Hotel Babylon

I always had the idea that the BBC just made endless adaption's of Jane Eyre and other costume dramas. How wrong I was! In the new millennium the BBC has the same status as the American HBO. They spend their dough on innovative, well crafted and highly enjoyable drama of the highest level. ''Hotel Babylon'' is a little pearl, together with ''Life on Mars'', ''State of Play'' and many, many other BBC-productions.

In Holland they aired Hotel Babylon together with Desperate Housewives. A nice combination, both shows do have much things in common. They both have a trendy atmosphere combined with a dark sense of humor, witty dialog and a cast of colorful characters. Hotel Babylon is slightly more deep because it shows the world of the rich and famous as a rotten world; one that is corrupted by preposterous needs, adultery, prostitution, crime, arrogance, the using of others, etc. Every episode has a moral message in it for anyone who wants to see it, cleverly hidden so it doesn't feel like its writers want to push their opinions down your throat.

I must say that the romantic tension between Max Beesley and Tamzin Outwaithe is another huge plus. Both actors are really the kind of charismatic actors that carry any show to a higher level, most certainly this one.

I wasn't a fan of season 1 simply because I was busy watching other shows but by accident I ended up watching 50 seconds with Natalie Jackson Mendoza and I was hooked.

It was interesting to see a likeness to shows such as Las Vagas which I was a fan of for a brief period.

The characters are all interesting in their own ways and the writing is brilliant with the employees of Hotel Babylon dealing with the celebrities and the problems they bring.

The most interesting character so far seems Tony a man who should not be reckoned with.

I give this show a full ten simply because its smart, funny and sexy.

Great show, unlike anything on TV. 10 out of 10. The casting, writing, directing are all top drawer. Too bad we don't get shows of this quality out of the mills that create shows in the USA. After watching shows like this it becomes really hard to watch the tripe that the big three in their quest for the lowest common denominator churn out.

The setting a five star hotel provides endless secondary characters through which the series cast work their roles, providing danger, romance, humor and intrigue.

Though different, it has the same elements that have made the Sopranos,Deadwood, Oz and Rome compelling TV, that is, great characters, involving story lines and the ability to keep it fresh and real.

I actually have gone back and changed my rating after watching season three.

This is an Good not great BBC show that has some of the best looking women I've ever seen. The plots are good, & it doesn't have have all of the edited FCC crap that we have here in the U.S The only way to see this is on DVD. The women in this show are extremely attractive, especially the gorgeous Emma Pierson who plays the extremely sexual & flirtatious Fanny. She is so good in this show I hope to see more of her. She is so nice to look at that everything she says sounds like poetry. I'm exaggerating to most people (she's a 10 in my book), but one look at this women & you will be hooked. The entire cast is one of those casts that just has that "IT" chemistry, this is that cast. The stories can be endless when you have it set in a hotel. I hope this show goes on and on as anyone could walk into your hotel. I especially remember an episode where a woman strips down to her underwear & has an absolute phenomenal body. If this were an American show, many of these stars/guest stars would work steady. One of the best things is that there is a wide variety of cast members as well. It's not like "Friends" where it is 6 white people. Give this show a try and prepare to enjoy it. The only I don't have it rated higher than 7 is because there seems to be about 10 minutes too long & it meanders in places where it doesn't need to be. A very enjoyable series that puts all the reality crap that is on the air to shame. I'm glad I picked this up & most would enjoy this as well.

I have to acknowledge that the BBC played it smart when scheduling this series. It's not too taxing on the brain and perfect for a Thursday night when you're tired from a week at work and ready to ease into the weekend.

The series is set in a five star hotel, revolving mainly around the staff that work there and the more unusual problems they face with some of their customers.

The most interesting character in the series must be Dexter Fletcher's Concierge, Tony. There is definitely something very watchable about the way he's acted and he is undoubtedly the man in the middle of most of the action, due to his job meaning he can pretty much obtain or fix anything or any situation - he's usually a man in demand.

The main central character is Max Beesley's Charlie, the Deputy Manager. Most of the stories are told through his perspective and, like Tony, he seems to play a central role in most of the stories.

Tamzin Outhwaite is the General Manager and seems to be a little underused. Her character comes across as quiet hard initially, although throughout the series viewers are given glimpses that she is kinder than initially thought and it is in these moments she becomes more interesting and three dimensional.

Natalie Jackson Mendoza as Jackie is completely under used. She is seems to have promise as a character and enough charisma to carry a better role but seems to be there merely so that Charlie can have a love/lust interest. It would be nicer to see her with a more rounded role.

Emma Pierson as Anna, the Head Receptionist is a stereotypical, hard nosed, nasty piece of work. The role is massively one dimensional, although entertaining to watch and probably better for it - it wouldn't be any fun if the viewer discovered she had a terrible upbringing/hard life/problems that made her be so mean - it's just more fun to think she doesn't care less and she's enjoying her life!

Finally there is Gino the Barman and Ben, the Head Receptionist. Gino features slightly more than Ben and holds his own in a part that is probably the right size for the role. Ben the Head Receptionist hardly appears at all and it would be more fun to see him interacting with Anna as they could be a funny pairing - he has more promise than he is being given the opportunity to show.

Every week the staff at the hotel have to go to extraordinary lengths to keep all guests happy - this can be from arranging hookers and parties to attempting to prevent suicide bids, all done discreetly so as to avoid bad publicity or obtain good reviews, whilst relieving guests of as much money as they possibly can get away with.

Having not worked in a five star hotel I cannot definitively state how accurate the goings on are - I did use to work in top class restaurants when at Uni however and from my experience in those it is probably more accurate than people realise! Basically this is a good, stylised piece of TV. It won't make you think, it (probably) won't be up for any Baftas, it won't change the world but it will more than likely entertain if you want to just sit down, switch your brain off and watch something fun for an hour or so.