The Rig

The problem with the series is symptomatic of most of the big streaming giants. Good idea, great cast, adequate budget - then no idea of how a script develops. Six episodes for this was far too much, leaving the plotline long and dawn out. The character development is minimal and rudimentary and ends up with generalised cliche and arguments that they need to sustain conflict.

Owen Teale, Iain Glenn, Mark Addy and the effortlessly brilliant Mark Bonar are great. It's just the whole thing is drawn out, under developed and with four episodes the whole thing would have been tighter and the cgi budget more targeted. Not great.

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.

The two main things that let this drama down are the poor script and the dreadful visual effects. You don't empathise with any of the characters therefore you don't actually care what happens to them with little to no suspense. As for the visual effects, very poor. It is so obvious this was filmed on a set. The lighting is all wrong and actually takes you out of the story it's so bad. There are a number of great actors in this drama but some seem miscast and the others are trying their best with the poor writing. The story isn't new, it's just a few ideas from a selection of 80's movies cobbled together.

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.

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.