The Missing

No. Too many obvious deliberate similarities for me. The mother being made to look like Kate McC, the soft toy clutching, the church visiting. A drama about a child going missing could be made without all the obvious similarities. Almost as bad as the abhorrent "The Room" book.

I think James Nesbitt could be past his best. I didn't think his acting was that great in it, tbh. He is very much a one part actor.

I think any drama based on a child abduction will remind you of the sadness behind little Maddie because we can empathise with the terrible situation and thank goodness we have never been in their shoes. That's where the similarity ends for me as the only connection between the two events is a child has been abducted. The sex of the child, the country, the circumstances etc. are totally different.

If this drama was running at the time little Ben Needham or April Jones were abducted then the same thing would probably be said because child abduction sticks in your mind because of it's horrible nature. The only thing it makes me think with regard to Maddie is how desperately sad I feel for the Mac Cann family and the parents of other children who have suffered the same heartache.

As for the drama I think Nesbit is very good and Stott is certainly a twist that makes me keep viewing. I think there will be many twists as others have mentioned.

But any story about a missing child will inevitably have some similarities with Madeleine McCann and I don't think it's a subject that must be avoided forever for fear of upsetting/ offending someone (not the McCanns - I think probably this programme is the least of their worries tbh). I heard a discussion about the programme on the radio yesterday morning and the speaker made what I thought was an interesting point, ie. that we are bombarded with films/ tv programmes about misogyny and violence against women on a daily basis but there is barely a whisper of protest, whereas this programme, which has not shown any violence against the child, or the child's distress, many people seem to find unbearable. I think we can all understand why it is unbearable but I still think it is a valid subject for a fictional drama.

'stories'

That's what I thought. The obvious changes only draw attention to the similarity of the story.

Well, you could hardly expect them to have followed the McCann story detail by detail! They had to leave it to viewers' imagination. And you don't need much of that to see it!

Surely such cases will inevitably have similarities with other cases - parents praying in church, various suspects, media involvement, etc. etc.

In The Missing, the child is a boy and he is an only child. Although the disappearance occurs abroad - the circumstances in which he disappears are quite different from Maddie McCann's disappearance.

I suppose there is a valid argument that to be "entertained" by the sort of tragedies that are found in "real life" is a bit distasteful. Perhaps it is, but there seems to be a human need to experience fear, grief, anxiety and horror "by proxy" and that is part of what drama does.

When I found out what it was about I decided not to watch it. I watched the Fall last year about a serial killer preying on single young women and wished I hadn't. Some dramas are set in contexts that are too close to home, and only make me anxious.

Just re-read my post and it doesn't make sense. This supplement was bought 18mnths after the child's original disappearance, and I've not long thrown it out.
Alex

Not that I want to delve into the realms of "conspiraces" , but I kept the Sunday Times supplement for about 5 years that was published about 18 mnths. after the incident that said Kate McCann on discovering Madelaine had gone, shouted from the appartment terrace across the complex informing her husband loudly that "they've got her" Who?, and what did it mean? I felt it was too close to the McCann case for comfortable viewing.

I`m not reading any of tonight`s posts yet, as due to football, I had to record The Missing, it`ll probably be tomorrow night before I can watch it.

I agree. I thought that from the first episode, and am glad I decided not to watch any more of them.

I agree jings I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode and had high hopes (although not sure I can stand 8 episodes of anything) but tonight's just seemed too close to the McCann case. The parents were made to look/dress the same and the mother even went into the church exactly as Madeleines mum did. I was very uneasy about it and to be honest it has put me off a it.

I'm more than a little uneasy about that as well, jing. The parents even look a bit like Kate and Gerry McCann.

Why have they made a drama based on the Madeleine McCann case? They couldn't have made it more obvious.

Must be hard for the McCanns if they see it.

'I know what you did, Emily, and I will prove it' - what's that all that about? And Ian the builder, the Ken Stott character, what's he up to and what's his connection with the acused? I'm lost at the moment, but its gripping stuff.

A bit harrowing, but good drama.

I like James Nesbitt in some things - I saw a very violent thing he was in once but loved him as Munroe the neurosurgeon which is being shown again. I'm with A A Gill in the Sunday Times and indeed yesterdays Telegraph TV reviewer on The Missing - too harrowing for me I shan't watch any more.

Thanks Tegan thats the one.

Babylon?

I thought is was very good but everything James Nesbit does is worth watching he is in another new series soon but the name escapes me for the minute.
Is the new husband not the Police guy sent to help them with the initial investigation ?
7 weeks of good TV in the offering for a change.

I love the twists and turns of a good drama series like this. Can't wait for the next episode.

Brilliant. Loved it, and especially James Nesbit. He is so convincing.

What a great actor James Nesbit is. If it encourages us to take more care of our kids then its worth all the angst. Lucky that lady in the second-hand hand shop wrote down who gave her the yellow scarf (bit unlikely, I thought) but who knows where the trail will lead. Like the dried-up retired detective. Shades of New Tricks without the humour, perhaps? Disturbing but thrilling.

Where does the new husband fit in? He seem to already have a ready made son substitute. X