I just watched the first two episodes on playback. you're all spot on. It really is utter tripe. I agree that there was a certain schadenfreude to be had from laughing AT it, well in episode one anyway. By episode two the joke had run dry and I was just bored. I mean where do you start with this tripe?
The actors are terrible. Even the good ones. In fairness how do you act clumsy and bungling lines of dialogue like "Your baby is very ill.. and if it doesn't get better soon... it's going to die" The rest is just meaningless techno drivel and insulting exposition.
On top of the incompetent script writer, the director is obviously inept too. He seems to have given them all the same subtext note before each scene "Remember you have a migraine and its pissing you off, action!" oh except for Hermione Norris who had an extra instruction of "Hermione you can smell burning s**t, action!" and Liam Cunningham who had the note "Liam you just really would rather be sleeping, you are so tired and bored oh and don't forget the migraine, action!"
I laughed out loud in the scene with the president (of what? the whole planet? or that bunker?) he is just stood in a corridor with his arms folded, and some faceless other character giving him a hard time, and he says "Look I haven't got time for these questions, okay!".. err you're just stood in an empty corridor staring at a wall, mate... Again the constant stream of feckless moments like this are not the actors fault. This is shoddy directing pure and simple. If you have a character saying he's busy, then you make him look busy!! Jesus! It's not brain surgery!!
other than two old timers looking very much like they have realised they are damaging their reputations every minute this c**p on screen, the rest of the 'younger' cast are just bottom of the barrel Hollyoaks and Holby City quality actors who are just happy to have a job on telly. They don't have the slightest idea how to deliver a performance for a genre piece like this.
The biggest problem of all though and the one that will bury this show is
THERE ISN'T A SINGLE LIKABLE CHARACTER... NOT ONE!
You literal despise every one of them and want them to die, know its worse, you DON'T CARE whether they live or die or not!
This is a rookie mistake for drama. Every good writer and director knows you need to root for at least one of the characters.
Where are the standards at the BBC now? is there anyone working there who has any experience in delivering quality drama? or is it just university graduates with a masters in accounting and media? you could weep to think about the salary of the person who commissioned this amateur hour mess
