The Deep

Mediocre - average: lacking exceptional quality.

The once great BBC has fallen foul yet again to that great modern British attribute; mediocrity. While usually I would applaud the BBC for it's policy on social cohesion the actors inclusion is just well......formulaic. The way in which the BBC put together this drama is almost as though it was drama-by-numbers.

All the building blocks are there:

Ethnic minorities represented (including the new kid on the British block the eastern European) check.

Evil state puppet to attract liberals: check

SF concept to attract males under 45: check

Unnecessary romance to draw in female viewers: check.

Complicated yet vague plot: check.

Sum of all it's parts....FAIL.

The dialogue was ABYSS-mal, the characters seemed to ALIENate the audience rather than draw them and I do understand why viewers might seem DEEPly LOSTed when watching it.

If you are mature enough to look past some basic cgi scenes the heart of this takes me back to great movies like the abyss. The plot moves fast and each episode is totally not predictable and if it can keep me awake where some series like Bones put me strait to sleep, it has some merit. So no flashing cool Cgi, great sets, good cast, good plot, fast paced. I enjoyed it.Reminds me a bit of the older style british cimena which you can view as dated or classic, but well worth a watch.

This mini series was to my mind a complete waste of time and money.

The series started off reasonably well, a decent amount of mystery, a few likable characters and a group of actors whose previous work I have loved. It all went down hill pretty soon, I had no respect for the characters who were more concerned with their own personal agenda's and social problems than with the mission in hand. The script had a couple of amusing moments but for the most part dropped and I was able to predict with absolute accuracy which characters would and wouldn't survive the series. The 'frantic' efforts to get the sub going was pretty hilarious and had me yelling at the screen "Stop wasting time!" a sure sign that I was wasting mine.

Surprisingly it was the unknowns (pretty much unknown to me) in the group that kept me interested in this, I found myself fast forwarding through the Minnie, Goran, Orla and James moments to get to the people that interested me.

Finally the ending was predictable and had me relieved that the series wouldn't ever continue, I am incredibly surprised that the BBC churned out this rubbish but then again they are responsible for the recent travesty known as 'Alice and her six dads' a reality show that was really just a showcase for a self obsessed bride.

Now this did have the potential to be great. I loved the idea and I like James Nesbitt and Minnie Driver. However, despite this great concept and a great cast(on paper that is), The Deep never quite takes off. In fact, a vast majority of it was awful I'm afraid, and I honestly didn't want to say that.

The Deep does have some redeeming qualities. The scenery and photography are excellent and the effects are above average.

However, The Deep has a number of problems. One, the pacing is incredibly sluggish. Two, while the concept was great the story was repetitive and dull. Three, the dialogue is banal and stupid more than it is intelligent and thought-provoking. Four, the direction is pretty heartless. Five, some scenes drag really badly and not helped by some very awkward pauses. Six, the character situations are clichéd and the characters you don't feel anything for. Seven, the acting was not great... at all- it is not the matter of that nobody can act, it is that nobody has anything worthwhile to work with. James Nesbitt(Murphy's Law and the brilliant Occupation) tries hard but is let down by his dialogue and character, while Minnie Driver has some really wooden delivery. Goran Visjinc did little for me either, while there are some members of the cast that don't delve into their characters enough or are too young for them. Finally, the final part of the drama is really quite laughable to say the least.

To conclude, I tried to like The Deep, but the story, pacing and dialogue really spoil what could have been an intriguing drama. 2/10 for the scenery mainly. Bethany Cox

this series is inspired by the film of the same title, but starts out as flawed as the original film ends.

what else can i say. this series uses poor c.g. to amuse a somatose audience, and uses filler dialog in the same way.

whoever put this series together deserves a good old fashioned trip to the wood shed.

it has few plot points, obviously filled between with incongruous character reactions and stupid dialog which prompt time-filling conflicts, which stretches this tripe from a ninety minute show, into a British series length.

i was insulted by the watching, but unfortunately i kept viewing to see if it would get better or worse. the good news is it didn't get any worse. it played mediocre all the way through.