The Hour (2011 TV series): Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 03:59, 7 December 2012
| The Hour | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Period drama |
| Created by | Abi Morgan |
| Written by | Abi Morgan |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Daniel Giorgetti |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Jane Featherstone, Derek Wax, Abi Morgan, Lucy Richer |
| Producer | Ruth Kenley-Letts |
| Running time | 59 minutes |
| Production company | Kudos Film and Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Two, BBC HD |
| Release | 19 July 2011 – present |
| Release | List of The Hour episodes |
| Release | List of The Hour episodes |
| Release | List of The Hour episodes |
| Release | List of The Hour episodes |
| Release | List of The Hour episodes |
| Release | List of The Hour episodes |
The Hour is a 2011 BBC drama series, starring Ben Whishaw, Dominic West and Romola Garai, with a supporting cast including Tim Pigott-Smith, Juliet Stevenson, Burn Gorman, Anton Lesser, Anna Chancellor, Julian Rhind-Tutt and Oona Chaplin. It was written by Abi Morgan (also one of the executive producers, alongside Jane Featherstone and Derek Wax). The series centres on a new current-affairs show being launched by the BBC in June 1956, at the time of the Suez Crisis.
The series premiered on BBC Two and BBC HD from 19 July 2011 each Tuesday at 9 pm.[1][2] Each episode lasts 60 minutes, with Ruth Kenley-Letts as producer and Coky Giedroyc as lead director. It was commissioned by Janice Hadlow, Controller, BBC Two, and Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning and produced by Kudos Film and Television.
Following the airing of the final episode of the first series, it was announced that a second series had been commissioned, which is co-produced by American network BBC America.[3] It was shown beginning on 14 November 2012 in the UK, and on 28 November 2012 in the United States.
Major cast
- Ben Whishaw as Freddie Lyon
- Dominic West as Hector Madden
- Romola Garai as Bel Rowley
- Anton Lesser as Clarence Fendley
- Julian Rhind-Tutt as Angus McCain
- Joshua McGuire as Isaac Wengrow
- Lisa Greenwood as Sissy Cooper
- Anna Chancellor as Lix Storm
- Peter Capaldi as Randall Brown (Series 2)
- Kelly-Jayne Adams as Alice the PA
- Burn Gorman as Thomas Kish
- Juliet Stevenson as Lady Elms
- Tim Pigott-Smith as Lord Elms
- Andrew Scott as Adam Le Ray
- Oona Castilla Chaplin as Marnie Madden
Plot
In the autumn of 1956, Freddie Lyon (Ben Whishaw) is a reporter unhappy with his job producing newsreels for the BBC. Desperate to get onto television, which he feels offers greater immediacy, Freddie is unaware that his best friend Bel Rowley (Romola Garai) has been selected by their mentor Clarence Fendley (Anton Lesser) to produce a new news magazine, the titular "The Hour". Rowley selects experienced war correspondent Lix Storm (Anna Chancellor) to head the foreign desk for the programme, leaving Freddie to run domestic news, a position which he considers inferior. For anchor of the programme, Clarence selects the handsome and patrician Hector Madden (Dominic West). They are joined by Thomas Kish (Burn Gorman), a mysterious and taciturn translator for the BBC who helps them cover the developing Suez Crisis.
As the team struggles to put the show together, Freddie is approached by Ruth Elms, the daughter of a member of the House of Lords who had employed Freddie's mother. She asks him to look into the murder of Peter Darrall (Jamie Parker), a college professor whom she knew. Soon after, Freddy finds her dead in her hotel room, an apparent suicide.
As the Suez Crisis escalates, the production team strives to report on British involvement in the crisis, despite pressure from the administration and in particular Angus McCain (Julian Rhind-Tutt) to present a sanitised narrative for the public. Freddie becomes more and more convinced that Peter Darrall and Ruth Elms were killed for some sinister reason. He discovers a secret message that Darrall tried to pass on before he was murdered "revert to Brightstone" and finds a movie reel depicting Ruth, Darrall, and Thomas Kish on holiday together. When confronted, Kish intimates that the government is behind the murder of Darrall and Elms, but he is killed in a struggle with Freddie before he can learn much more. Bel begins an affair with Hector. Hector's wife, Marnie (Oona Castilla Chaplin) finds out, telling Bel that she wasn't the first woman to have been with him since they married. After Clarence tells Bel that the affair threatens to ruin her career and damage the show, she calls it off.
As the Suez Crisis flares into armed conflict, Freddie learns that Darrall had been a communist spy and had been involved in a program to recruit bright and susceptible young people, referred to as "Bright Stones" to the Soviet cause. Ruth had been one of these Bright Stones and Kish had been sent by MI6 to keep tabs on them. Freddie also discovers he himself is marked as a "Bright Stone". As British troops move to seize the Suez Canal, Freddy does a live interview of Lord Elms, Ruth's father, who denounces the government. However, as the interview goes out Clarence, at the insistence of higher-ups in the government, orders it to be taken off air halfway through the show. Bel is then fired by the BBC and Freddie confronts Clarence, who tells him that he had put him on the Bright Stone list, and that he is a communist spy. He then tells Freddie to run this information as a news story. Freddie leaves the studio with Bel, telling her that they have a story to write.
Episode list
Series 1 (2011)
| No. | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.K viewers (million)[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Episode 1" | Coky Giedroyc | Abi Morgan | 19 July 2011 | 2.99 |
| 2 | 2 | "Episode 2" | Coky Giedroyc | Abi Morgan | 26 July 2011 | 2.02 |
| 3 | 3 | "Episode 3" | Harry Bradbeer | Abi Morgan | 2 August 2011 | 1.92 |
| 4 | 4 | "Episode 4" | Harry Bradbeer | Abi Morgan | 9 August 2011 | 1.86 |
| 5 | 5 | "Episode 5" | Jamie Payne | Abi Morgan | 16 August 2011 | 1.67 |
| 6 | 6 | "Episode 6" | Jamie Payne | Abi Morgan | 23 August 2011 | 1.86 |
Series 2 (2012)
| No. | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.K viewers (million)[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "Episode 1" | Sandra Goldbacher | Abi Morgan | 14 November 2012 | 1.68 |
| 8 | 2 | "Episode 2" | Sandra Goldbacher | Abi Morgan | 21 November 2012 | 1.12[5] |
| 9 | 3 | "Episode 3" | Catherine Morshead | Nicole Taylor | 28 November 2012 | 1.06 |
| 10 | 4 | "Episode 4" | Catherine Morshead | George Kay | 5 December 2012 | 0.965 |
| 11 | 5 | "Episode 5" | Jamie Payne | Abi Morgan | 12 December 2012 | TBA |
| 12 | 6 | "Episode 6" | Jamie Payne | Abi Morgan | 13 December 2012[6] | TBA |
Reception
Critical reception of the first episode was mixed, with Sam Wollaston of The Guardian expressing scepticism over a popular comparison with Mad Men, calling the episode a "slower starter" and "a bit of hotchpotch – Drop the Dead Donkey meets Spooks", but overall stating that "there's enough intrigue there to whet the appetite for more".[7] However, AA Gill in The Sunday Times called it "Self satisfied guff" with "a script that would shame a Bruce Willis movie" and Michael Deacon of The Telegraph criticised it as "an exercise in upbraiding the past for failing to live up to the politically correct ideals of the 21st century", although he praised Morgan's writing and concluded by stating "I wouldn't want to give up on The Hour too soon".[2] Even so, there were some criticisms of the script as being insufficiently strong[8] with the show's writer Abi Morgan admitting some lines "haven't worked".[9]
The show was well received in its American premiere on BBC America, receiving an 81 on Metacritic, indicating "Universal Acclaim".[10] Reviewing it for The New Yorker magazine, Nancy Franklin wrote that it is "almost absurdly gratifying. With its casting, its look, its unfolding mysteries, its attention to important historical events, its sexiness, "The Hour" hits every pleasure center."[11] In the full printed version of the same article, she adds "[It is] as if it were a space containing chocolate, gold, a book you've always wanted to read, your favorite music, and the love of your life, who desires you unceasingly."[12]
Former founder member of ITN Lynne Reid Banks criticized the series for putting a more recent modus operandi into a period of 1950s.[13][14]
Awards and nominations
The series has been nominated for three Golden Globe Awards.
| Award | Category | Recipients | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film | Dominic West | Nominated | |
| Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film | Romola Garai | Nominated |
International broadcast
- In the United States, this programme commenced screening on BBC America from 17 August 2011 each Wednesday at 10 pm E/P (9pm C) in the Dramaville timeslot.[15]
- In Australia, this programme commenced screening on ABC1 from 21 November 2011 each Monday at 8:30 pm with episode one and two combined into a première movie-length airing.[16]
- In Sweden, this programme commenced screening on SVT1 from 10 August 2011 each Wednesday at 9:30 pm.[17]
- In Canada and Latin America, this programme became available through Netflix in January 2012.[18]
- In the Middle East, this series has been acquired by MBC to screen at a date and channel yet to be announced.[20]
- In South Africa, this series has been acquired by M-Net to screen at a date and channel yet to be announced.[20]
References
- ^ "The Hour: introduction". BBC Press Office. 4 July 2011.
- ^ a b Deacon, Michael (19 July 2011). "The Hour, BBC Two, Episode 1, Review – Michael Deacon Isn't Convinced by the BBC's New Drama Series, Set in a 1950s Newsroom, That's Being Touted as the British Mad Men". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ^ Conlan, Tara (27 August 2011). "BBC2's The Hour to Return for Second Series – Channel's Controller Reveals 50s Drama Will Be Back, and Says There Are No Plans to Scrap Newsnight". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ^ a b "Weekly Viewing Summary (see relevant week)". BARB.
- ^ Millar, Paul (22 November 2012). "'I'm a Celebrity' stays above 9 million mark on Wednesday". Digital Spy. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
- ^ "UK TV listing". Radio Times. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
- ^ Wollaston, Sam (19 July 2011). "TV Review: The Hour – The Hour Isn't a British Mad Men – All It Has in Common Is Smoking and Drinking". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ^ For example, A. A. Gill in the Sunday Times, 24 July 2011
- ^ Graham, Georgia (22 August 2011). "She's on It: Scriptwriter of The Hour Admits Some Lines 'Haven't Worked' – Abi Morgan Responds to Charges of Linguistic Anachronism in 1950s-Era BBC Drama". The Independent. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ^ "The Hour (UK)". Metacritic.
- ^ Franklin, Nancy. "On Television: Empire State of Mind – The World of the BBC in the Fifties". The New Yorker. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ^ [1]. The New Yorker.
- ^ The Hour is a travesty of 50s TV news, Lynne Reid Banks, The Guardian, 24 July 2011
- ^ The Hour: season one, episode two, Rebecca Nicholson, The Guardian, 26 July 2011
- ^ "BBC America Program Details: The Hour". BBC America Media Room. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- ^ "ABC1 Programming Airdate: The Hour (episode one)". ABC Television Publicity. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- ^ "Thunmans TV-Blogg: BBC-snackisen The Hour till SVT i augusti". Thunmans TV-Blogg. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
- ^ Press release (5 December 2011). "Media Alert - Critically-acclaimed series, The Hour, debuts on Netflix". Canada Newswire. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ^ "VOX: The Hour". TVNorge Press. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
- ^ a b Pickard, Michael (30 March 2012). "The Hour comes for Shine Int'l". C21Media. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
External links
- The Hour at IMDb
- Raphael, Amy (29 June 2011). "Ben Whishaw: Hold the front page – Ben Whishaw Is Putting the Poets and Dreamers Behind Him, and Playing a Ruthless 1950s Hack – He Talks to Amy Raphael About Roles, Trolls – and What Gets Him Angry". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- Godwin, Richard (29 June 2011). "Romola Garai on Sex and Power Games". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- Youler, Emma (20 July 2011). "Hornsey Town Hall Star of New BBC Newsroom Drama". london24.com. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
- Sutcliffe, Tom (20 July 2011). "Last Night's TV - The Hour, BBC2; Britain Through a Lens: the Documentary Film Mob, BBC4 – They Made the Real News of the World". The Independent. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
