Vigil: Episodes 1 & 2 – BBC1

Vigil is a six-part submarine thriller, leaving from the fictional town of Dunloch in Scotland and heading off out into the North Sea. On board are the crème de la crème of the British acting fraternity, including Suranne Jones, Rose Leslie, Martin Compston and Paterson Joseph, and of course, this is on BBC1 in the Sunday night thriller slot. Because of Bank Holiday Monday we’re two episodes deep already, so both are reviewed below, and it’s spoilerific. You have been warned.

We begin with 007 credits referencing the Cold War, Scotland versus Trident, which I expect the writers to make more of, and the risky collection of nuclear warheads that rove around the world’s oceans as submarine (or boat but never ship apparently) HMS Vigil looks to get dangerously entangled with a trawler of WAF (that’s wet ass fishermen) who come off much, much, worse in that spectacularly unfair fight. Martin Compston is Petty Officer Craig Burke who gets a proper bollocking for daring to suggest the trawler men need help, and is dismissed from his post on deck after arguing with his superiors who are prioritising stealth over civilian lives, leaving those poor men to drown. He’s told to go back to his cabin where he suddenly dies. All this happens in the first 10 minutes of the first episode. It’s the old Line of Duty formula and yet we’re still shocked. I don’t know how writer Tom Edge managed to get away with it, but he absolutely did. And all credit to the cast and crew for keeping that detail a secret. Despite being burned before, we the viewers are just too trusting, and that’s kind of adorable.

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‘Wild Bill’ – ITV

Welcome to the original Boston, East Lincolnshire, home of the highest murder rate in the UK (comparatively to its low population). This new fish-out-of-water comedy drama is summed up nicely with the opening car chase through the cabbage patch scene. Yes our hero is screaming and throwing cabbages in the middle of a field while wearing a tuxedo. No, he’s really not from around here.

Wild Bill is fronted by Rob ‘painting-in-the-attic’ Lowe looking especially fabulous with a nipped in waist thanks to his smart belted uniform. And that uniform is a Chief Constable. Bill Hixon is an all-American high flyer, poached from Miami who promises modern data-driven policing; smugly pronouncing he could do it all with good WiFi from a Miami beach. The sinister reason he’s arrived is Boston’s unfortunate statistic above and because he’s got to do some ruthless efficiency savings, in the way that the French Revolution saved European aristocrats. 600 jobs are to go which surely sets up a whole series full of antagonists. And there’s a fractured society here, made up of plenty of immigrants and plenty of Brexiteers. Lots of trouble ahead.

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'Unforgotten' Series 3 – ITV

SPOILER warning: this post deals with the final episode of Unforgotten Series 3. Do not read on unless you are up to date with both series 2 and 3. Catch up with all the box sets on ITV Hub now.
Unforgotten bowed out after a tremendous third series at the weekend. No one disagreed that it was an acting masterclass from start to finish, led by stalwarts Nicola Walker as DCI Cassie Stewart and Sanjeeve Bhaskar as DI Sunny Khan.  Since inception this show has attracted top quality British actors. This series was dominated by awesome performances particularly from Alex Jennings, James Fleet and Neil Morrissey (getting better and better in each drama part,although here he certainly need more screen time). But I wasn’t expecting such a split opinion on the ending, especially as this has become a truly beloved British drama. I wasn’t immediately on board back at their humble beginnings, and I admit I snarked at the first episode back in 2015. I was very happy to be proven wrong; the atmosphere wasn’t lacking in comparison to Scandi drama – it was just different.
Online, people seemed annoyed that there was no twist in the tale and that the final episode ran out of steam. Although, thinking about it, do any of the series so far provide a neat and satisfying ending? In series 2 because of the nature of the crime, the number of perpetrators and the time passed the police decide there was no value in pursing and prosecuting anyone. Was this what the audience wanted? Do we demand everything tied up neatly in a bow? Or do we realise if you strive for realism on TV in style and storyline that endings will inevitably be messy, just like in real life?
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