DAS Boot made an indelible impression on me as a teenager. Wolfgang Peterson's classic 80s film about a German U-boat and its crew was a must-see VHS in my student digs where unsurprisingly six young men living together in a terraced house found much to relate to in its harrowing depiction of claustrophobia, paranoia and alcoholism.

20 years later I was more than a little nervous about what seemed a pretty pointless remake but from the off this new eight part TV version was at pains to distinguish itself from its illustrious predecessor. “New submarine. New crew. New story,” was the tagline and even when Klaus Dolinger's unmistakeably brilliant soundtrack boomed out of the speakers, it was clear this was a show with its own identity.

Set in 1942, when the Allies' war against Hitler's 'wolf packs' was turning thank to the cracking of the Enigma code, new submarine U-612 is ready for its maiden voyage under the command of the inexperienced Klaus Hoffmann (Rick Okon). The young commander is struggling with his status as the son of a war hero and the knowledge he is being fast-tracked because of it, leading to tensions with his all ready highly strung crew. Meanwhile in a change from the original film we also concentrate on the action back on shore where in the port of La Rochelle in occupied France, Simone Strasser (Vicky Krieps), is caught between her loyalty for Germany and her brother and his links to the Resistance.

The drama switches skilfully between land and sea with no expense spared on the production values meaning the battle scenes are truly spectacular sequences of sweaty tension and hopeless despair in one case as we track one stricken U Boat on its dreadful descent to the bottom of the Atlantic.

Just like Petersen's masterpiece, this reboot (sorry) depicts both the excitement of battle and the tedium of the fruitless hunt, and shows the men serving aboard U-boats as ordinary individuals with a desire to do their best for their comrades and their country. The next seven episodes promise much.