Vigil (BBC)

Purgative

@Talisman unfortunately yep 😂

Watched it and I will stick with it, but I did find myself checking the time a few times. Its a real shame because its a clever idea, which held a lot of promise.

De Bhál

not a bad show - kind of hard to take the captain seriously if you've seen Peep show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdFWIYbIWHM

why did the detective drive to the roof of a car park to evade the jeep chasing her. Was she thinking 'I'll just box myself in up there, then once I'm in the quietest spot possible I'll get out unarmed and confront them'

As for the nuclear sub being manned by a bunch of drunks in Florida - bit ridiculous

fritzelly

Enjoyed the first two episodes but after the third episode it seems it's going down the trope of people doing stupid things to create a scene - like why the hell drive into a car park to evade someone following you and seems to be twisting characters motives around to try and create suspense

Most of the episode I found quite boring and the claustrophobia thing feels a bit pushed and no reason for it in the story

JustJoe7240

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117856578#Comment_117856578

I agree with all bar the car park thing, She wasn't trying to evade them to be fair, she was expecting backup, in a multi storey they can easily cover all the exits preventing the BMW from escaping

Dempo1

3rd episode a little bit of an anti climax, the flash backs getting a little tiresome. Story line getting a little silly, drunken sailors running a nucular submarine, a sailor confined to quarters (still with keys to the weapons cabinet) and brandishing a weapon, Captain's competency in question, hence presence of Prentice and really difficult to take the character seriously. Also hard to take Rose Leslie character seriously.

Certainly wasn't up periscope for me, quite a let down actually and the death in the lake scene all to familiar (line of duty)

JP Liz V1

I don't trust Glover

Atlantic Dawn

It's gone a little all over the place tonight, turned in to a lesbian love story of sorts, what in the jaysus that has to do with a submercible investigation below the sea is beyond me.

Talisman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117883083#Comment_117883083

I think that the purpose of Silva's flashback sequences was to highlight her withdrawal symptoms of her anti-depressant medication. Normally a person would be weaned off of their medication, but she's going cold turkey. Kirsten's flashback sequence served to show that Silva wasn't hallucinating there being a relationship between them.

In the scene in the canteen, the cook told the other female crew member "I found out this morning, he's getting out ...". I thought it was established in the first episode that while on patrol the crew don't have any personal correspondences.

I'm only half watching the show at this point.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117883083#Comment_117883083

Completely agree, it's become totally disjointed, jumping from flashbacks, to a quite unbelievable police investigation on shore to an even more unbelievable story line on the actual Sub.

It's become quite silly.

Purgative

Thank you Dempo, Talisman and Atlantic. I forgot to watch it last night, so I tuned in here just after 2300 to read nothing!

Reading your three views now pretty confirmed where I thought it was going.

Pity because it was an unusual idea in a sea of reality tv.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117883274#Comment_117883274

It's been quite dissapointing really, I'd hoped for better and on paper it could have made a good series but gosh, it's woeful, I actually nodded off briefly during last nights episode. Antiques Roadshow, broadcast before it was more gripping 😁

Talisman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117883284#Comment_117883284

My wife also fell asleep during the episode. 😴

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117883295#Comment_117883295

I hear you 😏

wench

In the scene in the canteen, the cook told the other female crew member "I found out this morning, he's getting out ...". I thought it was established in the first episode that while on patrol the crew don't have any personal correspondences.

I think they said they can't send any messages because it gives away their position, but they can receive them, as Silva has been doing.

horse7

It's leading us to believe Shaun is the baddie,so it's probably someone else?

Dempo1

Anyone notice the previously unhinged, gun brandishing, crew man enjoying his breakfast in the canteen 🤔

Surely I'd have expected this chap to be confined to quarters, discipline very poor on this particular Nuclear submarine 🙄

Suranne and Rose kissing

**sighs unzips**

Talisman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117883414#Comment_117883414

Aside from the fact that personal messages would be a waste of the limited bandwidth for transmissions with the submarine. I think it was in the second episode that one of the crew remarked to Silva that she was privileged because she had received two personal messages in two days. All communications go through a secure room as seen towards the end of the episode. I don't think that the two lads spend their day relaying messages from home to petty officers.

The equipment on the British submarines uses VLF (very low frequency) radio signals which can only penetrate the sea to a depth of 40 metres. The submarine tows an antenna through the water to receive the radio signal, that's the piece of equipment that failed/was sabotaged.

Only China, India, Russia and USA have the facility to communicate with their submarine fleets without the boats needing to be near the surface. The reason being that have invested in ELF (extremely low frequency) technology which can penetrate to much deeper depths of water.

The news that the cook's son was getting out of prison in Indonesia after less than a year of a 10 year sentence for a drugs offence was a plot device to cast her into the spotlight for Silva's investigation.

It's a testament to how poor the series has become that I await the next ridiculous plot device. I think there are only two candidates remaining from the characters that have had speaking roles and coincidentally there are two episodes remaining.

archfi

Caught up with first two episodes last weekend and thought the setup and premise looked promising.

Part 3 I began to have doubts, last nights confirmed it.

Garlinge

Very disappointing .... and if I see that grey toy sub passing along underwater again ......😩 Yes guilty of fast forwarding last night..... Not much else to be watching these days on regular telly?

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117884096#Comment_117884096

Lol, I was raging I didn't just watch the new Drama Kin on RTE, seems to be getting excellent reviews. Not sure if it's available on the RTE player, will check later 😏

De Bhál

the opening credits and music are better than the actual show. Show's not that bad, leave your logic hat outside the door for it.

I read somewhere that if the navy can't contact a nuclear sub they have to sink it or something in case it goes rogue. seems a bit extreme.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117884264#Comment_117884264

I do take your points but honestly some of the story lines are bordering on absurdity. Good Drama should in some respects be believable, this show is just all over the place.

The premise and concept could have been good, but something went a stray with the actual script.

trashcan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117884133#Comment_117884133

I wouldn't worry too much in that respect ! Watched Kin on RTE + 1 and it was, lets say, underwhelming.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117885069#Comment_117885069

😒 hmm, disappointing, I'd heard good reports but sure I'll give it a gander later

touts

It started promisingly.

Now I'm not sure I'll bother to keep watching.

They are just throwing bullsh1t storylines at it. Every episode is basically the same. Random crew member appears at start of episode. Becomes a suspect. Eliminated as a suspect at the end of episode. And put in scene stolen from other submarine films to make things exciting. Nearly hit huge cargo ship(s). Check. Reactor meltdown. Check. Nearly launch the nukes. Check. Deranged lad with a loaded gun in with the nuclear missiles. Check (oh he's back freely walking around the boat next time we see him). "It's the god damn cook!" Check.

And it's no wonder the US have a sub following them. Even though they are in the HUGE, and pretty empty, North Atlantic the vigil keeps nearly hitting huge noisy slow moving cargo ships. The US probably figure it's the humane thing to do so they can help with the inevitable rescue.

Meanwhile the love interest back on shore is running around like some sort of one woman police force rugby tackling suspects while taking on the might of the Navy, FSB, and MI5 at the same time. And backup is always "5 minutes away". Her character in Game of Thrones wasn't this badass.

And the Admiral in charge of the UKs nuclear deterrent seems to work in a grotty 1970s warehouse. For some reason his office looks like a room in a rundown portacabin out the back where he engages in top secret zoom calls with his US counterparts with his back to the window so any lad on a passing forktruck can just look in.

The only way this makes sense is if it's all a hallucination by the main character as she actually drowns with her boyfriend in the car and there is never ever a possibility of a second season.

It’s completely lost me anyways. Such a pity as loved the first two episodes

gmisk

I'm still gonna watch it all....but....it's kind of dragging and I just want to know how it will end. It's all becoming a bit too OTT and unbelievable but hopefully it all comes together

alchemist33

I'm still enjoying it anyway. Despite a bit of silliness it's pretty good.

MerlinSouthDub

Really enjoyed the first two episodes but it has been downhill ever since. Such a pity as I think the core idea of a police officer isolated on a sub trying to investigate a murder is pretty good. But so much silliness, getting worse every week.

I'll still watch the last two episodes though!

Talisman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117886658#Comment_117886658

I too will watch to see how they end it but it's difficult to see how they can recover the series. It appears to have gone the way of Bodyguard and Line of Duty and then some. I had been looking forward to the next offering from the same production company but now not so much.

Showtrial is a timely look at how wealth, politics and prejudice conspire to distort the quest for justice.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117883739#Comment_117883739

VLF and ELF comms are mostly for beckoning a sub to comms depth to receive a larger message... there are some set coded commands sent by them where they don't have to surface at all, but personal comms wouldn't be a use case ..

There are technologies in place where a tether is sent to the surface from cruise depth to allow access via satcom spot beams, albeit these are traceable to a certain extent.. it's becomes harder with laser comms, but as you can imagine there are inevitable issues when to establish comms in a swell

TLDR: this ****'s made up and wouldn't happen in real life

anyone else think that new submarines are quite roomy /s

kheb

I’m still enjoying it. Each episode throws up a new potential “killer”. There will be a twist in the last episode no doubt that wasn’t signposted.

fritzelly

Last episode wasn't as bad as it seemed it would be going by some posts here but definitely lost the edge of the first two episodes

If anyone is interested in real life submarine stories Channel 5 has a new documentary just started called "Submarine: Life under the waves"

Don't think this has ever been allowed before and it is a bit like a recruitment show but still worth a watch

Atlantic Dawn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117892995#Comment_117892995

Yes recorded this, must watch. Channel 5 did a good doc a couple years back on HMS Duncan, Warship Life At Sea.

Whoever wrote the program clearly has an anti-nuclear bias as that's evident throughout the series. As others have pointed out the set design is poor. They probably had little advice from the Royal Navy as this series seems to have it in for them by making them look dangerous and incompetent.

Seriously in the last episode, how did the sonar operators manage to miss that cargo ship, I'm pretty sure you could detect cargo ships quite easily all the way back in the U-boat era and I understand sub design has come a long way since World War II, but there is no way a submarine is as roomy as depicted they are after all tools designed to do a job first and foremost, while at the same time squeezing in the crew.

Maybe it's just me. Not that I'm complaining, but there does seem to be more lesbian relationships being depicted in TV shows or maybe that is just the shows I'm watching?

Radio5

Did the police watch all of Burke's recording on the memory key? Surely as he knew what the cover-up was about and that he was in danger of being discredited or silenced, he'd have named a few names or hinted strongly at who on board was involved.

Talisman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117896899#Comment_117896899

The production company never approached the Royal Navy for input into the creation of the submarine so there was a lot of artistic license in their creation. They did consult with the police about the storyline and were told that the premise for the series would never occur in real life. Even if a crime were to take place within the confines of the Faslane naval base it would be investigated by the Royal Navy. Anyone who enters the base has to be vetted for top level security clearance and has to have signed the Official Secrets Act. Characters like Craig Burke and his girlfriend would never have been let near the base, never mind the investigating police officers. 🤔

Channel 5 aired a programme in 2019 in which a presenter and cameraman spent 4 days on HMS Vengeance. It's a Trident class submarine on which Vigil is set. To say that the Vigil set looks nothing like the real thing in terms of scale would be an understatement. There's more standing room in a bath tub than is available on the bridge of the real submarine. Every nook and cranny on the actual submarine serves a purpose.

Bridge:

Canteen/The Mess: It also serves as the meeting room for the crew.

Missile Room: This is where the Trident nuclear warheads hangout.

As can be seen in the photos, it's not quite as spacious and roomy as Vigil. 😀

touts

Another cliff hanger crisis contained in the first 2 minutes.

And apparently a nerve gas attack on half the ship still won't stop some of the background crew sitting in the galley having a nice leisurely chat over breakfast 5 minutes later.

4Ad

Pure shite altogether...

Talisman

It's comic relief ...

Could it be a nerve agent like Sarin?

What century is this? The writers of the show were so lazy, isn't Novichok supposed to be the Russian nerve agent of choice?

Meanwhile super sleuth is doing all of the detective work and running around the countryside sorting out birthday gifts for a child she never met. 😂

Finally we know the real reason for Anna's dramatic backstory, it's so they could stick her in a torpedo tube and flood it! Absolute genius.

As expected it turns out the baddie is somebody with a talkie part although a small one up to this point.

And it looks like they are teasing a Hunt for Red October finale. Expect a dramatic late development to avert the need for a special effects budget to pull that off. 🤣

Dempo1

It's desended into farce at this stage, absolutely woeful storyline and would better described as fantasty, comedy would be too generousa a description, certainly not drama. You'd have to wonder at what stage did the cast members wonder , what are we doing here. Or the Director thinking should we just stop this shyte. This is making Badlands appear average.

Just awful , Ludicrous, absurd and utterly unbelievable.

Did I mention I hate it 😏

ohnonotgmail

Complete bobbins but I'm still enjoying it. Rose leslie doesn't hurt it.

Talisman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117913812#Comment_117913812

You may hate it but you'll just have to tune in next week to see how bad it is.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117913873#Comment_117913873

This is very True, I've gone this far albeit barely engaged at this stage, it's like having something on in the background that your half paying attention too. Honestly if there was something else on of worth, I'd not even bother at this stage.

De Bhál

not bad last night

It still hasn't been explained exactly why the Russians seemingly want to capture or sink the British submarine, the Russians have plenty of nuke subs of their own. And what good is it knocking out 1 British sub and risk pissing off every other NATO country.

Still it's miles better than the majority of programmes that are produced by RTE.

extra gravy

It won't win any awards but it's grand for disengaging the brain after a day's work. And Suranne Jones is great, as always.

horse7

Afraid I fell asleep too, woke up at the end with water filling the torpedo tube. Did someone put her in there?

Talisman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117921860#Comment_117921860

I think that's the twist that's coming. A conflict between Russia and NATO benefits who exactly? Who is more likely to be in a position to influence the Indonesian government to let a convicted criminal walk after serving only a year of their prison sentence, Russia or China? And coincidentally the Chinese embassy is offering asylum to the guy who stole the photo from Jade's laptop.