Rules of the Game

I'm surprised (or perhaps sadly not too surprised) by all the negative reviews of this programme. I was engrossed and watched all four episodes. I've given up on many new series this winter after one or two just because I was bored.

First, it was good to have something different from the usual girl/woman on a slab/missing police procedural with the standard quirky/damaged police investigator. This is set in a workplace and there are too few programmes or films set in places where most of us work i.e. Not in a police station.

As for claims that it was all too implausible well so is most drama because it has a beginning, middle and end - a resolution when in real life there isn't one. And as for boozy workplace parties, sorry work events - well I can't think of anywhere that's had those recently. Not just plausible very topical.

I will say that the writers didn't need to cram in quite so many current stories - sexual harassment in the workplace, toxic workplace culture, children watching porn, abusive men/partners, activism. That is a flaw.

And it is nice to have more of a female focus to a drama although I accept that not all the men needed to be out and out beasts. There are some good ones out there. I also liked that a main character was actually Indian with a culture and plausible family and not just a brown person with a western name and no connection to their culture or background.

I enjoyed this series and can't understand why there are so many negative reviews. It used a common device of starting off with a death and using flashbacks to fill in the backstory. It was unusual in that the deceased wasn't revealed at first. There's a strong message about sexual harassment of women, which seems to have provoked some of the negative reviews, but I didn't find it detracted from the story. If you want a well acted, intriguing story that will keep you engaged then I can recommend Rules of the Game.

I have worked for the last 25 years in a mixed environment but mostly male. I have seen some of the behaviours shown in this series so I can relate to some of it , what is missing though is the representative good people and particularly all the good men, the ones who are kind, thoughtful and supportive. I have worked with some difficult women but also many who have worked incredibly hard and remain wonderful. What I am trying to say is that this series lacks nuance, it like using a brick to open a window. It's a start but only that. Hopefully something similar can be produced which taps into the idea that we are not all good or all bad.

For a show that explores misogyny and toxic masculinity in the workplace, it's also done a pretty good job of exposing it (as well as other deplorable traits) among IMDb users as well - appalled by some of the comments here that are nothing to do with this 4-part series but all to do with the world view of some very blinkered people.

Therefore, sadly, just by being a MeToo drama, the series was going to face immediate backlash from the start. Hardly surprising then that reviews have been left panning the whole series after only episode.

That is not to say that Rules of the Game doesn't merit any constructive scrutiny. There are times the whowasit/whodunnit plot (which is a clever idea) drifts into soap opera territory, but it's the execution of that script that keeps it firmly in the wheelhouse of elevated drama we expect from the BBC.

The performances from Maxine Peake, Rahkee Thakrar and Callie Cooke are committed, and the direction/storytelling of the scripts whips the tale along clearly and at a great pace - even allowing for laughs here and there.

It's not perfect and it wont be for everyone, it will also be uncomfortably familiar viewing for some, but it tells an interesting story of gender dynamics in the workplace it's time we saw a lot more.

I very nearly didn't watch this because of the low score, but Maxine Peake is always in great things, so I decided to give it a go. It's very watchable, interesting even if not terribly likeable characters, and overall well done, with the exception of poor acting by the police detective.