The Hour

  

The Hour, aired recently on BBC is a thriller revolving around broadcast news during the cold war. Dominic West, whom I know from The Wire is smarmy but not in a hot way (like Craig Montgomery on As the World Turns was) and he's just bearable enough to dismiss while watching. Part of it is his acting style, as in I don't see much of it and part of it is his character who isn't likable. The star for me is Ben Whishaw who was creepy as all get out in Perfume but is amazing in his role as Freddie Lyons. He looks almost too young to play the role of this tenacious journalist but somehow embodies the character perfectly with the help of the period clothing which really works for him. Burn Gorman (Owen from Torchwood) is very creepy in this series and he does it well, not that I doubted his abilities from what I've seen of his last series in Torchwood. Although the show is about this new type of news show at the source it's a thriller which is nicely put together to not overpower the narrative but keep you intrigued just the same. What this series really has going for it is the writing. It reminds me a lot of Aaron Sorkin's work, very fast paced with a lot of dialogue. It's a constant stream, mostly from Freddie and it's intelligent. The production value is high and the aesthetics of the show are well done especially in getting the feel of the period.

With the film premier of Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy next week this seems to be a new trend towards thrillers. A move away from the supernatural possibly but with no indication of how long it will last, however, the BBC has commissioned a second series of The Hour so it's possible the trend will stick at least for a little while. Whether or not its a trend that sticks around, I'll be looking forward to the second series, even with Dominic West.