VIGIL - starts Sunday 29th Aug. BBC 1 - TV PACE. NO SPOILERS

[Blondeshavemorefun]

The six-part drama from World Productions (Line Of Duty, The Pembrokeshire Murders, Save Me, Bodyguard) stars Suranne Jones, Rose Leslie, Shaun Evans, Martin Compston and Paterson Joseph.

When a crew member is found dead on board the Trident nuclear submarine HMS Vigil, police in Scotland are called in to investigate. The catch? The UK’s nuclear deterrent must remain unbroken, so the submarine stays on patrol and Detective Chief Inspector Amy Silva (Suranne Jones) must go aboard to begin an investigation. Although the death was written off as an accidental overdose, Amy suspects foul play. But when the crew close ranks in the face of Amy’s questioning, a new threat overshadows her inquiry.

Vigil
Vigil’s stellar ensemble cast also features Anjli Mohindra, Connor Swindells, Adam James, Gary Lewis, Stephen Dillane, Lolita Chakrabarti, Daniel Portman, Lorne MacFadyen and Lauren Lyle.

The fictional six-part series is written and created by Bafta nominated writer Tom Edge, with episodes by Ed Macdonald and Chandni Lakhani. It is directed by Bafta winner James Strong, and Bafta nominee Isabelle Sieb. Vigil is produced by Angie Daniell, executive produced by Simon Heath and Jake Lushington for World Productions, Gaynor Holmes for the BBC, James Strong and Tom Edge.

Vigil
Vigil is set and was filmed in Scotland, and is supported by the National Lottery through Screen Scotland. International distribution is handled by ITV Studios.

@KillingMeDeftly

I'm really enjoying it but Suranne'a eyebrows are very distracting. They almost deserving billing of their own 😆

It's also interesting to do the "who's been in what?" game - I counted 3 Downton alumni, 3 Game of Thrones and 2 Outlander!

Oh Hadlow's from outlander! Thanks, was driving me mad 😀

@KillingMeDeftly

The coxswain seems lovely. Which, no doubt, means he's a Russian spy!

Or CIA? Nuclear weapons surely means there'll be American interest!

I just can't keep track of all the bearded men - I'm just letting it all wash over me til someone clever tells me what it's all about

@thedarkling No not him. I was referring to Jade (who plays Marsali in Outlander) and Amy's boss, aka Billy Elliott's dad. Hadlow is, I think, on Netflix's Sex Education.

@escapeyou

Patterson Joseph was also in Soldier Soldier if you watched that 😊

Wikipedia says he's 57 but he's looked the same for years!

57!! Wow, he's aged beautifully.

Yes, Hadlow is the headteacher's son in Sex Education. This is one of the few programmes I watch that all this cast have been in! Doctor Foster, yes, Sex Education, yes. Not the others!

I was so looking forward to this, but it's pretty silly I think.

• putting someone on a sub who has issues with small spaces

• 2 characters spill the beans as soon as she gives them a stern look - the captain (yes, we both shouted out 'it's Johnson!') telling her about the following sub and the obnoxious XO blubbing about the navy being his life. Why?

- the car goes off the road into deep water. She comes out onto a beach. And where is the daughter now? - end of episode 1, the girlfriend in the car, with USB (having stopped to check it out on her laptop - WHY?) with guns pointed at her. Beginning of episode 2, she sternly tells them she's a policewoman and they let her go. Just like that. - one minute the protagonist is straight, the next she's a lesbian. Is it to fill some BBC lesbian quota?

• the claustrophobia just doesn't come across. To me, anyway. Sure, there's a lot of telling us about it, but it doesn't look that way.
• and, really, the sub is about to sink/blow up, and the protagonist gets away with stropping around, generally getting in the way. I guess she's supposed to be all assertive, but she comes across as a pain in the neck.

I am so disappointed. I guess I'll carry on watching, but it could have been so much better. As another poster has said, they have just stuffed too many plot lines in.

Re the daughter, I assumed she was Amy's stepdaughter and that she lives with her mother now.

And I also assumed she was bisexual. Amy that is, not the (step?)daughter!

I like the idea of a "BBC lesbian quota" though

@TheChosenTwo

Thanks *@SpindleWhorl* Just starting the second episode now. Did the captain really think that the sub was being followed? He gave that reason for not checking out the trawler incident but they had the records to show that it was their sub making the dragging resistance? Have I got that totally wrong 😂

I think it was the following one that caught it as was a mile away

But captain refused to rise as enemy following them who the radar didn’t pick up

Or something like that

Hence why Mc got stroppy

I thought the daughter was her stepdaughter too

Well, her partner’s daughter

My friends ex was in the Royal Navy and had a beard. Not allowed in the army or RAF for some reason ? ( with the army it's because they have to put on gas masks someone told me ?)
The white shirt one with the pips was the neighbour in Dr Foster , similar character!
Always tends to shout.

I thought she was the daughter of the guy who drowned, but then she called her mummy

the car goes off the road into deep water. She comes out onto a beach.

That's Loch Lomond. Entirely possible.

DH and I watched both episodes back to back last night - I managed to predict Amy back story early on - it's not gripping us - I think we are now watching to see how convoluted if gets as there's 4 more episodes - we have laughed at quite a lot of the inconsistencies

I think Shaun Edwards is too nice he must be covering up something , the Dr said she had given him paracetamol but it could be anything as no one has checked and there's the canteen lady - could be involved

Anyway, it appears that the young girl survived the car crash but was traded in for a cat and a new woman partner instead as Mum was too busy with her high flying career as detective / forensic scientist / failed medical doctor / general annoying sleuth !
What is the glittery powder on the fleece?

I think doctor lady is definitely suspicious, if he really was poisoned with radiation of some kind - how did she not notice, especially given that it's a nuclear sub you'd think she'd be super up on the symptoms of radiation poisoning. (God I hope this doesn't turn into Chernobyl under water...! I couldn't watch that) I think the XO is trying to cover up for someone else for sure.

I realised the XO was the Prime Minister in Charles III (which was absolutely amazing, and I would really like to watch it again). And maybe also the PM in the Black Mirror pig episode? Need to go back and look at IMDB.

Thanks @BasiliskStare - I think I feel a revisit of Das Boot coming on!

When they both managed to get to the side of the lake out of the car , I couldn't help but think of the film ' Gravity ' when Sandra Bullock's character is finally brought down from space and realizes that she is unable to be weightless again! Although submarines and space haven't much in common to be fair.

And maybe also the PM in the Black Mirror pig episode?
No, that was the great Rory Kinnear

XO was in one episode of Ashes to Ashes as an irritating yuppie that Alex fancied.

"the car goes off the road into deep water. She comes out onto a beach. And where is the daughter now?"

She was his daughter wasn't she? Not Amy's

I don’t trust the coxswain or the doctor. Agree the coxswain too nice to be true (and he's getting under the cop's skin getting her to reveal things about her personal life), and the doctor is quite 'off' (and a bit 'I know my rank').

The captain is just odd.

The conversation in the car was very confusing, he said they looked alike which you would only normally say to people related by blood, but then that the daughter had asked her to marry him and he was talking as though he and the daughter were one team without her, so is she her natural daughter or her step daughter? I presume it was confusing on purpose and there’s more to come from that?