourselves up we started watching a film DH chose - The Souvenir. And I hated that as well. Perhaps I’m just getting too demanding in my old age.

DH gave up after a few minutes - I agree with all that has been said about dark and the swearing etc but I had to keep watching. Depressingly I think it could be how it is for some officers and areas - it just happens to be set in Liverpool but I think it could have been anywhere. I was very surprised he was out patrolling those types of places on his own though.

I also watched a couple of months ago the ambulance crews of Liverpool - and what lovely inspiring people they all were - plus most of the patients.

I had recorded this but definitely won't be watching now. I've had more than enough of dark storylines, Police investigations, murder, gruesome deaths, body parts, flashbacks in time, mysterious plots where the pieces are revealed....in pieces. And most of all BAD LANGUAGE which as stated is in every single drama now. I'm really sick of it all. I'm looking for decent drama and it seems the only way to find it is in the old series (like wot they don't make any more) of which there are plenty on Drama channel and others. I'm ploughing my way through Tenko at the moment. Now there's an outstanding drama with no lip fillers or even a spot of make up. Real women enduring real hardship. No convoluted plot either. Just brilliant.

I didn’t think it was riveting.

Lilypops

Callistemon , But it was every other effing word he effing said to effing night!!!

I meant don't worry, every drama set in every place is littered with swear words on the BBC, not just those set in Liverpool!

I found it depressing and not what I would call entertaining. Thought Martin Freeman's acting was first class though.

Callistemon , But it was every other effing word he effing said to effing night!!!

Lilypops
^As a Liverpudlian I found the use of F——-g every other word a bit much, making out we all talk like that , well we don’t,
It gives Liverpool a bad impression^,

Don't worry, every drama on the BBC is littered with bad language now, whether from Liverpool or not.