Such is the size of modern cruise ships that they are more like floating cities than pleasure boats.
Certainly the mammoth Sacrementum is.
Drug dealers, murderers, sex parties, modern day slavery and a complete cross section of sexual orientation – and that’s just the crew! But surprisingly no sign of Steven Segal hiding in the heating ducts.
Ryan J Brown’s Wreck (BBC Three), set on board the huge floating metropolis, is a youthful, more sophisticated and blood soaked version of Gold’s, Murder On The …. series. The plot is simple (no spoilers): Cormac/Jamie (Oscar Kennedy) who has recently come out as gay, finds employment on the Sacrementum in order to find out what happened to his sister Pippa (Jodie Tyack), who, while working on the ship, was reported as having jumped overboard, presumed drowned.
There is however at least one killer on board, a cross between a maniacal Orville the Duck lookalike and Chucky, who sets out on a killing spree. The cruise-line owners do all they can to keep the events from the passengers and the crew. Cormac does all he can to keep his intentions from everyone except Vivian (Thaddea Graham) another new joiner and lesbian with whom he forms a bond.
The cast is excellent with standout performances from Kennedy, Graham and Harriet Webb (Karen). Ryan J Brown’s script is sharp and fresh, and Chris Baugh’s direction is bang on the money.
There are several sub plots across the 6 episodes, quite a few shocks, lots of colourful characters and more twists than an auger. Wreck is warm, holds the interest and raises the odd smile but it’s not a comedy, dark or otherwise. You would need a bizarre sense of humour to find the horror funny.
Wreck is sure to find it’s way to a wider audience than BBC Three and deservedly so. It is clearly set up for at least a second series, which would be no bad thing.
