The Rig

Strange things happen on an oil rig in the middle of the sea when a strange fog descends, and a member of the crew suffers an accident.

The much anticipated Rig is one of those shows that you could easily watch in one gulp, it's very watchable, action packed and fast paced, the comments relate to series one, word on series two comes at the end.

If you're a Doctor Who fan, and know Fury from The Deep, it's quite a similar storyline, it has that kind of vibe, I spent the first couple of episodes wondering exactly what was going on, was it a thriller, a mystery, it doesn't really fit one genre, it covers quite a few.

Some wonderful visuals and special effects, this series is jam packed with atmosphere, you get a real sense of claustrophobia here.

Billed very much as The Martin Compston series, and he is good, but in the first few episodes he's not hugely present, it's Owen Teale that stands out early on, but Compston does come into his own later on.

I won't argue that it's brilliant, there are quite a few flaws, but I did think it was very good. Watch the first series, but stop there.

Edit for series 2 as of 04.01.25, they should have kept it at just one series, the second run doesn't know where to go, and runs out of mileage very quickly, the characters undergo major changes, the script felt very lazy and disjointed.

7/10. (Series one, Series two gets a 4/10.)

After 40 years working on North Sea oil production platforms I was quite happy with the "1st Generation" oil rig sets, and the reasonably acurate patter. Remember lighting the flare with a shotgun. Just brushed over the lack of safety glasses and lack of oil risers. Visually good, however the story was not great. Stephen King's "The Mist" probably did it better.

Nice touch that most of the actors are named after North Sea oil fields.

Iain Glen - Magnus Molly Vevers - Heather Richard Pepple - Dunlin Martin Compston - Fulmer Owen Teale - Hutton Stuart McQuarrie - Murchison Mark Bonnar - Alwyn.

I've been looking forward to The Rig and really liked the premise of the show: An oil rig in the middle of nowhere gets enveloped by a mysterious fog that cuts off all communication while something huge begins to stir at the ocean floor. While this might sound exciting the creators completly squandered the potential of a great idea. The result is a poorly crafted by-the-numbers show that feels like it is based on a fifty year old script. Everything you'll see here has been done before and much better.

To be fair, there are a few good individual performances but that isnt enough to save the show. Especially since some other performances are so bad that the respective characters ruin every scene they are in.

The special effects and visuals are also pretty disappointing. The interior of the oil rig is pretty cool but everything on the outside looks so fake that its immersion breaking. The backgrounds look fake, the lighting is off and there is nothing like rain or wind that would convince the viewer that the show is taking place in the middle of the ocean. All things combined it often felt like watching an old sketch comedy show.

The worst part for me was that I've been waiting for some cool twist or a redeeming idea until the very end but that never came. No big revelation, no cosmic horror and no tough decisions or moral dilemmas. Almost everything is completly by the numbers and the cookie-cutter characters behave exactly like you would expect them to. In addition there are huge plot holes and nothing to ground the show in reality.

All things considered the show was a huge disappointment and doesn't even work as enjoyable schlock. Best save your time and watch something else.

My wife and I binged watched this over 3 nights, and it certainly started well, with an interesting premise, but then, it just became a bit weird. That's not to say it didn't keep us interested though, you kind of want to know what's going to happen next all of the way through, but not in a way that made it compelling, more curious to see what they were aiming for with the writing. I will also say that some of the effects were pretty shoddy, which, in this day and age, is unecessary. In the end, I thought it was a load of clichéd nonsense, which, while well acted and written, was a great disappointment.

Not sure why the negative reviews. This series reminds me of Vigil but I am enjoying it far more. There are some stellar and well known faces in this series, especially Owen Teale in a different role for him. Also it seems to me that anything with Martin Compston or Mark Bonnar in it is sure to be a good watch and they have not disappointed. It's not particularly original, there are subtle shades of Alien, The Thing and various other horror movies that I can't remember the titles of, but definitely not as frightening. This is a good solid thriller and mystery to enjoy after the excitement of Christmas and the current wet weather here in Oz.