The Deep: aux frontières des abysses

I saw this being advertised on the BBC and it looked quite interesting so I watched the first part. And I was hooked! OK the bad acting was a little off putting, but the show had created a mystery about a Submarine that goes missing in the Arctic ocean and something gigantic had caused it's disappearance.

I told all my friends about it, and said to catch the repeat in the week and I got on-board a few people that was hooked to.

And then part two happened! The mystery has been solved you learn about the something gigantic and the bad acting is still there and this is only part 2 out of 5.

By the end of part 3 you are now bored and know how the story is going to pan out.

You find yourself uninterested and really don't care what happens to anyone, and actually hope that they all somehow meet a horrible icy death by the end of part 5.

I really wish I had not invested 5 hours of my life in this predictable, badly written, poorly acted rubbish.

And I have to say a big SORRY to my friends that I dragged into this boring show. Can you forgive me?

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.

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

I've never been too fond of underwater/submarine movies, James Cameron's The Abyss movie from 1989 being a wonderful exception. BBC's The Deep explores similar territory to Abyss... What the heck is down there? Excellent sets, colors & moods with a fantastic cast.

James Nesbitt is in my top five UK character actors and though he is hard-pressed to top his brilliant Hyde/Jekyll in the mini-series "Jekyll" he once again brings a depth to his role that most can't even begin to touch.

I first became aware of the beautiful Minnie Driver from the sadly cancelled series The Riches (with Eddie Izzard)and every moment she is on screen in The Deep is sheer delight.

After three episodes The Deep is a tense, exciting, slightly sci-fi drama that once again places the BBC in the top slot along with HBO.

Highly recommended IMHO!

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.