It's a good job I'm not really involved in The Hour, as I haven't watched tonight's episode yet. I was reading Tealady's post thinking "How does she know that? The others are much more observant than you, Parthena". Then it dawned
Even after that Bel still didn't seem to sympathise with the woman who is being cheated on, it's quite an unlikeable trait for her character. All she would say was how embarrassing it was for her.
I agree Chaplin was the stand out last night but I think Anna Chancellor is stealing the series.
I agree. Every time she's onscreen, I want her to stay.She's far more interesting than Bel. Th collection of photos she'd taken was a tantalising hint that she is worth a series of her own.
I really don't like Bel at all - her attitude to Freddy is totally " I-don't want-him-but-I-so-want-him-to-stay-devoted-to-ME-and-nobody-else-to-take-his-attention-away-from-ME" PITA !!!
Lix is fabulous though and has so much more gravitas.
I was discussing this series with friends in the pub last night, and we ALL agreed that it has been very disappointing indeed. The acting has been very wooden (Ben Wishaw is a favourite of mine, but totally unconvincing in this) and the whole story has been snoozeworthy. It also looks very low budget - the demonstration scenes this week were embarassing.
Way under par for the Beeb. Incidentally, why no mention of ITN, which had started by this time and giving the BBC it's first competition?
I think the last two epsiodes have been strung out, nothing much has happened in them. I've also found my mind's been drifting and I can't wait for the programme to be over. I'm gonna watch the last one but I don't know if they are going to tie up all loose ends or if the beeb are planning on bringing it back?
Can anyone just recap a few things for me from last night:
Was Ruth Elms a spy for the Russians or just a potential spy? The prof. who was killed at train station by Kish was also spy and also father to Ruth's unborn baby? But her family concocted the wedding with gay actor because of Peter Darrall being a spy? What are Lord & Lady Elms scared of and why is it significant that Freddie's name is on the list? Also I think Clarence is a bit dodgy and not Freddie's ally.
I think the last two epsiodes have been strung out, nothing much has happened in them. I've also found my mind's been drifting and I can't wait for the programme to be over. I'm gonna watch the last one but I don't know if they are going to tie up all loose ends or if the beeb are planning on bringing it back?
Can anyone just recap a few things for me from last night:
Was Ruth Elms a spy for the Russians or just a potential spy? The prof. who was killed at train station by Kish was also spy and also father to Ruth's unborn baby? But her family concocted the wedding with gay actor because of Peter Darrall being a spy? What are Lord & Lady Elms scared of and why is it significant that Freddie's name is on the list? Also I think Clarence is a bit dodgy and not Freddie's ally.
THE creator of 1950s BBC newsroom drama The Hour is planning a second series - despite falling ratings.
Writer Abi Morgan wants the show's next run to be set nine months after the first series.
I was discussing this series with friends in the pub last night, and we ALL agreed that it has been very disappointing indeed. The acting has been very wooden (Ben Wishaw is a favourite of mine, but totally unconvincing in this) and the whole story has been snoozeworthy. It also looks very low budget - the demonstration scenes this week were embarassing.
Way under par for the Beeb. Incidentally, why no mention of ITN, which had started by this time and giving the BBC it's first competition?
I was wondering about ITV too, and why it's not mentioned in the Hour. I was speaking about the show with a friend of mine yesterday. She said ITV started off as ATV. I looked it up, and she's right: ITV initially launched in London on 22 September 1955. It launched in the Midlands and the North of England in spring 1956. The Soviets invaded Budapest on 4 November 1955. So surely Freddie and his colleagues must be feeling some pressure from the new competition - particularly as it's commerical TV- but there was no mention of it at all on this week's episode or any of the previous ones.
My friend really loves the show and it's made her aware of how different things were during her childhood. She was about 2 when Suez happened. I was born and raised in the States- although I grew up in Miami where the climate and styles were very different than they were in 50s London I recognised a lot of the decor and the wallpaper in the sets this week.
I've seen a few films about Suez (Plenty, Ploughman's Lunch). I didn't know that there were demonstrations against Suez and Eden.
Thank you, McBrien:) Sorry I can't help with your questions. I'm as confused as you are. However, as ridiculous as it may sound, I thought that
Lord and Lady Elms were spies themselves who eventually betrayed their daughter as part of their honour and duty to their country (maybe?). I thought the Bright Stone list was a list of potential gals and boys who could defect to the USSR if persuaded. Peter had got to Ruth, and perhaps Ruth could have got to Freddie. And as for Clarence, god knows.
Please feel free to ignore the contents spoiler should you wish. 'Tis barmy anyway:)
Hmm, interetsing article from The Sun. Maybe that's the problem with The Hour - this fusion of big themed issues. It was something that had been circulating in my mind a couple of weeks ago. If not done very well, the writer ends up saying very little or nothing new at all about those times. Worse, it could simply leaving you cold.
This series is packed full of them: murder-mystery and espionage; a bludgeoning young working-class vs the elite (Freddie/Bel vs Hector); 1950's notions of feminism or what it means to a woman in the 50s (Bel, Lix, Bel's mother, Hector's wife); the rise of communism/cold war; the beginnings of a fledging TV and TV news industry in the guise of "The Hour" news programme... And yet I'm not sure if any of them have come across on screen as well as the writer intented.
Still, I don't know. For me, it's like what a few posters have said already on this thread: there's 'something' missing, though I can't quite put my finger on it. It has potential but it hasn't quite hit the mark. Perhaps it's a case of doing too much at once instead of using one or two themes as its basic canvas/background, and using that to paint/fill in the rest of its foreground/surrounding landscape. Sorry, it's the best (clumsily constucted) analogy I have to use at the moment.
It wouldn't have been hard to get the dialogue right, it should have been done in the script editing.
There were a few other things I noticed, like a 3-point seat belt in a 1950s car. It's not as if there aren't enough people around for them to ask for advice.
Given that a high proportion of the BBC's audience are advancing in years (despite them turning somersaults and spending a disproportionate amount of money to attract a "youf" audience) it would have been the least they could have done. Although I've enjoyed the series, you tend to get distracted when you spot the mistakes.
"Mad Men" was exactly right, I worked for an American company in the sixties and the office decor and furniture was very much the same as I remember it and the way women employees were treated.
Cant understand why theres not been more discussion of this tonight? Brilliant ending to the series and one of the best series BBC has produced for a long while IMO..
I think at the beginnning I said there was something missing for me that i couldnt put my finger on but I have to say its made up for hatever it was in spades
Im really pleased to hear there will be more commissioned .. I thought that was it..
Well that went out with a whimper exposing nothing but the self-conceit of the media thinking their tiny local problems are important or make great drama.
It wasn't a bad series but ultimately it disappointed considering the hype. Sorry to throw in another Man Men comparison, but it just didn't have the depth of characters and the quality of script that Mad Men does.
Cant understand why theres not been more discussion of this tonight? Brilliant ending to the series and one of the best series BBC has produced for a long while IMO..
I've not read through all of this thread but have to say I've just watched episode 3 and I'm really enjoying it. The acting has generally been good, as has the script, and the attention to period detail has rarely been off the mark. I'm looking forward to the last 3, which I will probably watch before the end of the week, and I hope it will be recommissioned with many of the same cast.
Thanks!
It shouldn't be necessary to buy a copy of RT. BBC website should have it clearly indicated (and I would also suggest that if there are no repeats, then that should be explicit).
Well that went out with a whimper exposing nothing but the self-conceit of the media thinking their tiny local problems are important or make great drama.
Really? I thought it was a highly satisfactory ending.
The various threads were all brought to a conclusion. There was enough left to base a second series on. There was tension, drama and some insights into the period it was set.
Bit of a lack lustre ending. I think the problem with having such an important historical event as a central part of the story is that your story can't have a big effect without being entirely sacrilegious.
Comments
I agree. Every time she's onscreen, I want her to stay.She's far more interesting than Bel. Th collection of photos she'd taken was a tantalising hint that she is worth a series of her own.
Lix is fabulous though and has so much more gravitas.
Way under par for the Beeb. Incidentally, why no mention of ITN, which had started by this time and giving the BBC it's first competition?
Can anyone just recap a few things for me from last night:
THE creator of 1950s BBC newsroom drama The Hour is planning a second series - despite falling ratings.
Writer Abi Morgan wants the show's next run to be set nine months after the first series.
see : http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/3759047/BBC-show-The-Hour-is-back-for-a-second-series.html
I was wondering about ITV too, and why it's not mentioned in the Hour. I was speaking about the show with a friend of mine yesterday. She said ITV started off as ATV. I looked it up, and she's right: ITV initially launched in London on 22 September 1955. It launched in the Midlands and the North of England in spring 1956. The Soviets invaded Budapest on 4 November 1955. So surely Freddie and his colleagues must be feeling some pressure from the new competition - particularly as it's commerical TV- but there was no mention of it at all on this week's episode or any of the previous ones.
My friend really loves the show and it's made her aware of how different things were during her childhood. She was about 2 when Suez happened. I was born and raised in the States- although I grew up in Miami where the climate and styles were very different than they were in 50s London I recognised a lot of the decor and the wallpaper in the sets this week.
I've seen a few films about Suez (Plenty, Ploughman's Lunch). I didn't know that there were demonstrations against Suez and Eden.
Thank you, McBrien:) Sorry I can't help with your questions. I'm as confused as you are. However, as ridiculous as it may sound, I thought that
Please feel free to ignore the contents spoiler should you wish. 'Tis barmy anyway:)
Hmm, interetsing article from The Sun. Maybe that's the problem with The Hour - this fusion of big themed issues. It was something that had been circulating in my mind a couple of weeks ago. If not done very well, the writer ends up saying very little or nothing new at all about those times. Worse, it could simply leaving you cold.
This series is packed full of them: murder-mystery and espionage; a bludgeoning young working-class vs the elite (Freddie/Bel vs Hector); 1950's notions of feminism or what it means to a woman in the 50s (Bel, Lix, Bel's mother, Hector's wife); the rise of communism/cold war; the beginnings of a fledging TV and TV news industry in the guise of "The Hour" news programme... And yet I'm not sure if any of them have come across on screen as well as the writer intented.
Still, I don't know. For me, it's like what a few posters have said already on this thread: there's 'something' missing, though I can't quite put my finger on it. It has potential but it hasn't quite hit the mark. Perhaps it's a case of doing too much at once instead of using one or two themes as its basic canvas/background, and using that to paint/fill in the rest of its foreground/surrounding landscape. Sorry, it's the best (clumsily constucted) analogy I have to use at the moment.
ETA: Good thread:)
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2028780/BBCs-The-Hour-scriptwriter-Abi-Morgan-admits-got-wrong-dialogue-jars.html#ixzz1Vlsr3mMT
There were a few other things I noticed, like a 3-point seat belt in a 1950s car. It's not as if there aren't enough people around for them to ask for advice.
Given that a high proportion of the BBC's audience are advancing in years (despite them turning somersaults and spending a disproportionate amount of money to attract a "youf" audience) it would have been the least they could have done. Although I've enjoyed the series, you tend to get distracted when you spot the mistakes.
"Mad Men" was exactly right, I worked for an American company in the sixties and the office decor and furniture was very much the same as I remember it and the way women employees were treated.
Im really pleased to hear there will be more commissioned .. I thought that was it..
Thoroughly enjoyed it!
a) When this is repeated
b) Why it's so hard to find out when repeats are on!
Cheers,
Alex
As for the programme, I was very disappointed with the final episode. I don't see how they could have a second series.
It shouldn't be necessary to buy a copy of RT. BBC website should have it clearly indicated (and I would also suggest that if there are no repeats, then that should be explicit).
Well acted, well shot but all rather forgettable in the end I think.
The various threads were all brought to a conclusion. There was enough left to base a second series on. There was tension, drama and some insights into the period it was set.
Ever heard of the BBC website? I found what you were looking for there, far quicker than posting on this forum!