The Hour

When receiving a lengthy series of quality, my usual pace is about two hours a night; with The Hour, I went for three, easily, and was hard put not to stay up past midnight and watch the entire series. This outstanding BBC thriller is many things--conspiracy and spy thriller, mystery, romance, period drama--and certainly much more. It has been exquisitely mounted, with lots of convincing period detail, and is acted by a unified ensemble, laying out numerous vivid characters in a plot that begins confusingly, but soon weaves a seductive plot-line that is not merely a whodunit but also reflects social concerns nations face today, about the power of governments and the behind-the-scenes manipulation of events. Its often funny, brilliantly paced, and is intelligent entertainment

Now available on disk from Netflix and streaming on Amazon Prime, this smart, stylish BBC series, set in the mid-50s, really hits its stride by the end of its first season. Sumptuous Bel and geeky Freddie (Romola Garai and Ben Wishaw), escapees from the BBC newsreel floor, are the offscreen talent behind the eponymous news program; Hector (Dominic West) is the hearty, "highly corruptible" frontman. The plot lines are a little over the top at times—Mr. Kish, the palefaced spook who self-destructs when he fails to hit the target, is straight out of the old "Avengers" series (not necessarily a bad thing)—but the interplay among the main characters is beautifully portrayed. Anna Chancellor and Peter Capaldi are great together as a pair of prickly ex-lovers, and Oona Chaplin, at first mainly decorative as Hector's neglected wife, has an amazing scene in which she kicks her latest rival to the curb in the kindest, gentlest way.

The first season is built around the Suez Crisis and the Burgess-Maclean spy scandal, but the political backdrop is pretty much self-explanatory; the second season reverts to more familiar hardboiled themes—bent cops, shady nightclubs, showgirls in jeopardy and a porno racket (innocuous b&w photos in this case)—before getting back to the big stuff, high-level corruption and the nuclear threat. A "behind the scenes" clip on the second DVD focuses on the obsessively detailed production design, which, as with "Mad Men," is a big part of the show's appeal.

The Hour is an intriguing new drama, created and written by Abi Morgan, that spans several genres and weaves them together cleverly and effectively. There is espionage, murder and suspense on the one hand; romance on another hand; comedy on yet another hand; and political drama on the final hand. The central emphasis is on the characters, however, of Bel Rowley (producer of The Hour), Hector Madden (its presenter), and one of the best characters of recent years, the funny and confident Freddie Lyon, one of the show's journalists.

The acting is uniformly excellent; Romola Garai ('Atonement'; 'The Crimson Petal and the White') and Ben Whishaw ('Perfume'; 'Criminal Justice I') especially shine as Bel and Freddie. There are other superb performances from the seedy Julian Rhind-Tutt ('Green Wing') and the suave Dominic West ('The Wire'), along with my personal favourite Anna Chancellor ('Four Weddings and a Funeral') as Lix, an acid-tongued feminist in the newsroom.

The story does start off a little slowly, but prepare for a roller-coaster ride later on, particularly in the extremely tense final episode, where the drama is perfectly pitched. The loose ends are nicely tied up, and the conclusion is suitably ambiguous, ready for the second series which has been commissioned.

The only quibble is the sometimes anachronistic dialogue; but one tends not to notice this as everything else is so good.

So, overall this is an intriguing, intelligent drama with plenty of strands, twists and turns, and fantastic acting all round. I await series two eagerly.

Fast moving, very well written show about spies and TV Broadcasting in 50's Britain. The cast is uniformly superlative both as individuals and collectively (sorry about the 'socialist' term - but it is 50's Britain)... sorry, 'Ensemble' is the word. All great down to the smallest parts. Excellent script, good period atmosphere, lighting, photography, set design. There's even some James Bond references which I think is premature but by 1956 Fleming had published three books.

I've never seen Mad Men so I can't relate to the comparisons and I have yet to see Series 2. I watched this on DVD (remember those?) in two 150 minute chunks and both parts held interest from start to finish. Outstanding.

Comparisons with "Madmen" are inevitable but they also run the risk of distracting the viewer from properly appreciating "The Hour" in its own right. For all the obvious similarities between the two shows with their period-piece settings and respective portrayals of entrenched misogyny, this BBC/Kudos production marches resolutely to the beat of its own drum. "The Hour" is gritty and gray. It's temperature is cold. One of its main themes is the examination of conflict in a variety of forms; the deep internal conflict between ardent idealism and soul-numbing compromise or between personal integrity and ruthless ambition; and the dogged pursuit of truth in the face of suppression and censorship. Other classic struggles between opposing dynamics are also explored. These include individualism and conservatism, inspiration and convention, impoverishment and privilege, courage and fear, rational caution and paranoia, democracy and tyranny etc - all of which are set amid the historic backdrop of two salient international military conflicts. The landscape is panoramic and the brush-strokes reach far and wide but the painting remains clearly defined. All the elements are tautly packed into a 360 minute thought-provoking thriller. If comparisons must be drawn, then "Goodnight and Good Luck" might prove to be a helpful suggestion. With its subtle script, insightful direction, solid casting and a stunning performance from Ben Whishaw, "The Hour" is one of the BBC's finest. Congratulations to all involved with this production. Thoroughly recommended.