Vigil - Season One Discussion

[Cranberry]

Quote

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.

Six-part series airing Sundays on BBC One, starting August 29, 2021. Starring Gentleman Jack’s Suranne Jones and Game of Thrones’ Rose Leslie, along with Line of Duty’s Martin Compston and Endeavour’s Shaun Evans.

Vigil: Suranne Jones’s classy new drama is Sunday night TV at its best

Vigil review – Suranne Jones feels the pressure in sharp submarine thriller

Vigil: Submarine drama explores 'isolating and tense' life and death at sea

 

[Ceindreadh]

15 hours ago, Cranberry said:

Six-part series airing Sundays on BBC One, starting August 29, 2021. Starring Gentleman Jack’s Suranne Jones and Game of Thrones’ Rose Leslie, along with Line of Duty’s Martin Compston and Endeavour’s Shaun Evans.

Vigil: Suranne Jones’s classy new drama is Sunday night TV at its best

Vigil review – Suranne Jones feels the pressure in sharp submarine thriller

Vigil: Submarine drama explores 'isolating and tense' life and death at sea

 

Episode 2 airs on Monday the 30th, the rest of them will be on Sunday. 

[orza]

Overall, the first two episodes were great. The story line on the submarine is compelling with a great cast. The story line on land, though, not so much. Possibly because I don't find Rose Leslie as a convincing police detective.

[Marvin]

The story is loosely based on a real event - the sinking of the fishing vessel Antares by HMS Trenchant. It snared the nets of the trawler and dragged it down. All 4 crew members died. However the accident meant that submarines now operating around UK waters have to remain visible in areas with a lot of fishing traffic. 

The family members of the Antares crew are not happy with the series as it hits too close to home and reminds them of the issues they had with getting the Navy to admit responsibility.

Also many submariners are critical of the show due to its lack of realism in just about every aspect of life on a submarine - in particular is the huge size of the set used and how the crew backtalk to their superiors, the racial profile of the crew etc.

 

However if you suspend reality and watch it for what it is - it is actually a reasonably decent detective series. Although i wish every detective of TV wouldn't have a tragic / troubled past and / or a drinking problem etc.

[Cranberry]

I don't have much to say about this, but I've been enjoying it. I've been yelling at Amy to talk to the cook from the beginning.

[khyber]

Very intense series. One more episode to go.

[DanaK]

Anyone know if this will be shown on a US network anytime soon?

[akr]

1 hour ago, DanaK said:

Anyone know if this will be shown on a US network anytime soon?

From the NYT: 

"And the BBC’s latest offering, “Vigil,” a drama investigating a mysterious death on a nuclear submarine looks set to continue this trend, attracted double-digit-millions of viewers to its first episode, according to the BBC. Set to air on the U.S. streaming service Peacock later this year, it’s fair to say “Vigil” is also full of unexpected twists and turns."

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/16/arts/television/bodyguard-line-of-duty.html

[Cranberry]

I didn't realize it was such a hit over there! I really enjoyed it; it was never boring and I found the ending satisfying enough. 

[kwnyc]

We just binged this over the weekend, and really loved it! For me, the acting,  writing, and setting (both in Scotland and under the sea) were excellent. I saw that this was a huge ratings hit in England...and that there were a lot of dismissive reviews.

I think Suranne Jones is an outstanding actor, who's finally getting some exposure in the US (not just the people who watch good British TV) from Gentleman Jack. 

Structurally, what I liked about the show is that all the agencies (Scotland Yard, Royal Navy, MI5) were forced to work with each other, then had to trust each other...the same aboard the boat (not ship!)

Perfect weekend binge!

[TV Anonymous]

On 9/1/2021 at 3:29 PM, Marvin said:

Also many submariners are critical of the show due to its lack of realism in just about every aspect of life on a submarine - in particular is the huge size of the set used and how the crew backtalk to their superiors, the racial profile of the crew etc.

From the get go, the fact that a civilian police can go into a naval base and aboard a naval vessel and conduct independent investigation unassisted confuses me. Does the Royal Navy not have Masters-at-Arms or Military Police? And then the police tries to dip their toes in matters of defense and policies, both are way outside of their scope.

On 12/26/2021 at 1:27 PM, kwnyc said:

Structurally, what I liked about the show is that all the agencies (Scotland Yard, Royal Navy, MI5) were forced to work with each other, then had to trust each other...the same aboard the boat (not ship!)

The Scotland Yard is the nickname of the Metropolitan Police Service, the police force of London. It is name so after the name of the location of its HQ, Scotland Yard. The police force in this show is Scottish Police Service, a fictionalized version of Police Service of Scotland.

[LisaM]

Late to the party - I binged the entire series tonight on Peacock. I thought it was quite good but was prepared for a twist at the end which never came. 

I've never seen Suranne Jones in anything before (turned off Scott & Bailey during 1st episode) and thought she was terrific. I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel with Jones and Rose Leslie continuing in their detective roles - on land this time. :)

[dargosmydaddy]

Even later to the party... finally signed up for a month of Peacock, and this was first on my watch-list. I came for Shaun Evans and Daniel Portman, and they did not disappoint! (And bonus points for a Shaun Evans shower scene!)

Overall it was a fun, tense watch even if the plot was completely over-the-top, and the nerve agent seemed rather... convenient in how it killed. (Seriously, I felt bad for the poor guy who performed CPR on the dead guy... Amy had a brief moment of expressing concern for him, and then no one actually seems to check up on him until there's a brief line at the end that he's "fine.")

Apparently there's going to be a second season, which I don't know how they'll manage... Sure, it could just be another case with Amy and Kirsten, but I think the draw of the series (not to mention its title) came from the submarine setting, so I don't think they'd get rid of it. But I don't know how they can contrive to have another investigation on the submarine...

[natyxg]

On 2/14/2022 at 9:25 AM, LisaM said:

Late to the party - I binged the entire series tonight on Peacock. I thought it was quite good but was prepared for a twist at the end which never came. 

I've never seen Suranne Jones in anything before (turned off Scott & Bailey during 1st episode) and thought she was terrific. I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel with Jones and Rose Leslie continuing in their detective roles - on land this time. :)

You're in luck! Season Two is coming out this year (on BBC, don't know about Peacock). This time the mystery has to do with the air force.

https://twitter.com/bbcpress/status/1702592961857384657

 

Edited September 15, 2023 by natyxg

[NotChristine]

BBC has this promo out, I guess the premiere is around the corner (in the UK at least)

 

[NotChristine]

Series 2 premieres on December 10 (UK)

Trailer:

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by NotChristine

[HerkyJerky]

Anybody know when S2 debuts in the US?

[DanaK]

On 1/11/2024 at 12:25 AM, HerkyJerky said:

Anybody know when S2 debuts in the US?

Just announced today, Feb 15 on Peacock

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/video/2024/01/17/video-peacock-releases-february-15-premiere-date-official-trailer-and-new-images-for-the-return-of-vigil-661014/20240117peacock03/

[Raja]

On 1/10/2022 at 9:15 AM, TV Anonymous said:

From the get go, the fact that a civilian police can go into a naval base and aboard a naval vessel and conduct independent investigation unassisted confuses me. Does the Royal Navy not have Masters-at-Arms or Military Police? And then the police tries to dip their toes in matters of defense and policies, both are way outside of their scope.

There was a naval force that was disbanded and an all services unit like  the single service CIDs in the US unit formed.

Defense Serious Crime Unit