A team of Turkish submariners on a research trip survive an apocalyptic solar eruption.

I enjoyed the first season of Belgian apocalyptic thriller, Into The Night. The conceit of a bunch of over-the-top characters stuck on a passenger plane struggling to stay out of the sun’s lethal glare was entertaining, if barking mad at times as the premise increasingly outstayed its welcome and strained at the ever-fraying leash of its own implausibility. I lasted one episode of the second season, which abandoned the simplicity of the original series, exchanging it for narrative muddle, melodrama and shouting.

Had I stuck it out, I’m reliably informed that the crew of the Turkish submarine Yakamoz S-245 tip up somewhere later in Season 2, and in this new series we wind back and follow the submariners’ story from the beginning… which is precisely what makes the show something of a chore to watch.

On the plus side it is well made and mostly far less barking mad than Into The Night, but on the negative, that means we’re watching essentially the same story again, only underwater, and with fewer daft things to laugh at.

The problem with having sunlight as the antagonist is that it is fundamentally inanimate, and the jeopardy is always the same, occurring literally as day follows night.

Verdict: On the basis of the first two episodes Yakamoz S-245 didn’t have enough that was new to keep this reviewer engaged, but if you haven’t seen Into The Night, then this may well be an enjoyable enough watch. If you have seen the original, then you might want to find something a little fresher with which to fill your viewing time. 7/10

Martin Jameson