Online premiere!

Jack Irish is an Australian lawyer whose life has fallen apart.  A disgruntled client kills Jack's wife, and after that, Jack (played by Guy Pearce) no longer has the will or desire to continue with his career.  Instead, he fills his time with jobs that don't require a lot of thought or concentration -- collecting outstanding debts, betting on horses to manipulate the odds at the racetrack, and woodworking.  He also spends his free time in a pub with a less than youthful clientele.  In fact, he's done a pretty good job at leaving his old life behind.  Then he gets a call from a former client who subsequently ends up dead and Jack finds himself being drawn back into the world he thought was firmly in his past. 

This is how the first Jack Irish episode, "Bad Debts."  The DVD set won't be available in the U.S. until October, but it's already available to watch online from our good friends at Acorn Media!  It's super easy to access:

Just go to Acorn TV at http://www.acorn.tv

You can sign up for a free 30 day trial and access Jack Irish and plenty of other great programs!  If you decide you're hooked after the 30 days, you can subscribe for just $2.99 per month or $29.99 for an entire year.  Yep, for less than the cost of one DVD series, you can have online access to loads of great programs!  Your Acorn TV subscription will also allow you to view the programs through Roku, iPhones, iPads, Apple TV, Google TV, etc.  So really, if you are a fan of great programming you can't see anywhere else, this is a great service!  I tried it out on my computer, and I can verify that the process to access the programs is easy and the picture quality is perfect.  There were also no problems what-so-ever with the streaming process (although this will likely depend on your Internet service provider and connection).  If you're able to stream through a device already, you'll have absolutely no problem with Acorn TV.

"Bad Debts" not only draws Jack Irish back into his old life, when he was a practicing attorney, it also jolts him back into a relationship.  In the course of investigating the death of his former client, who had recently been released from prison for a hit-and-run accident, Jack contacts Linda Hillier, a local reporter who covered the original story.  They begin to suspect that Jack's client might not have been responsible for the accident.  Their digging into the story leads to some very powerful individuals who would prefer that the story not be revived. 

The second episode that is available online is called "Black Tide."  In this episode, an old friend of Jack's father asks for help in tracking down his missing son.  The son, Gary, has stolen a great deal of money from his father but has good reasons for having gone missing.  Jack and Linda are still trying to continue their relationship, although Linda is now off working in Sydney, and their long-distance relationship runs into some snags.  Once again, powerful people aren't pleased when Jack comes snooping around.

Disclaimer:  I received online access to Jack Irish from Acorn Media in exchange for this review

Final Verdict for Jack Irish:  Four Gherkins, for being a thrilling look at criminal investigations down under