The Rig [Amazon Prime]

AMKC · 11-01-2023 1:01am #1

I have looked up and down and not come across a thread for this amazing show. I could have sworn I seen a thread on Boards for it do but no luck finding it.

Anyway it's a great show. It's mostly based on an oil rig in the North Atlantic but tge odd time you do get see from somewhere else and all the characters are giving plenty of time to grow and some even die.

Just finished watching this.

What a great show.

Really hope it's gets a few more seasons.

Atlantic Dawn · 11-01-2023 8:53am

Enjoyable enough yarn, if someone asked me to describe it I would say...

Roughnecks meets The Fog meets Captain Planet, slightly meets The Full Monty, lol.

Ten of Swords · 11-01-2023 9:49am

It was being discussed in the Amazon thread (page 88)

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2057771671/amazon-prime-video-general-discussion-ireland#latest

I finished it last night. Liked it, and it's been left sufficiently open for a potential second season.

Good cast, mixed well I thought. Mark Addy's role was a great addition to the later episodes.

Was it really North Atlantic? I thought it was in the North Sea.

JP Liz V1 · 11-01-2023 7:18pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120092885#Comment_120092885

I felt The Thing and The Expanse

Martin Compston does not age, still baby faced

Ten of Swords · 12-01-2023 10:33am

I think when you compare Martin Compston in Line of Duty to The Rig he's actually gotten younger somehow 🤣

pixelburp · 12-01-2023 8:38pm

Only watched the first episode and this was a really gripping piece of economical storytelling. Some of the FX were a bit rough but not enough to distract. Characters were stock but effectively sketched out before the shít hit the fan. And with only 6 episodes I'm hopeful it'll remain an efficient, tense wee tale.

Iain Glen looks weird though. That oddness when older men are still trying to look 10 years younger but there's too much of the face giving it away imo.

MfMan · 13-01-2023 11:29am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120095478#Comment_120095478

Throw in a bit of The Terror, with a crew adrift on their own, and Aliens also, with Big Corporation scheming and cover-up.

Bit meh for me. I felt it didn't explain what was causing the horror effectively enough and the plot was a bit disjointed and jumping all over the place. Mark Addy as the Baddie was the best character (and actor) in it. It's currently at 5.9 on IMDB so it remains to be seen if it will have enough critical mass to warrant a sequel. I've a feeling it will.

De Bhál · 13-01-2023 1:20pm

watched the first episode and thought it was fairly poor. Not a bad story but just looked cheap.

Second episode was a lot better, but really couldn't be arsed with it by the end, so have just read the plot through online to see what happens.

cmac2009 · 14-01-2023 3:58pm

From the director of 'The Bodyguard'...thats a skip for me.

gandalf · 15-01-2023 4:42pm

Watched this and tbh it's only just above standard SyFy channel fare. I really wanted to like it given the cast etc but the script was clichéd and the main actress has the acting ability of a brick.

It will pass the time but don't go watching this with high expectations.

ejmaztec · 15-01-2023 7:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120111863#Comment_120111863

She was better when she played a deranged woman in the 12 Monkeys TV series a few years ago 🤣

pixelburp · 15-01-2023 7:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120111863#Comment_120111863

Honestly that suits me fine. Given SyFy barely makes original programming anymore, that's a level that has become sorely lacking these days - low to mid range genre fare.

Glebee · 17-01-2023 11:56pm

Had high hopes for this but it's nothing special, completely watchable but it just reminds me of a BBC series.

Nigel Fairservice · 18-01-2023 3:04am

Finished this tonight and thought it was a bit so so. If I had something more interesting to watch at the moment I wonder if I even would have finished it.

Ten of Swords · 18-01-2023 4:10pm

There was a pretty strong contrast in CGI quality throughout the series I thought.

The outdoor sequences looked awful, but the plant spore effects were pretty impressive I thought. That's obviously where the money was spent anyway!

kyote00 · 18-01-2023 4:18pm

Watched the first one. Really very formulaic…. Crusty site manager, old grumpier engineer, token black actors and young female wearing white shirt that remains spotless throughout…

wooden acting, terrible special effects, hodgepodge of a storyline

cant think of a single good thing about it

archfi · 18-01-2023 7:39pm

Really bad plotline/cgi/script, I'm surprised it's at 5.9!

Larbre34 · 18-01-2023 7:43pm

The Rig's biggest problem, is the quality of telly that Apple and HBO are putting out.

On its own, it would be a harmless enough supernatural thriller on a par with Sunday night on BBC1 or Channel 4.

But it isn't. And people are not going to keep paying a tenner subscription for mediocre. Not in these economic times.

The Moist Buddha · 19-01-2023 9:52am

lost all interest and hope for it about 20mins into 3rd episode

cmyk · 19-01-2023 12:07pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120127811#Comment_120127811

Same, pretty poor. It's like a long drawn out bad Dr. Who episode.

Butson · 19-01-2023 12:22pm

Thought it was really poor.

Very woke - do that many women work on oil rigs? Do people sit around watching shows about climate change?

loyatemu · 20-01-2023 12:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120128438#Comment_120128438

we started watching it last night and "Doctor Who with swearing" is what my son described it as, the effects and the acting are at about the same level, but on the plus side it doesn't have Jodie Whittaker talking at 90mph all the time. Enjoyable enough hokum so far, not unlike "The Terror".

Glebee · 20-01-2023 2:35pm

Forced myself to finish it up last night because it would drive me mad to not complete it. Dont waste your time starting this, its utter garbage.

The Moist Buddha · 20-01-2023 2:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120128438#Comment_120128438

Dr. Poo

NIMAN · 21-01-2023 1:34am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120134085#Comment_120134085

Thanks for your service, I was going to start it earlier until I read your post.

Xander10 · 22-01-2023 10:03am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120127811#Comment_120127811

Same, if not sooner. Other half had it on but I zoned out early days. Something very sterile and boring about it.

Mr E · 23-01-2023 3:30pm

I liked it, but I'm easily pleased. Great cast and good story. A second season will be interesting....

Stone Deaf 4evr · 23-01-2023 3:43pm

I enjoyed it up to about halfway, then It just started hitting every single genre stereotype. - possibly some spoilers below, so be forewarned.

woman trying to prove herself to her mostly male team - check

grizzled vet who knows better than management - check

misunderstood affected guy - check

over the top corporate stooge who cares more about a cover up than saving the crew - check.

its a pity, it started off well, I got 'the thing' or even 'event horizon' vibes for a bit, but I dunno, it just lost me at the midpoint. A braver choice would have had it be a one season and done effort with the ultimate disaster event possibility occurring.

LFCFan · 23-01-2023 10:50pm

Low-budget Stephen King TV show vibes off it. I had high hopes for that cast and potential storyline but it got way too preachy and the special effects fell off a cliff as it progressed. The splitting sea shelf and wave felt like they'd run out of money and outsourced it to some wannabe special effects nerds.

loyatemu · 24-01-2023 10:45am

finished it last night - it's ridiculous but fairly entertaining. Myself and mrs. laughed out loud when

all the extras suddenly appeared on the deck of the rig to be evacuated by helicopter - where had they been for the previous 4 episodes when the main characters had been wandering around a seemingly empty platform? and how did they all get onto one helicopter?

another show it really reminded by of was Sky's "Fortitude" which also featured an isolated group of people battling some unknown pre-historic force.

pixelburp · 24-01-2023 11:03am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120146397#Comment_120146397

Same. It's hitting all the stereotypes and tropes with abandon, but it's all got a good authenticity with its atmosphere and sense of place. Clichés aren't necessarily bad in all cases, just badly used; here it's all perfectly adequate without ever dipping into being exceptional. As I said, it reminds me of exactly the kind of SyFy Channel shows we used to get in the early 2010s or thereabouts (Remembering trash like Helix and the like)

EmmetSpiceland · 24-01-2023 11:40am

Finished it there last week. Enjoyed it for what it was, nothing we haven’t seen before but, maybe, not in that order. Cast was good, Iain Glen has a look of Franco Nero about him.

I can see how it would bug some of those watching, few digs at boomers (and those with boomer mentalities), climate change deniers and other themes that might be seen as WOKE(all caps).

Not sure where it’s going to go with a second season and not sure I’d be too bothered to find out but not the worst show out there.

Mal-Adjusted · 25-01-2023 3:15am

I just finished it there now. it was alright, drew heavy influence from The Thing. The Rig is a show i really wanted to like and it has some great things going for it. The setting was inspired, an oil rig out in the North sea, It's not somewhere we've seen much of before. Ian Glen elevates it a star or so and the story is alright. what's really holding it back is the awful writing throughout. Supposedly intelligent people suddenly acting really stupid just so the plot can move on. It gets really annoying when it happens over and over again.there's also just wierd priorities, like people are dying and you're more intirested in holding a grudge at a guy who stood you up one time way back when.

There's also the typical corporate pr!ck who fcuk$ everyone over at every opportunity without realizing that it means they'll shaft him when the time comes. It's also strange that for a guy who is a known sabotour and got people on both platforms killed, he's let wander around wherever without bieng contained or even watched.

There's also no way on earth all those people fit on those two helicopters.

All in all, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either and it could have been something great. I'll probably watch a second season if it's made but I won't be counting down the days.

Krusty_Clown · 25-01-2023 1:34pm

Forced myself to watch it until the end, but in the same way that you get 2/3rds through a book and you realize you're really not enjoying it, but still feel compelled to complete it, as you've already invested so much time waiting for it to get good. I don't ordinarily comment on casting, but felt that Emily Hampshire (Rose) and Owen Teale (Lars) were very poor choices and were not believable at all (though both solid actors). Martin Compston (Fulmer) is always a good watch, but again, couldn't sell me any authenticity in the role he's delivering. Mark Addy's role (as Coake) was like a last minute subplot injection, in order to try and wrap up the story. Was expecting scifi and ended up with poor drama. Iain Glen, Mark Bonnar (briefly), Rochenda Sandall (medic) and Molly Vevers did a good job of grounding the show a little. I thought the Baz character did a decent job after their 'transition' to a more laid back character.

That entire plotline where Lars (who up to this point has been derisive of authority), Grant (the security guy - really?) and the chef (who frequently flips between his role as chef and senior counsel on the rig) suddenly decide to believe everything fed to them by Coake, only to flip back a few minutes later, just struck me as poor scripting and direction.

Deregos. · 01-02-2023 10:00am

Half baked Dr Who vibe

pixelburp · 27-02-2023 10:25pm

This was renewed for a second season a few days back; I'm at least curious to see where it goes, 'cos a lot of the appeal was its enclosed, rugged and industrial setting. Not sure the story or characters on their own would be enough to shoulder a follow-up run whose setting was more generic, or less arresting.

I enjoyed the series more than others as a throwback Sci-Fi series you used to get a lot from SyFy before it went to shíte; but that said, it did have the vibe of a Dr. Who story, with the Doctor never actually appearing. Like the Doc somehow missed this threat, and was off the other side of the universe at the time.

Plus, lampshading its inspirations with a character reading The Kraken Awakes was more than a little cheeky.

https://deadline.com/2023/02/the-rig-renewed-season-two-amazon-martin-compston-iain-glen-emily-hampshire-1235267590/

The Rig [Amazon Prime]

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