Vigil, Trigger Point, and The Rainmaker

21:55Boyd Hilton:I'm just I'm saying Zoe is a better actor than Lenny on the strength of the Hunger Games films you wouldn't say that to his face that's what I'm saying actually actually you would considering what you said in front of James Corden yes you would let's not let's not go into that again but um yes no so that was my but I'm gonna be honest I was just googling it and I was like I can't think of it it proved tougher than I thought mine's very similar to your one which is Lily Collins, of course, of Emily in Paris fame. That came up for me as well. Yes, daughter of Phil. Yeah, daughter of Phil, because Phil has acted.

22:28Buster. He was an actor. Buster, yeah, exactly. And he's popped up in various other things. I didn't go for that one because I didn't realise Phil had, you know, dabbled his toe in acting. Phil had totally dabbled a toe. He loved to dabble a toe, did Phil? He loved to dabble a toe. But it's more talented family. Phil Collins is possibly the greatest ever drummer, and singer-songwriter. That's a big claim. Dave Grohl has notes. Phil can do no wrong for me. Yeah, you've got to love Phil. You've got to love Phil. It's fantastic. I think it's brilliant that she's done so well. He'll be delighted. But I did find one more that I bet James is, it's like the leading light of James' answer to this question.

23:11But I'm going to steal it because I finally managed to find an answer by Googling, I think I Googled obscure Nepo Baby. oh did you oh that's a good shout anyway it came up with the fact that john aniston is a very well-known actor for being on days of our lives in america is he ongoing soap indeed and um nancy dow his wife was also an actor and she was in the beverly hillbillies which is one of the most legendary these are legendary american shows and they gave birth to jennifer aniston so Jenna is the daughter of two not particularly great and admired actors okay you win yeah I was sure that's so annoying see I gave an answer I didn't even really want to give because I don't I don't believe it's necessarily true you've gone you've gone for Jenna and of course you're gonna

24:01Kay Ribeiro:win unless James is well no so I didn't I didn't do a great deal of like googling I kind of pulled a lot of these out of my I was about to say head but more likely ass uh so interestingly my very first day at empire magazine uh i went to the premiere of high fidelity i covered the the premiere of high fidelity this was back in 2000 and uh when i was there i broke the all rules of conduct so i didn't know what i was doing and i went up to samantha morton at the after party and i was asking her what she'd been doing you know whatnot and she was very gracious about it uh and she told me oh you know i've just had a daughter i've been being a mom you know i've just literally just had a baby i said oh great and i was writing down my notepad and i took

24:41Boyd Hilton:up she'd literally gone like she just walked off while i was writing stuff down which was excruciating also notepad notepad days yeah notepad days this was back in the dark ages but crucially that child was esme creed miles star of hannah who i covered the press junket for and i was like it made me feel so old that like 25 years later i was then interviewing the baby that i had talked about on my first day on the job for another thing and that's just mad what a full circle moment wasn't it just um but this has been this has been in conversation a lot recently hasn't it because of the shards right because obviously kaya gerber and homer gear uh daughter of cindy crawford son of richard gear who once dated are in the shards together so lots of people obviously been talking about them and they've been photographed together and whatnot um yeah but they're definitely not examples of this are they no yes as good as they are in the shots they have not yet eclipsed their parents no neither has my hawk though she may at some point although that's quite a high part of it with him a thereto and ethan hall you never know you never know i'm saying now they're not going to eclipse they're not going to eclipse those those parents i mean look if we're

25:45Kay Ribeiro:talking kids that are surpassing the parents i would say you know francesca scorsese simply for

25:49Boyd Hilton:meme laws is uh is certainly getting up there as a as a wannabe filmmaker uh but ones that kind of

25:55Kay Ribeiro:fit the brief i would say margaret qualley is in the running uh daughter of andy mcdowell because she is very much hot stuff at the moment and there's all sorts of stuff she's really really good and stuff like the substance um did you know that hayley bieber wife of justin bieber

26:12Boyd Hilton:was born hayley baldwin daughter of stephen baldwin one of the baldwin brothers and of course star of the usual suspects so that's a fun little thing for you um gwyneth paltrow of course

26:23Kay Ribeiro:the daughter of blythe danner and bruce paltrow uh both of both and i've interviewed both of her

26:28Boyd Hilton:parents for i can't remember what film it was but that was at the london film festival once i both parents for that. So starry, James. Yes. I'm very specialised in interviewing parents. Parents. Yeah, I like to track down people's parents and talk to them. That's what I like to do. Riley Keough is, of course, the granddaughter of Elvis. And do you know what? She was on my list, but then I was like... Is she better than Elvis? Yes. You're just listing Nepo... Hold on, hold on. You're just listing Nepo babies now. Yeah. But I'm saying, I'm saying as an actor, I'm putting her up with Elvis. Yeah.

26:58This is insane. Is it? Are you saying Elvis was a famously good actor. Elvis was in literally dozens of films. Oh, I know. I am aware. And was actually really good in a lot of them. I can't believe there's slag in The King. I mean, this is a new low. Better singer than an actor,

27:15Boyd Hilton:I'm saying. Better singer than an actor. Because I looked at her as well. Did you really rate her performance in Daisy and the Six? Did you? Yeah, I actually think she's very good. Better than Elvis? Is she better than Elvis? Yes, I think she's definitely better than Elvis. Oh my God. Rafe Spall.

27:34Kay Ribeiro:I love Timothy. There's an argument to be made. I'm not saying he's like, because Tim Spall is a bit of a legend. But Rafe Spall is a bit of a legend. I'm just saying Rafe Spall, an incredible range and a great body of work behind him. I'm saying you've singularly failed to come up with examples. Do you know what? To answer the question. And you're now clinging on to some desperate debates. I'm actually now, don't feel as bad about my one single answer. All right, fine. All right, you want some low-hanging fruit, Kate Beckinsale, daughter of Porridge star Richard Beckinsale. Even then, you see...

28:07Kay Ribeiro:Hang on, you're now shooing him for Porridge? Listen, listen. Was he also in Rising Down? Yes, he was in two. Yes, he was, yes. He was in two of the greatest sitcoms of all time, and it was much loved. How many decent films has Kate been in? I mean, I'm sorry. Who knew this was going to come a Kate Beckinsale takedown from Boyd? No, no, no, no, no. No, this is more of a James takedown because you keep bringing out people who are not, who aren't very much.

28:33Boyd Hilton:All right, okay, okay, okay. I'm going to put up, okay, this is a controversial one. Patrick Schwarzenegger. That's not controversial. I don't think that's controversial. I think Patrick is a better actor than Arnold, obviously. I'm surprised you, I'm surprised you as a devotee of Arnold is going down this road. I mean, that is not desperate you've got. Suddenly Arnold's no longer in touch.

28:51Kay Ribeiro:Well, no, it's a different conversation because if you're talking acting,

28:54Boyd Hilton:what Arnold, Arnold was never an actor. Arnold was a movie star and there's just a fundamental difference there.

29:00Kay Ribeiro:What he was was a phenomenon. He was an action hero, block capitals. He was never an actor. Although having said that, some of the stuff he did like Maggie and Aftermath that he did when he came back to acting, I actually think it's actually some really good performances, isn't it? You're arguing with yourself now. No, but I'm saying he has turned on some great performances. But previous to that, I would say he was a movie star, not an actor. He was just a phenomenon. I think that's a good answer, James. I think Patrick, I think you've pulled it back.

29:27Boyd Hilton:Have I? From slanging off the king. Wow. I think you're in a good space now with Patrick. Okay. Do you think I should quit while I'm ahead? I would suggest that I highly recommend. Okay. Well, we hope that that's answered your question to some extent. I mean, it's very hard to say at this stage, but if you'd like your question addressed, again,

29:44Kay Ribeiro:to some extent on this podcast, then the email address is postbag at pilotTVpod.com. Okay. It is time now for this week's news. And there are a few things to discuss, but the first thing I would like to bring up is Sons of Anarchy. Now, this was announced just after we recorded last week's podcast, the idea that Sons of Anarchy may be returning, with many of the original cast, irrespective of whether or not they were bumped off at various points during the season. So, I think Charlie Hunnam has pitched this idea, but this is going to be a new version of Sons of Anarchy, where the cast are playing themselves, like the they are playing the actors who play the characters in sons of anarchy and i don't know if

30:28Boyd Hilton:they meet up at a convention or something i can't remember what the actual the setup there is but the idea is that they then get drawn into some sons of anarchy type action as the actors themselves it's a very kind of meta crazy setup but i cannot believe this is going ahead and i don't know what to make of it the actual logline i should say says when the cast of sons of anarchy reunite at a fan

30:48Kay Ribeiro:convention after more than a decade the line between life and art blurs as the fractured brotherhood finds itself up against a real world threat more dangerous than anything they ever faced in their show you know it sounds like the multi the multiverse version of sons of anarchy galaxy quest with motorbikes like yeah yeah um it sounds ridiculous but i mean you know good on good on them for doing something daring and bold and pitched by charlie hunnam and it's got yeah all of them like Katie Sagal Ron Perlman Maggie Siff Mark Boone Jr Tommy Flanagan Kim Coates The Erotic all of them despite most of those people

31:23Boyd Hilton:being dead by the end of the series they're all back for it so yeah I think that is a wild thing and you know props to Charlie Hunnam for pitching that I think that's extraordinary I can't wait to see it he's a widely loved much loved figure I love Sons of Anarchy I absolutely adore it so I can't they all be watching oh 100 % no matter how mad this is I mean still most of the time is really for queer as folk the legendary groundbreaking Russell T. Davis show, which gets its own chapter, of course, in the forthcoming book, My Life in TV by Russell T. Davis with Boyd Hilton. Available in all good bookshops.

32:00Extraordinary. Out October the 8th or 9th. Very good. Any other news you would like to share? Some renewal news. Netflix obviously has been announcing quite a bit, which I thought they would say for Edinburgh, but maybe not. Well, they've announced it kind of effectively from Edinburgh in a way, because the whole industry decamps there now, has decamped there now, and I'm joining them. But they'll have more announcements as well on Wednesday. Is that tomorrow? Is Wednesday tomorrow? Yes, it is. So they already, as Boyd said, or James, the Gentleman Series 3 has been already announced before Series 2 has even been on our screens.

32:36But also they've announced that House of Guinness has been renewed. So that Stephen Knight's Dublin set period drama has been renewed for a second series. And apparently Knight is very happy. He says, it's such a joy to bring the Guinness story to the screen. So I'm beyond thrilled to be continuing the story of one of the world's greatest dynasties. I can't wait to dive deeper into these characters and their complex relationships as they expand the Guinness Empire. Good for Stephen. I mean, you never need to have a whip round for Stephen, do you? No. He's doing all right. Yeah, he does fine. Yeah, he's fine.

33:10They also announced Black Mirror, the eighth series of Black Mirror as well, by the way. Good, good. I look forward to you not watching that. That's good. No, you don't watch Back Mirror, do you? I don't watch Back Mirror, no.

33:18Kay Ribeiro:You freak. You've watched the other episode, haven't you? I've watched it. Yeah, I've watched a few episodes of it, but I don't like the fact that it doesn't have an ongoing story. So now, obviously, I have been now inducted into the ways of animation since John came on the podcast the other week. And so there have been two animated trailers this week. There have been a trailer for the new series of Cyberpunk Edge Runners, season two, which I hear is very good, but obviously have not seen. and blue eye samurai season two had a trailer which shows mizu coming to london so london set season of uh blue eye samurai which is a gorgeous looking show um so yes but we will for those of you wondering what happened with the animation stuff boydy we should say this to to steph as well um we will do the homework soon and i think maybe next week we might record or the week after we will record our response to that so we need to do an animated special show so we need to find out when John's available.

34:10Kay Ribeiro:So we need to feed back on the various things we've watched. Steph's already watched them because she's, you know, very diligent that way. Okay, you were given homework as well. I don't know if Steph passed that on to you. No, she didn't. What was the homework? I forget. But you were given specific shows tailored to your personal tastes. Oh, that's kind. Okay, yeah. I will commit to watching them. Okay, good stuff. Yeah. What else happened this week? There was a trailer for season three of The Pit. Yes, I was going to say. And I have to say, it got me very excited. for having all those characters back and being back in the hospital, especially because Robbie has returned from his motorbike sabbatical.

34:46Kay Ribeiro:So a lot has obviously happened since last season. No, he didn't die. Which is a bonus. Yeah, which is a bonus because he's a fantastic character. But you know what's going to happen, which is going to be really painful, is that it's going to be week by week, isn't it? Yeah, and that's going to be traumatic. And that's going to be traumatic. Do you know what? I'm secretly pleased because I know how much you guys just can't wait. So you're going to be forced to now. Well, that's nice of you, Kay. no but i think i think i want you to experience it like that i don't think it's a good way to experience it i've got to be honest like when i did the interview with them they were like that's a very intense way to watch it like back to back but i i'm absolutely adamant it's the best way to watch this show because it's set in real time you really enjoy just getting immersed in it i don't want to have to constantly break it up week by week do you feel like it would lose the momentum too much a little bit i think it'd still be great but i love the idea of just being able to like block out a day and just plough through it.

35:37But to be fair, of course, 99.9 % of the people watching it do experience it on a weekly basis. They do, but then some people have written in to say that they actually

35:44Kay Ribeiro:deliberately saved it till it was, you know, much like yourself and your HBO shenanigans, Boydie, you know, saved it till you watch it all in one go. And then see it then. And, you know, obviously we will. We've been threatening to do a Pit Spoiler special for a very long time. I'm not saying Boydie's been the blocker, but, you know, here we are. But, you know, we will at some point. Yeah, that's right. Unbelievable. Unbelievable attack. Unbelievable. No, it's true. First of all, I couldn't watch it, and then I watched it, and now, yeah. This is the most delayed Spider-Man special day in history.

36:14It is. By the time, maybe we should wait until season three comes around. Yeah, and do a season one to three Spider-Man special. Oh, God. Oh, I'm sorry. What else is that? Johnson, Goose News. Give me Goose News. Okay, I can exclusively reveal that Claire Goose is going to be playing a character called Jen Malloy in a new six-part murder mystery on Channel 4 called Complicit. And apparently when Jen slips back home after a night of passion with a man who isn't her husband, she has no idea how devastating the consequences will be. When a death follows, one split-second lie threatens to destroy everything she holds dear.

36:51If protecting your family meant allowing a killer to walk free, what choice would you make? That is the conundrum of this murder mystery. Now, I'm saying... Is it on Channel 5? no it's channel 4 oh okay sorry why I don't know it just sounded a bit channel 5 I apologise for reading well no I don't apologise there's nothing wrong with channel 5 dramas but I think that's also I've made a dog's dinner of reading this out what you're saying is

37:16Boyd Hilton:the goose is loose about this hoose and that is all we need to know see they missed a trick they missed a trick with that that's how it should have been written no I think it sounds good because you know like right we'll we'll watch it when it's out and we'll see we will well it might be fabulous you never know now would you what well i'm saying what would you do what would i do well i need more information like it's like there's an affair that's happened yes would you tell a lie to protect like would you protect your family with a lie but it meant that when when when there's like protect your family is doing a lot of heavy lifting there i think it's protect yourself from being found out for having an affair.

38:00Boyd Hilton:There's not a lot of family pretending there. It's really self-interest, isn't it? Well, it would break up the family if the story, if the lie came out, you see. Yeah, but clearly, you know, she's the worst. So that probably for the best time. You're damning the goose already. I am, I am. That goose is good. Something about a goose and a gander, I don't know what that is, but yeah. The goose that laid the golden egg of, there we go. Channel 5 TV. It's a wild goose chase, in fact. Channel 4, Boyd. Okay, anyway. Channel 4, Channel 4. Channel 4, Channel 4.

38:25Kay Ribeiro:have you heard the harry potter news yes nicholas halt is out he will no longer be playing gilderoy

38:31Boyd Hilton:lockhart it is quote-unquote heavy quotes scheduling issues he is no longer part of it because of checks notes scheduling uh but kit harrington has dived into the breach to play

38:45Kay Ribeiro:gilderoy lockhart of course having played gilderoy lockhart before in the uh kind of all-star cast audiobook version so he's kind of reprising the role and that's the kenneth frana role from the in case anyone cares i think that's a good step in yeah i think you've covered that story very well thank you and there's no subtext there whatsoever moving on any other news no just slightly sad we're not really sad because we remember do we review not suitable for work which is that um Mindy Kaling produced and created thing about entitled people living in Manhattan I believe we did not like it it wasn't very good and as a result of our review it has been cancelled by Hulu slash Disney Plus in this country but they're shopping it around to other places but I don't know it wasn't very good it felt inessential I think it's safe to say that's all I've got in news Does anyone have anything else they would like to share?

39:45Kay Ribeiro:No. No, Boyd's Board of News. We're going to move on. Boyd wants to get on his train to Edinburgh. That's it. He needs to head up to Scotland, which may or may not be Bonnie. Boyd will report back on that later on. But we're going to go on to this week's reviews. And first up this week is Vigil, the third series of Vigil, which once more sees Saran Jones as DCI Amy Silver and Rose Leslie as DI Kirsten Longacre. And this time they are not on a submarine. They are not being plagued by drones, but they've rather headed up to Svalbard in the Arctic Circle to investigate a murder that may or may not become an international incident.

40:19Kay Ribeiro:And yes, of course, there is definitely a plot point to explain why two British bobbies suddenly find their jurisdiction

40:23Boyd Hilton:in a Norwegian territory halfway to the North Pole. Don't stress about it and don't dwell on it too much. Boydie, please invigilate vigil for us. Well, you know I love a jurisdictional dispute. You do. And this one has a massive... they're in an irinian is it norwegian territory yeah there's valbard it's like a it's like a little cluster of islands isn't it between norway and the arctic yeah and there's a big scientific base there which is where mysterious things are happening experiments and investigations are happening there's a chinese woman who's um very much the object of attention of some russians and there's british people there as well so you've got british chinese russian norwegian and maybe someone else i've forgotten about all vying for jurisdictional um uh approval or whatever when someone is killed in the opening and fairly spectacular sequence vigil does this thing so there's basically like the the tradition of it feels like they have a big spectacular action thriller opening and they did it last season with a drone you know there's a big drone attack thing that was that was that was very good very entertaining and um so this time around there's a big conflagration built around who this this person who is um shot and then another character who i won't spoil kind of disappears so uh in comes rose leslie as long ago and so she's the one in this scenario scenario who gets to go to the arctic circle and investigate while leaving saran jones her partner in both in in every sense but looking after their kid which is a nice pivot isn't it because rose leslie's normally the one who gets left behind exactly so it's a pivot so in this case sir ann jones is amy silver is the one who gets left behind and she is looking after the kid and she's kind of doing all the research into the case um supporting uh uh supporting rose leslie's character so she's got she comes she has to deal with various like mps and dodgy people of all different kinds and kind of like um officials who have issues with the jurisdiction of what's going on in the actual Arctic Circle base.

42:31But I really like this show. I think it does a really good job of plunging you into a story which has lots of tentacles and it has enough going on, enough different layers of mystery and intrigue to keep you gripped. And both Rose Leslie and Saran Jones are excellent together and you kind of believe what they've got going together. And I like all the kind of supporting characters who are various like grumpy policemen or you know out kind of um clearly dodgy politicians in this case you've got environmental activists as well who are thrown into the mix and in fact environmental activism is kind of a big theme of the show and it just in general like the whole kind of milieu of of of vigil and i think they do a really good job in this opening episode as they have as they have done all the way through really of giving you twists and turns and unexpected plot reveals throughout kind of the whole show, let alone in the first episode, which is kind of full of little kind of tricks and baits and switches, et cetera.

43:36So I really enjoy it. I think they do a really good job and much power to their elbow. Kay's laughing at that phrase. No, I quite enjoy that expression. I've never heard of it before. I agree. Do you know what? I haven't watched previous series. Haven't you? No, I know. and we've reviewed them all on this podcast I haven't I wasn't here then okay boycotted those maybe I was on the holiday but I remember each time you hate Sir Ann Jones and most of those things I do not you do I like both of them immensely it's a long standing vendetta

44:08Kay Ribeiro:because obviously this is called Vigil because it was meant as a one and done and she was on a submarine called The Vigil and then it was a colossal hit and so now they're coming back again see and I've never seen it but I remember you saying this each time because you were like you really really enjoyed it so I knew it was going to be good and I completely agree. I mean, this is a quality drama and I just love how it starts off. You mentioned the drone shots. To me, it was like, you know, this epic drone shot of the Arctic Circle and remind me of True Detective, Night Country. And I just think everything about it smacks of quality from Rose Leslie and Saran Jones, who I like, by the way.

44:43Like, not love. I love them both deeply. But also, I just, I think the central mystery is interesting, even though I'm not really big on the whole jurisdiction storyline stuff. Wow, wow. You're missing out. Svalbard is apparently a demilitarised area. And so the whole thing is whether, you know, the person that's been murdered, the Russians want to prove essentially that British special forces are there, are operating in the area so that they can stake claim on this. It's a battleground. They're trying to get, you know, stake claim of this Svalbard and they'll do anything possible. and what I really like is that Rose Leslie's drafted in and so I didn't know about the relationship and the power dynamic.

45:28So I like that. And then it's flip on the dynamic that she's out there doing that. It's her first day back of maternity leave. And as you said, Sir Anne Jones is left holding the baby. But I also like the dynamic then where Rose is placed in Svalbard trying to discover who the person that's been attacked is, if they were military or not, et cetera. but she is up against a Russian detective who is very obstructive and will do anything he can to make her life difficult. And I really like how she handles that. She really holds herself very well. So I just thought it was, I think it's a great opener to the series and a cracking ending, just top tier drama.

46:10Kay Ribeiro:Can I say how expensive this show looks? Because it is all shot pretty much on location in Svalbard and the scenery is just gobsmacking like it's amazing i actually have a friend who's in svalbard at the moment on a trip what yeah absolutely true i mentioned to her i said you might want to watch out for you know jurisdictional issues there because apparently it can be a problem but this is part murder mystery and part kind of espionage thriller because as you say it's all about there's russian maneuverings there's british maneuverings there's mi6 interest which may or may not be fully disclosed it's all very political plus there's environmental angle and then of course there's a good old-fashioned murder mystery there and yes there are two detectives from scotland who somehow have jurisdiction in svalbard don't worry about it too much um but it's so watchable and they're so good and i look i have a real weakness for for a frosty murder mystery you know murder at the end of the world night country all that stuff where where you're not only it's not only cold cold it's not it but you're kind of you're fenced in you know it's dark it's icy you can't go anywhere though you know the weather is another factor um i love it adds a whole layer of tension which i think is fantastic and this is so good i have watched four of the six so far oh my god

47:19Boyd Hilton:and loving it sadly the finale is not available i can only have one more that i can technically watch in advance which is not fun because i need to know what happens i am absolutely loving this

47:30Kay Ribeiro:show i think it is it is fantastic this is absolute top tier this is uh tom edge is the writer here uh and has been working on it since the beginning it's a world productions obviously show you know who do line of duty and whatnot and uh yeah it is aces if you want to know where your license fee money goes it's stuff like this and it's money well spent so yes love vigil it is great and it is on bbc one when boydy it just started yesterday sunday and carries on tonight monday so it's on sunday and monday for three weeks fantastic uh next up we have another returning show and this is the jed mercurio produced trigger point on itv uh which as you will remember sees vicky mcclure strap on her bomb vest as lana wash washington and she's a head of an expo team of bomb disposal experts and here she is dealing with terrorists determined to blow up half of london

48:20Boyd Hilton:um in a first episode which is i mean let's just say they they leave nothing in reserve here there is a lot going on in this first episode so okay tell us did this boom shake your room yes it did as you say all bells and whistles as you'd expect and list don't go into this expecting a nice relaxing uh hour because your pulse will race you i mean it's just in it's insanely tense as you would expect from this show and as you'd expect from jed and so as james said uh lana and her team are basically having to try and stop an ied laden 7.5 ton lorry from reaching its east london destination. And there is a drone tracking the lorry so that the team have to intercept the lorry and obviously it's cargo, but the drone can't see.

49:09So their conundrum is, how do we do that? And how do we do it in time so that it doesn't blow up possibly millions of people? Add that into the mix. There's a new police commander, Naya Quentin, played by the wonderful Julie Graham, who's issuing orders like, and I particularly love this one, you must disarm the device before you reach the target right no shit Sherlock good advice yeah I know but do you know what when she said that I was like oh my god why are you saying that's ridiculous and then I had this moment of clarity just thinking this happens in real life yeah it does in moments of crisis and struggle when people in power state the bloody obvious like and you're like great observation we never thought of that um but yeah she's she's really good as the commander um and um I was reading about it actually and I read that Jed said um one of the reasons he wanted to bring her in is because there had been a little bit of criticism over the fact that um some of the like police and bomb squad felt that you know the show wasn't necessarily doing it was doing a disservice because they weren't quite capturing the team spirit that exists obviously for the drama they need to have this kind of like um tension between the two different sections you know like police and Bomb Squad but obviously people have commented on the fact that actually no it is collaborative so he wanted to do a reset and so he thought obviously one of the ways was bringing this character in and then watching how the relationship with Lana and Naya pans out and apparently it's going to be a fantastic relationship we'll see but yeah Tense involves iconic London locations high stakes and I thoroughly enjoyed it Yeah.

50:54If it did make me feel incredibly tense.

50:56Kay Ribeiro:This is, I want to say, this is like one of, if not ITV's, biggest hit, right, Boydie? Drama, yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah, massive. Yeah, massive hit. Yeah, it's so weird that these two, I think this happened last time, that these two shows, that have a lot in common, launched on the same day. This also started on Sunday, yesterday. If you're listening to this on Monday, it carries on tonight on Monday, and it's on Sunday and Monday for three weeks. It's at exactly the same time as Vigil. And of course, Vigil is a world production and Line of Duty is a world production. And this show is a production of Jed Mercurio's production company, which he probably wouldn't have invented had it not been for world productions and what they do.

51:37And I always thought Vigil had the kind of propulsive pace of a Jed Mercurio show, as does this, of course. But there's just so much DNA in common that these two shows have. And this one as well has always pushed. I think it was season two started with one where one of the expo had his foot on a bomb and he couldn't move. And she kind of like Lana, that player Vicky McCoy, had to kind of like talk him through at the best way. And it was just brilliant. It was kind of the opposite of spectacular, but it was so beautifully done. And it was such a kind of bold way into that series. last series there was a massive um kind of storyline about a psychotic uh bomb uh bomb person a bomb person a bomb person a bomb person there you go um and they keep having to ratchet it up and i too i was really into this with jen mercurio and he's very much hands-on in terms of um the producer and he was saying they really his whole thing is they have to find ways of ratcheting up the ambition and the scope of it and sure enough this opening episode of this season I think is the best opening episode yet in terms of pure adrenaline and spectacle.

52:47And I sat there watching it and there's one shot of this big lorry travelling across one of the bridges in London by the Thames. I was thinking, how did they do this? How did they manage to get... Like, they must have got... It might be CGI equally, but generally there's massive locations in the city of London they use that I don't see how they... I was like in the logistics of getting permission to film in those areas, and you know which are normally packed to the to the room with bankers going this way and that way i just thought that the use of the london locations was fantastic maybe they just drove

53:20Boyd Hilton:maybe they just like drove into central london and then they filmed it with a drone and then that was it yeah you're right yeah maybe they didn't get permission to it wasn't it yeah they just grill it yeah anyway um it's it's incredibly um riveting and entertaining and absorbing and as a as a book of a vicki mcclure it's brilliant because she also frames they frame this episode that's what i was meant to say is she's talking to a therapist because she had big issues in the last series with prescription prescription drugs and ptsd and all of that and she was not in a good way and they they kind of that was addressed quite well throughout that series and now it's addressed quite cleverly with the framing device of her talking to her the current therapist, who, by the way, immediately comes across as a bit of a doofus.

54:05And then it leads into her explaining the job. And this example of what the job involves is unbelievably spectacular. So, yeah, it's great. Both these shows are great, shining examples of what British TV drama, Kay and James, can do at its best.

54:24Kay Ribeiro:Agreed. I have a slightly patchy pass with The Wintering Point. I enjoy it, but it's very much in guilty pleasure territory for me a lot of the time. And I have found, certainly I found the last season, I found it a bit of a slog, or see it series, I should say, because it's a British show. But three, I didn't get on with. I did finish it, and I finished all of them. But I think two and three, I felt they've ran out of steam a little bit before the end. I do think this is the best, well, I would say this is the second best first episode

54:51Boyd Hilton:since the first episode of the first series, which has a very big rug pull twist in it, which is extremely good. um but this is i mean it is on a scale that the others haven't really approached which is mad and i'm definitely going to keep watching it because it's got me but i mean we'll see whether at the end of this series i'm really happy or whether i might watch it again i don't know but yeah it is great and it has got great production values it's really well put together you know it feels if not um if not necessarily authentic i don't know you know i don't i imagine look oh big words if you're

55:24Kay Ribeiro:challenging jeb mccurillo's authenticity i i know but i think you know when you do something like this obviously there'll be an element of authenticity to it but i'll but drama has to be served first like bureaucracy isn't fun to watch so everything has to be streamlined and made a little bit more hollywood to make it propulsive so i think that's you know that's an important part of this i i'll be what they've always done very well with this is they've mined the inherent tension that you will always get because of the subject matter i remember there's

55:52Boyd Hilton:one where vicky mcclure i want to say it's and it might be in season one or two where she's basically feeling around a shower mat and obviously that's not interesting but of course it is because if the shower mat can blow up it's inherently quite stressful and she's trying to find the wires and it's a hot is it a pressure plate even this one where she's like cutting open boxes when you get those styrofoam bits and you're like oh my god it's like the worst game show ever the most stressful tombola you've ever seen in your life she's looking for a bomb in styrofoam but yeah it's really good and I think she's a really fun character so yeah it is it is very good and uh I will definitely be watching more of this and this is as you said Boydie it is started already on ITV yes started yesterday on ITV Sunday Monday three weeks that's the pattern

56:36Kay Ribeiro:finally we have The Rainmaker also on ITV and this is based on the 1995 John Grisham novel which also had a 1997 film directed by francis coppola father of nepo baby sofia coppola

56:51Boyd Hilton:who may or may not have ouch on her father at this point but behind the camera not in front of it

56:56Kay Ribeiro:uh and this sees a young lawyer who ends up taking on a big corporate law firm which also happens to have been his former employer uh this aired in the states when did it air in the states It's quite some time back. I think it was last year, I believe. Yes, August 2025. Right, but it has come to ITV now. And it's been renewed already. For reasons. Boydie, do you find this show guilty or not guilty? This is, let's be clear. This is, it's actually showing on ITV1 on Friday at nine o 'clock. So it's got a pretty good primetime slot. But it is a fairly old show. And there are loads of possibilities of shows to review this week because of various embargoes as usual.

57:38The autumn TV season effectively starts in the middle of August now, and all the big shows arrive. Hence, Vigil and Trigger Point. But this is like they're filling the schedule with something they've acquired a while ago. And it's a fairly generic legal drama starring Milo Callaghan, who's kind of like, if you think of the remake of film starring Matt Damon and other John Grisham things starring Tom Cruise, he's kind of like a mixture of Tom Cruise and Matt Damon. He's like very, very vanilla, youngish white guy who's quite handsome, but not really that charismatic, I don't think. He's not too bad.

58:19He's not too bad. He's okay. I remember being slightly harsh. He's actually played by an English actor called Milo Callaghan, who's in The Spanish Princess and Rivals. I don't remember him in Rivals. Do you remember him in Rivals? No, I don't. You're a big Rivals expert. Anyway, apparently he's been in those shows. But this is his big break. He's the lead guy. and he gets fired on his first day because he dares to challenge the frankly massive twat who runs the huge big legal firm played by John Slattery of Mad Men fame. John Slattery working at the height of his obnoxious powers. He excels in playing.

58:53Big bellend energy. Massive bellends and he pulls off another massive bellend so to speak in this show. Oh God. Sorry. What an unfortunate expression. That was unfortunate. So he gets fired because he does challenge Jean Satter, who's in charge of this huge big law firm. And he ends up, and he gets fired, and he ends up working for this ambulance chasing firm that works out of a kind of like disused CAF somewhere. And it's run by this highly entertaining woman who's known as Bruiser, played by Lana Parilia. But then he learns that there's one case, even though they are ambulance chasers, there's one case that needs his attention, which is of some local people being exploited by their employers, etc.

59:36And they, of course, that case happens to be handled by the big law firm, of which he's just got sacked from. So it all ties together. And by the end of the first episode, he's going to be helping the needy and poor with their case and flying in the face of the obnoxious big capitalist law firm. Anyway, that all makes it sound as routine and obvious as it actually is. I mean, it is mildly entertaining. Very mildly. Very mildly. The problem with this kind of show is everyone's kind of like aware they're in a very big mainstream TV drama, and they're all kind of like – all the performances are slightly kind of exaggerated.

1:00:16Even John Slattery, who I love, he's going – you know, he goes so far over the top. He's a twirling his moustache. What, with the chips? With the chips, the chips scene. That was a low, I have to say. That was a low, yeah. and just everything he does. I mean, he's, I'd say, potentially entertainingly horrible and nasty and massive bellend. And that should be enough for me to continue watching, but it's not. It's just, it feels very routine and rote and predictable. And yeah, it's not great. Yeah. I mean, I haven't watched the, I haven't read the book or watched the film. Have you guys? I've watched the film.

1:00:51Not read the book. And this deviates quite, you know, quite a bit.

1:00:54Boyd Hilton:Yeah, it's like the basis for a procedure. The Rainmaker film, to be fair, I mean, it's not, it's not one of Coppola's best let's be honest it's I mean the Grisham films bar an odd few like the film are not generally great but yeah it's okay it's fine it's three stars it's watchable it's also better than this but carry on yeah so I so I read up afterwards and I hear that it does deviate from it I think if you just take as a standalone um law drama it's perfectly okay like when I first started watching it the truth is my knee-jerk reaction was like oh wow this is trashy for Grish like I don't know I was just like this feels it doesn't feel like prestige drama and then as it there was a bit of a there's a moment where he loses his job and then he goes and works I love an underdog and then as soon as he becomes the underdog and he's working for this company and he's like fighting on behalf of these people and takes on his former employers then I got more engaged by it I don't think Milo like the character of Rudy is without charm um he's amply engaging but what i'd say the main problem with this is that in a week of vigil and trigger point and if your time is precious then you're gonna go you're gonna plump for those it's not it's not essential viewing it's the kind of thing that yeah sure i'll have it on in the background um the characters are entertaining i have to say i thought bruiser and the sort of what do they call him um the paralegal who's like failed the bar um a hundred times or whatever those two characters are quite entertaining and feel more authentic.

1:02:31Did you notice what his character's name is? Dex Shifflett. Dex Shifflett. What a name. And what a character. So, yeah, entertaining but non-essential. It's the butterfly, isn't it? It's the butterfly of legal thrillers. I don't even know that it is.

1:02:49Kay Ribeiro:This is just vaporware. It's just nonsense. like it's just like why would you want to spend your time watching this like it's not that it's in and of itself the worst thing in the world and think we all watched worse things than this in the 80s and 90s but like it's not a streaming show it's a network show and it has all the trappings of such like it's kind of rushed to set up its premise the characters are extraordinarily archetypal and a little bit unbelievable and i was just so bored all the way through this um it feels screechingly inessential i would say this is one for grisham completists or kind of legal eagles but no one else like if you're obsessed with courtroom dramas you can't get enough of it maybe this will scratch some kind of itch i just don't don't think that it has an awful lot to offer people the big question is what's john slasher doing in it i feel like slumming it in this absolute role he could do in his sleep because this makes you take it slightly more seriously and when i saw oh john slasher's in it oh we should definitely watch that like he he has elevated it although he's not great in it um but yeah that's that's that's uh deceptive i would say that's that's the mystery found rudy's girlfriend annoying oh yeah she's the worst annoying yeah okay the rainmaker then yeah friday itv1 nine o 'clock i mean go for it okay yeah go for it if you dare what else is out this week buddy what have we missed um the big one is the gentleman which we'll do on pilot plus we'll do on pilot plus that starts on thursday the 3rd of september 2026 on the netflix um and oh the game guess what the game is the game is series two of a channel five drama which starred jason watkins do you remember this he was like Robson Green.

1:04:33Yeah, he was attacked. And Robson Green's a serial killer who's now in prison in the second series. I watched it. Did you? I got quite into it, yeah. Oh, okay. Well, I interviewed Jason Watkins. Ah. I mean, Jason Watkins is an absolute legend. I love him. Oh, yeah. And sweet man. Such a sweetheart, isn't it? Yeah. And he's kind of become the face of Channel 5 now, one of the faces of Channel 5. So anyway, that starts on Tuesday, the 1st of September. eager fans of Taskmaster which I know include Chris Hewitt is like the world's biggest Taskmaster fan isn't he is that right yes but Chris's taste in TV is legendarily appalling well just for Chris I'll tell you I'm sure he's listening he always listens to Pilot the new line up includes Izzy Sooty who's always very good Chloe Petz Richard Ayoade Nina Conti it's actually a really good line up and Matt Lucas Matt Lucas is doing it I've watched the first episode it's good oh there you go it was good yeah excellent That's Thursday, Thursday, 3rd of September, 10 o 'clock, Channel 4.

1:05:31And I want to mention today, on Bank Holiday Monday, Tea with Judi Dench, which I think you've seen as well. Tea with Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen on Sky Arts. I cannot believe I didn't have that in what I've been watching section. I'm obsessed with Judi Dench, Dame Judi Dench, and it's such a delight. I would highly recommend everyone watches it. Lovely meandering chat between two friends and actors. Especially Judi and Suryan having a chat over to you. Yeah, going round the hill gaff for a couple. That sounds delightful. That is, yes, it is delightful, James. You'll be delighted. That's on today, on Monday the 30th.

1:06:06This is Bangorley Monday, by the way. This goes out, hasn't it? So, on the Sky Arts slash now. Fantastic. What is our pick of the week? Vigil.

1:06:16Kay Ribeiro:It is. Oh, it's difficult. Oh, it's not difficult.

1:06:20Boyd Hilton:Oh, James. What are you talking about? Trick of a coin. Trick of a coin is a close second. I mean, it's not that close. like it's good you know maybe Boyd wanted to say Rainmaker now you've made him feel shame maybe he did I've shamed him stop shaming him exactly yeah alright it's for Jill

1:06:40Kay Ribeiro:okie dokie well that then rounds up this home special of the Pilot TV podcast we do hope you've enjoyed it as ever please leave us nice comments

1:06:49Boyd Hilton:and nice reviews and not abuse thanks very much five star ratings always welcomed you know and cakes and sweets whatever you want to send it it's fine and hats and hats yes please please feel free to he's such a rat yeah okay fair enough I'm also close friends with Colin now I should probably tell you that as well

1:07:06Kay Ribeiro:right and what else was I going to say yes please follow us on the social medias at Pilot TV Pod at K.Ribera at Boyd Hilton at James C. Dyer next week on the show I don't know what we'll be reviewing we'll be doing The Gentleman as we said on Pilot Plus but next week Last Scene is on Apple but that is embargoed the paper returns for season two next week. But crucially, we will be reviewing the show that I take responsibility for, my favourite show, the show that loves me, the show that I love, the show that, of course, I discovered and shared with all of my co-hosts, Colin from Accounts, which finally comes to UK Shores

1:07:40Boyd Hilton:next week. I will be wearing my cap. You'd best believe it. I think I'm on the cusp of a rage blackout.

1:07:47Kay Ribeiro:Yeah, that's some big balls there. Colin and Indeed Pilot out.

1:07:56You