State of Play

Just bought and watched this on DVD. Up until the last episode I was enthralled with the story.

The mixture of journalism, politics and police work made for an interesting mix, although the latter two took more of a back seat nearing the end, replaced with lover's quarrels and artificial exposition more similar to soap opera writing.

While the cinematography is fairly average, the casting and acting is superb.

If you want a suspenseful thriller this one should entertain you, just don't expect a satisfactory ending.

I'd give the show 8/10, but the horrible finale totally undermined the story's credibility with several loose ends, and I was left frustrated instead of with the great feeling I had during the first 5 episodes.

Watched this on the recommendation of a Uni lecturer. I thought it was brilliantly acted, the story was paced perfectly, and understandable despite the complexities (political intrigue not usually my thing). That is at least until the last episode when gaping plot holes appeared and half the characters that had been set up in the last 5 episodes were just forgotten about. I didn't buy the resolution - it came out of nowhere and I wasn't convinced that the person taking the fall was really guilty. Not with what they were charged with anyway. There was no resolution for even some of the major characters (most notably Anne). I felt ripped off.

That said, I would watch this again just for the performances. David Morrissey was superb and Bill Nighy is always a great laugh.

What makes a good political thriller? Some things are obvious. Firstly, strong believable characters. Secondly, a fast-paced, complex, dazzling plot. But the plot must resolve into something comprehensible - there may appear to be one hundred mysteries, but beneath the smoke and mirrors, there must be one story. Anyone can write an infinite collection of coincidences and conspiracies - but a strong story makes simple sense in the end. Finally, a political drama needs to say something authentic about the current state of the world. If the final conclusion is that the Prime Minister has a prediliction for drinking the blood of teenage girls, then however plausible this is made to seem, an opportunity has been lost - if politics really is the subject matter, and not just the setting, then the personal drama must make some wider political point. Paul Abbott's 'State of Play' succeeds gloriously on all these points, and confirms his reputation as among the the sharpest writers in British television today.

Director David Yates also deserves credit, for keeping the mood tense but unmelodramatic throughout, while the cast show uniform excellence in bringing Abbott's characters to life. Abbott has commented that he knew he would have failed if any of his (largely journalistic) heroes could be sumarised as "mavericks" - a simple lesson ignored by ninety percent of writers today. Instead we have real, three-dimensional portrayals. What's especially impressive is how well the female characters are realised - neither passive decoration nor kick-ass post-feminists, but believable, not necessarily glamorous women - the contrast between the sexes has a low-key ring of truth. David Morrissey as the MP around whom the storm breaks is also excellent - when politicians are held in universally low stock, 'State of Play' avoids all the easiest shots. If one of the tragedy of politics is that many of its protagonists are first rate idiots, another is what it makes out of those who are not. Morrissey's Stephen Collins is never sympathetic, and yet comes across as the sort of man you might almost choose to try and run the country. Paul Abbott, meanwhile, is certainly the sort of man you'd choose to write a drama. In 'State of Play', he has produced the best British TV series since 'Holding On'.

This BBC political thriller mini-series is far superior to the American remake.

If you like newsroom dramas, and films involving investigative journalism then you'll love this.

Enough said.

What a trip watching this masterpiece. It's a fast moving intelligent thriller that had me glued to the couch... more addictive than Crack! The acting is convincing, the plot is thick, the script is delicious and the characters are vivid.

It's not often a TV production comes along leaving you hungry for more, but the BBC have a knack for picking quality and producing some of the best programming in the world. This is the stuff that leaves American entertainment for dead. No gadgets, explosions or tough guys! Shame on them with all their money and their smarts, it's the BBC that delivers time and time again.

Hats off and if you haven't seen it yet don't put it off.