Vigil (BBC)

Talisman · 20-09-2021 8:24am

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 · 20-09-2021 9:07am

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 · 20-09-2021 9:27am

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

Talisman · 20-09-2021 9:28am

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 · 20-09-2021 9:34am

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 · 20-09-2021 9:53am

not bad last night

[Deleted User] · 21-09-2021 10:32pm

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 · 21-09-2021 11:08pm

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 · 22-09-2021 10:34am

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

Talisman · 22-09-2021 12:40pm

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.

Talisman · 22-09-2021 12:44pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117922844#Comment_117922844

It was the dude in the green poncho outfit. He even removed his visor so we could get a good look at him, just in case he wasn't recogniseble from the focus shots of his face at various dramatic points during the series. 😜

horse7 · 22-09-2021 2:40pm

is he the guy who messed up on the radar screen?

Talisman · 22-09-2021 4:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117924139#Comment_117924139

Bingo!

Ash.J.Williams · 22-09-2021 5:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117922844#Comment_117922844

no she was catching 40 winks and then was mistaken for a torpedo , she's going to splattered into a russian sub, this will really confuse the russians, as they would expect a torpedo and not a lesbian

horse7 · 22-09-2021 6:20pm

Wow, that's because they don't have LGBT in Russia.

Atlantic Dawn · 22-09-2021 6:34pm

Really enjoyed the most recent episode. Not sure how easy it will be to clear all the loose ends up in the final episode this Sunday.

razorblunt · 22-09-2021 9:21pm

What an absolute mess.

from the repeated establishing shots of the submarine when cutting back, just in case you forgot, you know, it’s set on a submarine.

the constant cuts to yer man through all the episodes.

cutting the suit that was meant for deep sea diving

”you won’t last 15 minutes” nice quick maths.

[Deleted User] · 23-09-2021 5:57pm

I'm enjoying it, thanks. The plot is a good one, the acting, especially Suranne Jones (no surprise there) and Rose Leslie is good, and let's not forget it is an entertainment drama, not a documentary. There's a nice fragility in the main characters, and there are plot twists and turns, and I bet there's a sting in the tail to come

It's not trying to be Sicario, it's a police procedural series set on a submarine. There's a US submarine, the Russians, and maybe the Chinese in the mix. Let's see how Ep6 pans out.

Talisman · 23-09-2021 10:28pm

The truth is out there ...

https://twitter.com/RAF_Luton/status/1434571398899539968

Samsgirl · 26-09-2021 9:31pm

Good episode tonight. Great bit of action at last.

[Deleted User] · 26-09-2021 9:42pm

Overall meh imo. Some good bits, great cast, but the more twists and turns, the more of a damp squib of a climax.

Rfrip · 26-09-2021 9:54pm

Overall this was really shite. I think it was the backstory that lost me.

4Ad · 26-09-2021 9:57pm

Rubbish..

Dempo1 · 26-09-2021 10:00pm

What an anti climax , I'd hope for something, anything gripping to make up for previous boring nonsense but my god that was profoundly awful.

Dempo1 · 26-09-2021 10:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117943191#Comment_117943191

The entire story lost me 😏

Talisman · 26-09-2021 10:21pm

I think they had a story for the show up to the point where they winched the police officer onto the submarine. The plot just got increasingly ridiculous after that.

[Deleted User] · 26-09-2021 10:35pm

Dreadful stuff, really surprised at the BBC producing this.

Fitz* · 27-09-2021 12:41am

Thought the first half of the last episode was brilliant. Gripping and full of tension. Tailed off for the second half though and just went into 'wrapping up' mode.

Overall, decent while not being great, IMO, but I'm glad I watched the series as a whole. Not one to highly recommend but one to watch at the same time.

Talisman · 27-09-2021 6:55am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117943722#Comment_117943722

Was it really gripping and full of tension for the first half?

The drama from the end of the previous episode was resolved in a matter of minutes, it predictably followed the same pattern from the earlier episodes. Afterwards the XO didn't bother to attempt to retrieve the diving suit from the torpedo tube even though he had gone there with the intent to retrieve it. A contrived attempt to add some tension because the plot was done at that point. It became more preposterous when the antagonist dismantled the valves causing the boat to sink when his intention was to force it to the surface. The showdown with the XO was a predictable non-event with gratuitous stabbing after he was killed so that the protagonist could get a head start for the chase through the missile deck. Meanwhile the communications came back online just in time for the captain to order that the baddie be apprehended or killed.

The storyline got more absurd in every episode and it culminated with the antagonist taking the protagonist hostage at knife point and demanding that the captain surface the submarine. However due to his sabotage of the valves, the boat had been taking on more water than the pumps could remove. If he had wanted to surface the submarine all he had to do was blow the ballast tanks. That shouldn't have been a problem for him to do so having seen what he had previously done with the reactor.

It all got wrapped up in 30 minutes and then they dragged out the remainder of the episode but didn't resolve anything because the entire plot was so contrived it made it impossible to do so.

The mysterious disappearance of a Scottish fishing trawler and a death on-board a Trident nuclear submarine bring the police into conflict with the Navy and British security services. DCI Amy Silva (Suranne Jones) leads an investigation on land and at sea into a conspiracy that threatens the very heart of Britain’s nuclear deterrent.

The blurb made Vigil sound intriguing but "predictable, formulaic and dumb" would be a more accurate description of what was delivered. In future when a series is billed as "from the producers of Line of Duty, Bodyguard and Vigil", I will be sure to give it a miss. World Productions created a crime drama about a nuclear submarine without any input from the police or navy. The peace camp at Faslane refused permission to film there because the story was so contrived that the protestors didn't want to give any authenticity to it. They clearly didn't get permission to film near the Chinese consulate either, Murrayfield stadium in the background would have been the highlight of the episode.

horse7 · 27-09-2021 9:11am

At least manhunt on ITV got me through the week.

Vigil (BBC)

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