Trigger Point reviews and reactions are in for the first episode – and ITV drama viewers reckon it was a ‘blast’.
The first Trigger Point episode of six introduced viewers to London explosives officers Lana Washington and Joel Nutkins.
Wash (Vicky McClure) and Nut (Adrian Lester) are called out to investigate a potential bomb factory.
However, while there was no sign of the bomb makers on a housing estate, they had clearly been busy…
***WARNING: Spoilers from Trigger Point episode one ahead***
Trigger Point reviews: What did the critics say?
The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan gave the ep three out of five stars, calling it a “slick thriller”.
She said: “It’s great fun as long as you set your preposterousness levels to ‘high’. Go in thinking CSI: Peckham or Line of Bomb Duty or Bomby McBombface, rather than The Wire But With Actual Wires or Breaking Explosively Badly and you’ll enjoy yourself a lot more.”
A review in The Telegraph by Anita Singh indicated Trigger Point is ‘an identikit Line of Duty’. She also noted how Jed Mercurio’s “fingerprints are all over” it.
Read more: Trigger Point: Adrian Lester’s ‘terrible’ health condition that ‘affected his childhood’
And Christopher Stevens of the Daily Mail rated the episode as five stars. He claimed the plot left him dripping with sweat before ‘melting into a puddle’ at the end.
He wrote: “That ending came as a seismic shock. Anyone gripped by the first hour of Trigger Point (ITV) couldn’t help leaping out of their skin at the climax.”
Meanwhile, ED! itself was left pondering eight questions after the opening episode.
What did Twitter viewers make of Trigger Point?
Many of those watching at home similarly remarked on social media how gripped they were.
But some also compared Trigger Point to Line of Duty – with one particular interaction between the lead characters particularly noteworthy.
That’s because Wash and Nut called each other “mate” on more than one occasion. And Vicky McClure’s DI Kate Fleming has often bantered with DI Steve Arnott that way in LoD.
Why am I getting a strong Line of Duty vibe from this new show Trigger Point?
One Twitter user claimed: “Why am I getting a strong Line of Duty vibe from this new show Trigger Point? All too similar for me. #TriggerPoint.”
Someone else echoed that point: “It is like #lineofduty Kate wanted a career change and decided to defuse bombs.”
And someone else put it: “Trigger Point is Line Of Duty for the ITV crowd.”
Reflecting on the close and matey working relationship shared by Afghanistan veterans Wash and Nut, other felt this was also as if made from the LoD mould.
One observer tweeted how “mate” references meant Wash and Nut ‘are the new Kate and Steve’.
Read more: Trigger Point episode 1 review: 8 questions we have after watching that explosive ending
Another person agreed: “Thought the mate thing was @Vicky_McClure and @martin_compston thing.”
While yet another person was even stronger with their reaction: “The overuse of the word mate in #triggerpoint seems like a rip off of #lineofduty.”
Trigger Point airs on ITV on Sunday January 30 at 9pm.
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