HMS Vigil - any fans out there?

[Jdsk]

Modern submarines aren't claustrophobic.

Turbulent former captain:
"A former submarine captain has praised BBC One’s gripping new thriller Vigil, but revealed the one major inaccuracy about living on an underwater warship."
"What you can’t portray in many series is the claustrophobia... "
https://metro.co.uk/2021/08/30/how-accu ... -15174565/

There's a documentary about a Trafalgar class submarine on Channel 5: "Submarine: Life under the waves":
https://www.channel5.com/show/submarine ... the-waves/

86m, complement of 130.

Jonathan

[mattheus]

Listening to the chat amongst ex-military folks here at work, they've noticed vv few errors.

The lack of spare bunks came up (although the sailor admitted he'd never been on a mixed vessel), and occasional epaulet errors for senior officers.

To assess the TV show properly we need some GRU operational procedure experts on this thread.

[Hellhound]

Modern submarines aren't claustrophobic.

Turbulent former captain:
"A former submarine captain has praised BBC One’s gripping new thriller Vigil, but revealed the one major inaccuracy about living on an underwater warship."
"What you can’t portray in many series is the claustrophobia... "
https://metro.co.uk/2021/08/30/how-accu ... -15174565/

There's a documentary about a Trafalgar class submarine on Channel 5: "Submarine: Life under the waves":
https://www.channel5.com/show/submarine ... the-waves/
86m, complement of 130.
Jonathan

We watched this.I would have watched it anyway but my wife was only interested due to Vigil.Very good viewing.

[Jdsk]

"It's sabotage... put guards on all essential systems".

Oh dear.

Jonathan

[jb]

Funniest moment was when the detective wandered into the control room when they were about to fire the nuclear deterrent and she said "stop"
Thinks, "good job you said that Ma'am we nearly made a mistake there."

Anyway I mostly enjoyed it, as a thriller it certainly worked.

[Jules59]

In the final episode the baddy is knocked off balance by the submarine being put into a sudden rapid ascent.
Can a submarine really change its position so rapidly ?
A submarine is completely surrounded by water, unlike a surface ship which is mostly surrounded by air.
I would have thought such rapid change of direction be most unlikely due to the "resistance" of the water.

[drossall]

There were lots of things where you had to suspend disbelief. Not least the motivations of the baddies, who seemed to be risking a major international confrontation in the uncertain hope of removing a bit player from the nuclear scene. Not sure it really added up to me. But didn't stop it being one of the better recent TV thrillers.

[Hellhound]

Watched it last night as my wife was working Sunday night.
What a complete let down the last episode was.Rushed and all over the place.
This is typical of quite a few modern multi-episode dramas,they're great at hooking you in the first couple of episodes then they just peter out.

[Jdsk]

Watched it last night as my wife was working Sunday night.
What a complete let down the last episode was.Rushed and all over the place.
This is typical of quite a few modern multi-episode dramas,they're great at hooking you in the first couple of episodes then they just peter out.

Only watched a few earlier bits. But the last episode was very weak, including that embarrassing line above.

Jonathan

[mattheus]

There were lots of things where you had to suspend disbelief. Not least the motivations of the baddies, who seemed to be risking a major international confrontation in the uncertain hope of removing a bit player from the nuclear scene. Not sure it really added up to me. But didn't stop it being one of the better recent TV thrillers.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, AND you got the satisfaction of sneering at the plot. Nice warm feeling, isn't it??

If that's the main plot-hole, I don't see much of a problem. It's just a McGuffin - basically, some outside actor wanted to do something bad to our citadel and/or our loves ones.

You can forget about who? why?? It doesn't affect the main action, or any of the interesting plot issues; we just know there are some bad people trying to bring harm to the good people. It's the mechanics that are fun - how does the DCI try to solve the case? who tries to stop her? how is that made easier by being trapped in a submarine? how do the civilian police interact with the military (who have different priorities). How do lesbians fight crime? (OK, maybe not ... ) THAT is what the show was all about!

The McGuffin could be an asteroid headed for earth. Or Jeremy Clarkson trying to sabotage Le Tour. Or deluded Greta fans trying to foul our petrol supplies.
IT DOESN'T MATTER !!!

[drossall]

To some extent I agree. But the point is also tension about what's going on and why. So you want it to be resolved at the end to answer those questions, and it helps if the answers are believable. So yes, as I've said, suspending disbelief helps with these things, and I was prepared to do that for example over the sudden turn that threw the baddy off-balance, which as mentioned above is not that probable really! But I'd still kind of like the motivations to make sense. I have to agree that the last episode was the weakest, but the serial overall was good, as I've said.

[mattheus]

To some extent I agree. But the point is also tension about what's going on and why.

Why? To disable our nuclear deterrent. That's it - simple. It doesn't matter that the russians/chinese/martians may or may not ever want to; that's the point of a McGuffin. You accept that one thing and move onto the interesting stuff; the details, the hurdles, the interactions.

I do think that suspension of disbelief can only be stretched so far - e.g. if I felt that the crew weren't reacting believably to the circumstatnces, that would bother me and might ruin my enjoyment; but I'm not going to waste time worrying about the McGuffin!

[Hellhound]

I was more put out by the fact that the Captain was the same actor,Paterson Joseph,who played Johnson in Peep Show I just couldn't take him seriously
I've also just found out that the Coxswain was Shaun Evans of Endeavour fame.Amazing what a beard,short hair and his original accent can do to your mind

[mattheus]

I've also just found out that the Coxswain was Shaun Evans of Endeavour fame.Amazing what a beard,short hair and his original accent can do to your mind

Now THAT has troubled me
(Except I've gone the other way - other half has only just dragged me into watching Endeavour, and we've literally watched it back-to-back with an episode of Vigil. Confused.com here ! )

[Mick F]

To assess the TV show properly we need some GRU operational procedure experts on this thread.

Not watched it, and have no intention of watching it either ........... or TV in general, but that's another subject.

It wouldn't surprise me in the SLIGHTEST that there are errors with badges and insignia and epaulettes.
Watched Ghost Boat as suggested by an ex-RN mate, and it was excellent except for the branch badges being wrong for the time, and the insignia and epaulettes.
David Jason was great in it.
The Youtube movie is fine, but the aspect ratio is wrong but live-with-able.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrY81l_BOGo

So what about the badges etc?
Unless you are in the RN or have been in the RN, you wouldn't even notice.

As for "claustrophobic", modern submarines are only claustrophobic because they have no windows.
Try being on a frigate (much smaller than a modern submarine) and being up in the Arctic in the winter. Zero daylight to speak of, and horrendous weather so you can't see it even if there was any daylight!