The Missing (BBC drama)

HeidiHeidi · 17-12-2014 11:29am

Am I the only person who credulity snapped when the case is solved by a) a retired detective who swans back into the station out of his bee-keeping retirement, complete with gammy leg, and takes over the whole investigation, and b) the parents of the missing child who march into the hospital and are first into the room of the chief suspect and get to interrogate him (and attack him) while the police look on?

Meanwhile, the actual detective (Laurence (sp?)) trots along after them all, taking phone calls and doing.... well, not a whole lot, really?

Sorry, now, I know police shows can't be 100% reality, but that was just too much for me.

It also felt to me like the Russian scene at the end was tagged on as an afterthought - took me a while to figure out what the hell it was about. (I didn't see the post on here about "keep watching after the credits" until much later, so still haven't seen what that was about - but if it's vital information for this or the next series, they really need to put it in the main programme, or flag it - who watches through all the credits any more

)

Won't be tuning in to the next one.

JoeA3 · 17-12-2014 11:41am

I kept waiting for "super detective" Julian to rubbish Alain's story by declaring that no evidence was ever found in the surrounding area of a traffic accident... but no, he just accepted his story! WTF.

It seemed clear that the accident scene was close to the swimming pool. The cops would have combed the area for clues, right? Surely there would have been lots of evidence at this supposed accident scene? Blood on the road, tyre marks, debris from the car - those Mondeo front bumpers are made from eggshells after all! And did Alain ever explain where his car disappeared to? And no one witnessed him driving erratically and no one else drove by in the immediate aftermath of the accident?

That for me was the biggest stretch in credibility of the series.... it even beats Tony's cover up of the Garrett murder.

17-12-2014 12:07pm

what was after the credits?
something about the second series?

last episode not bad overall. endings to good series are always a bit divisive - definitely took the Russian scene to mean that Tony just couldn't leave his past behind him. Don't think that the kid was Ollie - even if he was still alive Tony would have no chance in finding him. The kid looked Russian in features in any case.

Kettleson · 17-12-2014 12:23pm

The Romanian school teacher and ex-/recovering drug addict, sister of the Romanian member of the 'Caid de Cité'...what was it that she knew? Was that ever disclosed?

17-12-2014 12:30pm

Kettleson wrote: »

The Romanian school teacher and ex-/recovering drug addict, sister of the Romanian member of the 'Caid de Cité'...what was it that she knew? Was that ever disclosed?

she didn't know anything.
she was trying to help the police on 2 occasions find out stuff from the Romanians,

1. 2006 - what was going on with the "package" (maybe Ollie) being transported. Gets her throat slashed, barely survives.

2. present day, where is Karl Sigue? (the house cleaner). finds out from her brother that he's in Brussels.

brian_t · 17-12-2014 12:33pm

glasso wrote: »

what was after the credits?
something about the second series?

Charlie19 · 17-12-2014 2:08pm

I was happy enough with how it panned out.

Id say ollie did die in that house that night and the ending with Nesbit in Russia was just showing that Nesbit couldn't let it go.

Edit: Just read what glasso posted and its more or less what I thought.

volchitsa · 17-12-2014 3:21pm

Yes, I think so too, if only because he was clearly badly injured from the accident and even though he came round initially, he would likely have died from lack of medical care, possibly from head injuries or internal bleeding. No time for infection to set in, I guess, but it's hard to see how a five year old could have survived for long in those conditions of stress and with no medical care at all.

Kettleson · 17-12-2014 3:33pm

This is TV land Volchitsa...anything can happen. I think Ollie will be found and will win X-Factor 2015.

His dad might just win Britains Got Talent with his incredible ability of smashing 30 coconuts against his head in 60 seconds.

Betty Bloggs · 17-12-2014 3:55pm

Was reading a few comments today from here
http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-12-16/the-missing-did-we-get-the-ending-we-deserved

and someone made the speculation that maybe the next series will be about Ian Garret's daughter that "went missing". That line could tie in with some of the characters/gangs we have heard off in Ollie's case.
I can't remember though if we were told how long ago Ian's daughter disappeared although I suppose they could do a series based a few years in the past and bring it's conclusion up to present day.

I agree with the people who felt the whole story about Alain hitting Ollie with the car just seems far fetched to have left no forensic evidence behind at the scene. Part of me was wondering if Alain only fed that story to the mother because he felt guilty and to finally give her some closure and to get them all to stop investigating the case and searching for Ollie, although I suppose he didn't have much to lose by telling the truth on his deathbed.

What exactly was Vincent going to do or say to Ian Garrett if Ian had still been alive when he went searching for him?
He then tracked down Ian's wife, was he going to say more to her before he realised she was so mentally unwell and also saw her as a victim?
I often felt that he knew something more that he was going to expose but I suppose if he did know something he would have had ample opportunity to say it given that Ian was dead and he never did so maybe he didn't have any crucial information. I thought his suicide note was going to make some "big reveal" but alas no.

I think I've turned into Tony with all my ideas!:o

I get that this was deliberately done by the makers to leave some people feeling like Emily - that the case was resolved and another few like myself feeing a bit like Tony and still looking for answers, but I hope that in the next season if Ollie is not alive that they learn information of his body location just so that Tony and viewers like me can finally get some confirmation about it all!
I don't think this will happen though so I'm just left to wonder if the boy in Russia is Ollie or if I'm over-thinking things because I just don't like the ending at all.

I really didn't like the ending. I don't always have to have a neatly packaged ending in a tv show or movie, with some I actually like an uncertain ending that leaves it a bit open to interpretation, but I didn't want that with this short series. It just seemed to build up such a good plot and interweaving stories that led to nothing but Ollie following a fecking fox and getting hit by a car and then killed needlessly. It annoyed me to say the least.

Until next series, I'm just going to tell myself that the boy in Russia IS Ollie, that he somehow managed to end up in a safe home, and maybe even that Tony finally does get proven correct with DNA tests and he finally has some peace in his heart. If these are just hopeful delusions then so be it!

Kettleson · 17-12-2014 4:17pm

volchitsa wrote: »

Yes, I think so too, if only because he was clearly badly injured from the accident and even though he came round initially, he would likely have died from lack of medical care, possibly from head injuries or internal bleeding. No time for infection to set in, I guess, but it's hard to see how a five year old could have survived for long in those conditions of stress and with no medical care at all.

My apologies Volchitsa, I should have also said that your observations are 100% correct in the real world.

volchitsa · 17-12-2014 4:42pm

Yeah, as I said earlier, Kettleson, there were definitely several stretches of the imagination there that I felt were unrealistic. The judge not looking in the car boot was a real biggie for me, but not the only one.

Kettleson · 17-12-2014 4:59pm

Just a thought...without Nesbitt, could this series have been a real dud?

Ceist_Beag · 17-12-2014 5:01pm

Kettleson wrote: »

Just a thought...without Nesbitt, could this series have been a real dud?

Personally I thought all 3 lead characters (Nesbitt, O'Connor and the lad who played Julien) were all outstanding in it. But without all 3 it might have been a bit of a dud! :P

17-12-2014 7:08pm

Kettleson wrote: »

Just a thought...without Nesbitt, could this series have been a real dud?

Ken Stott (Ian Garrett) was the best character. Shouldn't have killed him off.

volchitsa · 17-12-2014 7:13pm

glasso wrote: »

Ken Stott (Ian Garrett) was the best character. Shouldn't have killed him off.

Yeah, he was an asset alright but Tony losing it and killing him did make sense in terms of character, I thought. He was seriously violent, Tony, he really was, for someone the viewer is meant to empathize with. I liked that he was so flawed. Not sure about Tcheky covering up for him, and without being seen, though. I found that a bit weak.

Marje · 19-02-2016 8:31pm

Details on series 2

David Morrissey and Keeley Hawes have joined series two of 'The Missing'.
The 'Walking Dead' star and the 'Ashes to Ashes' actress are set to start in the BBC One crime drama as on-screen husband and wife Sam and Gemma as they in the hunt for their missing daughter Alice, played by Abigail Hardingham, who suddenly vanished in 2003.
The comeback series follows the same theme as its BAFTA-winning predecessor, split over two timelines again, tracing Abigail's shock return to her German hometown after her 11-year absence.
Newcomer David, 51, will replace 'Cold Feet's James Nesbitt in the lead role after it was announced he will not be returning for this year's series.
The Northern Ireland actor - who played devoted father Tony Hughes who was determined to find out what happened to his young son Olly - told The Radio Times: "I was talking to someone about the ending and I was saying it definitely wasn't Olly at the end. Tony is demented and Oliver is dead and the only place that Tony can find solace is in this demented world. And that was how I was playing it."
However, fans will be thrilled to learn Tchéky Karyom will reprise his role as French Detective Julien Baptiste in the second series, while original writers Harry and Jack Williams, who are brothers, are also on board.
Series two has is set to run an eight-part series of one hour episodes and is rumoured to return to screens early next year.

Link

brian_t · 18-09-2016 11:12pm

brian_t · 29-09-2016 9:41am

A new investigation. A new search for the truth. Pay close attention.

The Missing starts Wednesday 12th October at 9pm

https://www.facebook.com/BBCOne/videos/1235520569801692/

brian_t · 29-09-2016 9:43am

Cortina_MK_IV · 12-10-2016 2:26pm

Bump: Starts tonight BBC1 at 9pm.

volchitsa · 12-10-2016 4:00pm

Thanks for the reminder, Cortina, must definitely watch that.

Lisha · 12-10-2016 9:42pm

Can honestly say I don't have a clue what's happening

Marje · 12-10-2016 10:02pm

Took me a while to realise there's different timelines :rolleyes: bit confusing at first but the timelines might become clearer next week (hopefully)

Who was the woman Matthew was shouting at in the car park?

Lisha · 12-10-2016 10:06pm

Marje wrote: »

Took me a while to realise there's different timelines :rolleyes: bit confusing at first but the timelines might become clearer next week (hopefully)

Who was the woman Matthew was shouting at in the car park?

On twitter bbc1 is saying to use his beard and sophie's mothers hair to tell the timelines .
I'm struggling to see if it's worth sticking with it.

Birneybau · 12-10-2016 10:07pm

Lisha wrote: »

Marje wrote: »

Took me a while to realise there's different timelines :rolleyes: bit confusing at first but the timelines might become clearer next week (hopefully)

Who was the woman Matthew was shouting at in the car park?

On twitter bbc1 is saying to use his beard and sophie's mothers hair to tell the timelines .
I'm struggling to see if it's worth sticking with it.

On your second point, really?

Marje · 12-10-2016 10:11pm

Lisha wrote: »

On twitter bbc1 is saying to use his beard and sophie's mothers hair to tell the timelines .
I'm struggling to see if it's worth sticking with it.

Keeley Hawes hair is sort in the future and long when Alice returns.

Will stick with although when they said in the end that she mightn't be Alice, it reminded me of the other BBC tv series Thirteen.

Dr Crayfish · 12-10-2016 10:19pm

Thought it was really good, albeit a little confusing. So was the girl the Dad was banging the soldier who was pregnant in 2014? A good start, I think it will live up to the first series.

Zeek12 · 12-10-2016 10:23pm

Excellent start. I was hooked after first 10 minutes.
Really like the shifting timelines. It keeps you guessing.

volchitsa · 12-10-2016 10:25pm

I thought it was a brilliant start, though I'm still a bit confused. (I didn't get that it was the same woman the father was having an affair with - if that's who it was, and she did look familiar alright - and who was the mixed race boy whose father -I think - committed suicide and who we saw washing a badly cleaned-up bloodstain earlier?)

And Kirkuk? WTF? And how did the father get the burn, that was after they found Alice so he presumably attacked a suspect?

Thought it was a really intriguing start but I do hope my poor brain is up for this!

volchitsa · 12-10-2016 10:29pm

Marje wrote: »

Took me a while to realise there's different timelines :rolleyes: bit confusing at first but the timelines might become clearer next week (hopefully)

Who was the woman Matthew was shouting at in the car park?

I've an idea about this -

if the girl in the hospital isn't Alice Weber, but an imposter, but if the grave is real, perhaps she's the girl we're currently seeing recovering in hospital - and if so, she's likely to be Sophie Giroux. Baptiste didn't get to meet "Alice" in hospital, remember?

Dr Crayfish · 12-10-2016 10:48pm

Are we seriously supposed to believe a mother wouldn't cop that her daughter is an impostor, if they're going down that road?

volchitsa · 12-10-2016 11:08pm

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

Are we seriously supposed to believe a mother wouldn't cop that her daughter is an impostor, if they're going down that road?

Eleven years? And they would so desperately want it to be her that they wouldn't question it, IMO. And would probably stifle their initial doubts as well.

Ceist_Beag · 13-10-2016 8:33am

volchitsa wrote: »

I thought it was a brilliant start, though I'm still a bit confused. (I didn't get that it was the same woman the father was having an affair with - if that's who it was, and she did look familiar alright - and who was the mixed race boy whose father -I think - committed suicide and who we saw washing a badly cleaned-up bloodstain earlier?)

And Kirkuk? WTF? And how did the father get the burn, that was after they found Alice so he presumably attacked a suspect?

Thought it was a really intriguing start but I do hope my poor brain is up for this!

+1 on the first episode, really enjoyed that.
It was the same woman the father was having the affair with alright, she had the scan of the baby on the fridge (and was tempted to throw it in the bin so she must have lost the baby I'm guessing?). The mixed race lad is the suspect that Baptiste is trying to track down in Iraq. At this point I'm guessing his father (who committed suicide) must have had something to do with the abductions but it's all very early in the story yet.
"Alice" died 8 days after she got out from hospital and I'm guessing the father (and son) were somehow responsible for the death (and that's where the burns came from) given the guilt of the father and the fact he said his son won't ever forgive him. Quite what the son promised Alice he would do I've no clue but all in all there is plenty going on here and it's very enjoyable.

volchitsa · 13-10-2016 9:34am

Ceist_Beag wrote: »

+1 on the first episode, really enjoyed that.
It was the same woman the father was having the affair with alright, she had the scan of the baby on the fridge (and was tempted to throw it in the bin so she must have lost the baby I'm guessing?). The mixed race lad is the suspect that Baptiste is trying to track down in Iraq. At this point I'm guessing his father (who committed suicide) must have had something to do with the abductions but it's all very early in the story yet.
"Alice" died 8 days after she got out from hospital and I'm guessing the father (and son) were somehow responsible for the death (and that's where the burns came from) given the guilt of the father and the fact he said his son won't ever forgive him. Quite what the son promised Alice he would do I've no clue but all in all there is plenty going on here and it's very enjoyable.

God I think I need your user name a lot more than you!

Thanks a million for all that.

I missed the Iraq link altogether, some of the kids must have distracted me. I also missed that it was only a week after the hospital that she died, so that makes sense about the father getting his burns then.

I'm particularly intrigued by the idea that the "happy ending" of her return is to some extent the beginning of their lives being destroyed, or not a happy ending anyway - it fits with what happens ex hostages but it's such an opposition to the usual plots in "girl disappears"/detective stories.

SB_Part2 · 13-10-2016 9:48am

Really enjoyed the first episode.

Was the woman the brother shouted at in the carpark the same woman that was at the funeral?

Ceist_Beag · 13-10-2016 10:05am

SB_Part2 wrote: »

Really enjoyed the first episode.

Was the woman the brother shouted at in the carpark the same woman that was at the funeral?

Good shout, that could be who it was alright.

volchitsa · 13-10-2016 10:33am

Ceist_Beag wrote: »

Good shout, that could be who it was alright.

I must have fallen asleep, I didn't even see a funeral.

Is it repeated any time before next week does anyone know?
Or else I may have to download it from somewhere.

Ceist_Beag · 13-10-2016 10:37am

Presumably SB means the funeral of the father of the suspect (the father who committed suicide). So you could extrapolate from that, that the father, his wife, and the son (who Baptiste is now tracking down) all had some role in the abductions somehow - at least that is my take on it!

brian_t · 13-10-2016 11:54am

volchitsa wrote: »

Is it repeated any time before next week does anyone know?.

It's not repeated.

Kalyke · 13-10-2016 1:13pm

SB_Part2 wrote: »

Really enjoyed the first episode.

Was the woman the brother shouted at in the carpark the same woman that was at the funeral?

Almost certain she was the same.

muckety · 14-10-2016 3:49pm

brian_t wrote: »

It's not repeated.

Ah crap. Will it be possible to pick up whats going on having missed the first one? I loved the last series.

Mac B · 14-10-2016 7:06pm

muckety wrote: »

Ah crap. Will it be possible to pick up whats going on having missed the first one? I loved the last series.

Episode is available to watch online. Not sure if I'm allowed post a link but it's easily found if you google it..... Or pm me for a link

EagererBeaver · 14-10-2016 10:05pm

Just watched, having not seen the first series. Find it absolutely gripping and can't wait to see the next episode.

A couple of things:

Daniel Reed's father dies eight days before "Alice". The woman at the funeral and the woman the Webster's son shouts at are definitely the same. Daniel Reed appears to be AWOL in Iraq. Is the Webster soon mixed up with skinheads as the Reed father/son combo were suspects and has developed a racial angle? Daniel Reed appears to be a similar age to "Alice" and her brother, so he can't have been the original abductor.

The female MP officer was eight months pregnant when "Alice" returned but obviously has lost her baby.

I'm the closing sequence when Baptiste says that the girl who returned wasn't Alice, I'm pretty sure he means it literally. The way she opened her eyes when curled up on the floor after her mother opened the door suggests the whole thing was a performance.

Eckhausen is a fair distance from the French border. As Baptiste had jurisdiction over the Sophie Giroux case, she must have disappeared in France, which to me suggests the scope mount be more than just these two girls. If not, that van driver must be quite the opportunistic kidnapper.

"Alice's" pregnancy angle is obviously a big deal.

volchitsa · 19-10-2016 10:02pm

Well the second epi didn't disappoint - didn't disappoint me anyway!
What did anyone think? (We know why she opened her eyes like that at the end of the last episode, for one thing - what a clever little red herring that was!))

loriexxx · 19-10-2016 10:06pm

It's brilliant don't have a clue what's going on though, what's the red herring you are referring to

EagererBeaver · 19-10-2016 10:25pm

volchitsa wrote: »

Well the second epi didn't disappoint - didn't disappoint me anyway!
What did anyone think? (We know why she opened her eyes like that at the end of the last episode, for one thing - what a clever little red herring that was!))

What was the red herring?

volchitsa · 19-10-2016 10:41pm

EagererBeaver wrote: »

What was the red herring?

Just at the end of the first episode, Alice's mother walked into her bedroom, and saw Alice (if it is Alice) lying on the floor with her back to her, while we saw Alice from in front, (with her mother behind her) suddenly opening her eyes wide, it looked like she was fooling her mother. Only today we heard her ask her brother to lock her into the shed because the floors in the house are too soft, and she said hadn't slept in days. So she was suffering trauma from her time in prison, not acting the role of Alice to fool everyone.

A minor thing in the story I think, but a nice touch all the same.

(Worried about Julien and the Icelandic policeman whose name I forget, BTW, that's another cliffhanger for us this week, isn't it?)

EagererBeaver · 19-10-2016 10:57pm

volchitsa wrote: »

Just at the end of the first episode, Alice's mother walked into her bedroom, and saw Alice (if it is Alice) lying on the floor with her back to her, while we saw Alice from in front, (with her mother behind her) suddenly opening her eyes wide, it looked like she was fooling her mother. Only today we heard her ask her brother to lock her into the shed because the floors in the house are too soft, and she said hadn't slept in days. So she was suffering trauma from her time in prison, not acting the role of Alice to fool everyone.

A minor thing in the story I think, but a nice touch all the same.

(Worried about Julien and the Icelandic policeman whose name I forget, BTW, that's another cliffhanger for us this week, isn't it?)

I don't think that's a red herring at all. Whether or not she can't sleep because of trauma, she's clearly putting on some form of performance, as was suggested by her opening her eyes last week.

volchitsa · 19-10-2016 11:09pm

EagererBeaver wrote: »

I don't think that's a red herring at all. Whether or not she can't sleep because of trauma, she's clearly putting on some form of performance, as was suggested by her opening her eyes last week.

Yeah maybe red herring's not the word, then- I don't mean that it's insignificant, necessarily but that it's now been "written into" the story in a slightly more intricate way than it appeared last week. I just think it was a clever touch.

The Missing (BBC drama)

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