'The Hour' - 'Episode 1': Who's the boss?
What did everybody think of the new BBC America period drama?
Freddie Lyon (Ben Whishaw) at work on "The Hour."
I already offered up my review of BBC America's "The Hour," along with an interview with creator Abi Morgan. We'll see how the episode-by-episode reviews for this will work over the rest of the 6-episode run, but for now, I'm just going to say that the premiere was definitely the weakest of the 4 I've seen, but still interesting for the work by Ben Whishaw, Romola Garai and Dominic West.
Keeping in mind that the No Spoilers policy around here includes anything that has yet to air in the US - meaning discussion of the later episodes that have already aired in the UK is off-limits and will be deleted - what did everybody else think of the premiere?
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupHobart
August 18, 2011 at 1:02AM EST Reply to CommentI'm a fan. The meshing of different tones didn't completely work and part of me just wants to see the news show being made. Still, the cast alone is making it work.
tunaman
August 18, 2011 at 1:05AM EST Reply to CommentI'm loving it! Can't wait until the finale next week!
This wasn't quite the "British Mad Men" we were promised, eh?
mike Unless something drastically changes in the next 5 episodes I have to say there is not an ounce of Mad Men in this show. I'm actually a bit disappointed people keep using it as a comparison.
August 18, 2011 at 4:21PM ESTIt takes place within a decade of Mad Men, so some of the clothing is similar, but outside of the prevalence of horn rimed glasses and skinny ties there is nothing connecting the two that I can see on either the thematic, tonal or cinematographic level.
I look forward to the rest of this show, but comparing it and Mad Men is like comparing Freaks and Geeks and That 70s show. Other than being comedies set in a similar era they are massively distinct from one another.
berkowit28
August 18, 2011 at 2:34AM EST Reply to CommentIt's a quality production. I like it: good characterizations, good scene setting in its period, good main story. I'm also wondering about the thriller on top of that, but we'll see.
Viginti
August 18, 2011 at 5:31AM EST Reply to CommentI agree that this is the weakest of the episodes released thus far, so those that like the idea but found this a little iffy I urge you to stick with it; by this time next week you'll know more about whether you want to stick with the show.
I don't know if this counts as a spoiler - it shouldn't - but don't worry too much about the espionage material; it is very well integrated as the show progresses and thus becomes much less superfluous as it is expanded. It's so overwhelming here, but it quickly becomes subtle spy fare.
More thoughts here: http://deerinthexenonarclights.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/the-hour/
A-LEX
August 18, 2011 at 8:42AM EST Reply to CommentI am intrigued, but unimpressed by the pilot. The plot was a bit skittered, but I am willing to forgive that in a pilot. The acting on the other hand, is tougher to forgive. My man McNulty jumped off the screen, but the main lead guy and girl were unimpressive, which makes me more concerned.
Here's hoping future episodes are tighter.
booyamachine
August 18, 2011 at 11:17AM EST Reply to CommentReally liked the three leads.
The rest? ehhhhhhhh.
I'm glad to hear this was the weakest of the episodes that were sent out. They're on a dangerous ledge with all of the "REPORT THE TRUTH!!!" stuff. I felt like I had seen that type of thing done before and had no desire to see it again.
Yeechang Lee
August 18, 2011 at 2:35PM EST Reply to CommentOne of the most unusual, and appealing, things about Mad Men is that the people who make up Sterling Cooper are *not* extraordinary talents. Don and Peggy and Roger and co. are good at what they do, but they are among many peers on Madison Avenue, some better and more successful, and they know it.
"The Hour"'s three protagonists, based on the first episode, are Yet Another group with irreplaceable, unique abilities; the only ones who are aware of, and can pull BBC News out of, its conventional, non-serious morass. Ben Whishaw's Freddie is unbearable, no matter how talented he allegedly is; he pouts, he rants, he whines, and like a child throws away what he knows is vital evidence five minutes after saying how urgent the case is. Why the lovely Romola Garai's Bel, clearly much more sensible than he, should tolerate Freddie and his self-pity and selfish demands for a moment when he clearly endangers her own career is completely unclear.
(And how boldly presumptuous is the Beeb, for daring to air a show about the heroes in its own ranks fighting against endemic sexism and oppression while working on a show that will expose national and world injustice? We'd all laugh if CBS were to air a period drama series extolling the courage of its own Edward R. Murrow daily broadcasting to the US during the Blitz, but that at least has the benefit of being true. The eponymous "The Hour" is a fictional show, because *there was no such groundbreaking BBC news show in the mid-1950s*. "Panorama" and "Tonight" were both well regarded and popular, but neither one was the bastion of enlightened Truth that "The Hour" is preening itself to be, nor did they pretend to be.)
"Mad Men" also offered from the start--despite appearing on a no-money basic cable channel--top-notch production values, including its gloriously airy and expansive Sterling Cooper bullpen. It's understandable for 1950s British goverment employees to not be as snappily dressed as 1960s New York ad men, but the indoor and "outdoor" sets look cheap. Everything looks like it was lighted with a single yellow bulb.
digamma
August 18, 2011 at 10:04PM EST Reply to CommentSigh. When they showed the weak female character acting weak in a bathroom, I said "They can't possibly mean for her to kill herself. They can't possibly be that cliched. Can they?" Then Freddy kept getting closer to her, and I kept repeating it, more and more desperately. And then they went ahead and did it. And it's a wonder I didn't kill myself.
That, plus the repeated shots of the cigarettes.... did you get it? Look! It's a cigarette! Remember? Like the other cigarette? If the whole season is this unsubtle I am going to quit very early.
Angela But wait, did she really kill herself? Then why was the guy with the fedora standing outside her building, watching the window, doing a crossword puzzle from a newspaper, just like the one that was left on the couch in her room?
August 18, 2011 at 10:50PM ESTI missed a lot because I can't understand the accents and the sound on my TV isn't good, so please forgive me if I seem naive.
But I thought that it was made to look like suicide, just as the killing was made to look like robbery.
I agree that the cigarette was a bit much. But to me it's a minor problem in an otherwise so far very watchable show, especially knowing this was the weakest episode of all. And with Idris Ebla announcing the show? You can bet I'll be watching the next Hour. :)
I just wish I had CC or the scripts so I could read the darn thing after I watch it.
berkowit28 Does your cable remote controller not have a "Settings"-type button on it. You should be able to find captions there. I was able to turn them on and they worked fine.
August 19, 2011 at 4:25AM ESTViginti Wait,captions? Surely none of the characters were that hard for you to understand; their accents were just that, an accentuation of clear English pronunciation and not stiff dialects such as those in Trainspotting or even In Bruges.
August 19, 2011 at 7:09AM ESTThat's like turning subtitles on for CSI:NY because some of the characters talk like they're from Brooklyn (Though of course the validity of these accents is entirely debatable.)
booyamachine definitely agree with Angela. Those crossword puzzle and mystery man in the shadow shots were as blatant as the cigarette shots. We were meant to believe that the hanging was a murder.
August 19, 2011 at 7:12AM ESTAngela Thanks, Berk. I'll check out the cable remote. My cable provider is very new and different than my old one. I've probably watched all of 8 hours with my new cable company so I'm still figuring out how it works. And CC never worked with my old cable company so I assumed it wouldn't be an option with this one. One should never assume. :)
August 19, 2011 at 12:42PM EST@ Vigin, If none of the characters were that hard for me to understand, I wouldn't have said they were. Granted the use of the word accents is debatable but I was simply trying to get a point across. I also said that the sound on my TV's not that good.
Angela @Berkowit, I just tried the cable CC option and it works! Thank you for your suggestion and assistance. What a difference it makes for me while watching certain shows. Yay!
August 19, 2011 at 1:29PM ESTDanny
August 19, 2011 at 10:20AM EST Reply to CommentI watched because of McNulty, but actually enjoyed Ben Whishaw much more. Also liked the character of Lix Storm. Ruth's fiance Adam looked very familiar and I finally realized he (Andrew Scott) had played John Adam's son-in-law on the HBO miniseries. Can someone explain to me what positions Douglas and Clarence hold on the show and/or its network. Also, what's the difference between MI5 and MI6?
Angela According to MI5′s website, MI5 is tasked with “protecting the UK, its citizens and interests, at home and overseas, against threats to national security†while MI6 is responsible for “gathering intelligence outside the UK in support of the government’s security, defence, foreign and economic policies.â€
August 19, 2011 at 1:01PM ESTIn a nutshell, Douglas is the director of programs on the BBC. Clarence is the Head of News who wants to make The Hour a reality. He's the the recruiter of Bel, Hector, et al. I took some of this information from the BBC Hour website that lists the characters. There aren't any spoilers from what I've seen. Here's the link.
: http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/444/clarence-fendley-anton-lesser.jsp
mike MI5 is the FBI, MI6 is the CIA. More or less.
August 20, 2011 at 12:00AM ESTSP
August 19, 2011 at 3:25PM EST Reply to CommentI enjoyed the show. Just wondering, is the BBC America version censored at all? I know Skins was censored.
Angela
August 20, 2011 at 9:44AM EST Reply to CommentTo weigh in on the first episode, I liked it. It's a big step above 99% of the other trash out there. The actors are excellent, the writing and dialog is thoughtful, the style of photography is unusual and well done.
There's stories within stories, and I bet if done right, we're going to have to actually think to understand them. I look forward to the next hour.
Sareeta
August 20, 2011 at 11:50AM EST Reply to CommentI enjoyed the 1st episode much more than all of season 1 of Mad Men. I think it looks great and I like all 3 lead characters. I actually like the murder mystery sub/sideplot, in some ways more than the newsroom stuff.
Angela I have a feeling they're trying to lay the groundwork for the newsroom stuff and will get more interesting too. That's my hope anyway.
August 21, 2011 at 7:54PM ESTTrilby
August 21, 2011 at 6:18PM EST Reply to CommentI tried it but wandered away after a while.