The Hour (BBC 2)

JP Liz V1

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/jul/15/the-hour-bbc-newsroom-drama

A journalist slips some cash into the policeman's hand and minutes later is rifling through a dead man's pockets. Not the latest example of Fleet Street's rot but a detail from BBC2's new newsroom drama The Hour, set in 1956 as television journalism came of age.
"It's a really interesting time for the show to be broadcasting, although obviously I wasn't aware of the situation at the time," admits Abi Morgan, writer of The Hour. "We also have phone-tapping going on in our drama – although it's very different from the kind we're hearing about now."
With the Suez crisis as a backdrop, the stylish drama weaves thriller and newsroom drama together. It follows three news journalists – played by Dominic West, Romola Garai and Ben Whishaw – as they launch a groundbreaking new programme, The Hour, which aims to shrug off the constraints on television journalism at the time.
"In the late 50s, journalists felt very inhibited and penned in by the establishment, so the notion of The Hour was that it was a show where journalists could stand up and have an opinion," Morgan said.
But while journalism at the time had "a level of nobility" the writer's research also suggested that journalists paying off policeman did happen. "But it is fiction," she stressed. "The idea is that it's a great ride. I'm a storyteller, so my job is to tell a dramatic fiction."
Filmed through a fug of cigarette smoke, and focused on a media world stuffed with sharp-suited men and ambitious women, comparisons with the acclaimed US advertising drama Mad Men, set in same era, are inevitable.
But while spirits at lunchtime, sexism and stylish design are all very much in evidence, Morgan said there were also differences. "To be mentioned in the same sentence as Mad Men is an honour, but I think it has a different pace and energy to The Hour," she said. "I didn't think, 'I'd like to do a series like Mad Men,' I just thought it was an interesting place in history and I wanted to do a show that was set in a newsroom. Mad Men is an incredible, but different, show."
The Hour does, however, have its own Peggy Olson-style pioneering female in the shape of producer Bel Rowley, played by Garai, who also starred in the BBC2 adaptation of The Crimson Petal and the White earlier this year.
Rowley takes her reference points from Grace Wyndham Goldie, who became head of BBC news and current affairs, introduced innovative television formats and was instrumental in the careers of broadcasters such as Robin Day and David Frost. "I was very interested in the women of that time. My mother is of that generation and there were these incredibly brilliant, intelligent women who, because of the time, had to battle to get noticed," she said.
Morgan has had practice when it comes to determined women – she has also written the script for the forthcoming Phyllida Lloyd biopic The Iron Lady, which stars Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher. While she would not be drawn on her politics, Morgan said she had enjoyed writing about the former prime minister. "It was fantastic to write her. She's an incredible, iconic woman and it was exciting to be able to examine someone like that and try to find the dramatic art for that," she said.
"I was aware of her growing up and it's interesting for me to go back in time and get a stronger sense maybe of the pressures, of the demands on a woman running the country and the verve of the woman to do what's she's done."
The Hour is part of a tranche of shows to have benefited from increased funding for BBC2 drama, an additional £10m a year for three years. They include the Hugo Blick thriller The Shadow Line, a classy adaptation of Michael Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White and The Night Watch, broadcast this week, which starred Anna Maxwell Martin and Claire Foy.
The Hour, which begins on Tuesday, will be broadcast as six one-hour episodes. Morgan, whose acclaimed work includes Sex Traffic and Royal Wedding, is keen to secure a second series. "What would be really exciting would be to come back into another big news story," she said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InILSU-ZV9M

Starts on 19th of July at 9pm

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I'm excited about this one as I am a big fan of Romola Garai. I was disappointed with Crimson Petal earlier in the year, but this one looks so much better.
I don't get the Mad Men comparisons, other than it's set in the same era, but that's like comparing it to Eastenders because they're both set in London.

mike65

Lazy journo shocker!

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I really enjoyed the first episode. No idea at all what's going on with the murder and all that, but I still enjoyed it. It's very well made as well. BBC are making some great shows lately.

mike65

I was a bit underwhelmed, there seemed to be more effort to make it look authentic (not too mention that overly "jazz" score) rather than work on good dialogue and getting the "conspiracy" plot meld with the BBC based story. Yer mans hair was also distracting!

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

mike65 wrote: »

I was a bit underwhelmed, there seemed to be more effort to make it look authentic (not too mention that overly "jazz" score) rather than work on good dialogue and getting the "conspiracy" plot meld with the BBC based story. Yer mans hair was also distracting!

I chalk that up to them having a lot of setting up to get out of the way in the first episode. Hopefully things will come together more as it goes on.

FouxDaFaFa

Not quite sure what to make of it yet, will wait for a few more episodes to air to give it a chance to get into a rhythm. I did get a bit of an air of smugness from it for some reason, I think it was the background music. On the positive side, the murder plot is interesting.

expectationlost

i thought it was very good

conno16

i'm enjoying this
top show
well done bbc

Hippo

Very disappointed with this. It looks nice it's not sure what kind of show it wants to be and the central journo character is completely unbelievable.

emeraldstar

Yeah, I find it a bit dull, if I'm honest.

SVG

I thought this week's episode was the best so far- it was good to get away from the tv studio. I think it's more successful as a light espionage drama than a serious look at journalism in the fifties but perhaps the two elements will come together better as it goes on. I'm still not sure why everyone is in thrall to Bel and the frequent out-of-nowhere references to events in America are a little clunky but there's enough to keep me watching.

conno16

is it on at any other time than late thursdays?

i'm definitely getting the boxset anyways, missed the first episode

SVG

conno16 wrote: »

is it on at any other time than late thursdays?

9pm Tuesdays BBC2

conno16

ah ffs..
they need to advertise things a little better
and showing it twice in two days is a bit ridiculous too

hector and bel are both plausible
i find the freddie stuff a bit nuts though
and i wish they'd concentrate more on the show

conno16

another powerhouse episode last night
gripping stuff
apparently seasons 2/3 are being prepped
most of the stars have signed up
season 2 will see hector moving into politics

mike65

You seem to be rather more impressed than me. the dialogue is horridly clunky, every time Freddie opens his mouth a speech comes out, they killed of the most intriguing character last week and the attempts to evoke "1950s" are rather laid on.

BlaasForRafa

The parts of it concentrating on the production and running of the Hour are by far the most interesting bits. The struggles with the upper levels of the bbc and the foreign office rang pretty true.

However the whole murder/gay/suicide/whatever plot felt clunky and tacked on. The concept of running a mould-breaking tv show in stuffy 1950's england is strong enough without having the kim philby-esque spy plot shoved in as well.

conno16

ok

expectationlost

a frustrating ending but i was intrigued, thought it justified itself in the end, it got renewed but how could they carry on after that?

emeraldstar

Oh no, they renewed it?

JP Liz V1

From Digital Spy

Hannah Tointon and Tom Burke have been added to the cast of BBC Two's Abi Morgan-penned drama series The Hour.
The duo join The Thick of It star Peter Capaldi, who was confirmed as a new cast member for series two earlier today.
Romola Garai, Dominic West, Ben Whishaw, Anna Chancellor and Julian Rhind-Tutt will all return for the second run of the 1950s newsroom drama, which picked up warm critical praise for its first outing in the summer.
Tointon (The Inbetweeners) is cast as a club hostess who catches the eye of Hector Madden (West), while Tom Burke (State of Play) will play an industry rival and love interest for Bel Rowley (Garai). Capaldi plays Randall Brown, a new eccentric head of news at the BBC.
The six new episodes will feature the broadcast team "deeply embroiled in cover-ups, sexual intrigues and the resurgence of Mosley's fascism" and will have the "looming spectre of the Cold War" as its backdrop.
Filming started earlier this week in London and the second series is expected to air in summer 2012.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Any word on when the 2nd series will air? Was supposed to be shown in the summer but I think they moved it back because of the Olympics. I saw it on the BBC Drama adverts they played continuously during the Olympics, but no date.

brian_t

The Hour series 2 is expected on 12 November 2012

The Hour season 2 is coming out on the 12th November. Boom!

https://twitter.com/OonaCC 8 Oct

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

^Only about 4 months after it was supposed to be back. Better late then never.

emeraldstar

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Better late than never.

Disagree. I thought it was awful shite. I watched it at first as it seemed like the type of thing I normally like. Unsure whether or not I'll give it a shot this time round. Probably not.

FloatingVoter

I'll give it a chance. It may have learnt from its mistakes.

brian_t

Starts on Wednesday 14th November at 9.00pm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00wkgxw

Richard Dower

first episode of season 2 is out, not seen this myself but the lead actress was superb in another bbc drama i saw last year.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Finally got around to watching the new episode tonight. Liked it a lot. Quite a bit of setting up done for the rest of the series but I like the idea of the main story they're chasing being gangland crime. Much more interesting then last years weirdly drawn out spy thing.

Richard Dower wrote: »

first episode of season 2 is out, not seen this myself but the lead actress was superb in another bbc drama i saw last year.

Romola Garai? I've been a fan of her since I saw her in Daniel Deronda years ago on the BBC. She was fantastic in their adaptation of Emma a few years ago too. Was it The Crimson Petal & The White that you watched last year? I didn't enjoy that much, but she was no doubt the best thing about it.

expectationlost

after watching the first few eps of the newsroom this reminded me of the worst of it, a women in near hysterics because a man, and the writers being able to write themselves a slam dunk story, ah but but no it was good, it was interesting to see boy genuis change news by going for the story and theirfore revealing it before the show.

Richard Dower

Damn!....cancelled; http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-02-12/the-hour-axed-by-bbc2

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Not surprised to be honest. 2nd series wasn't a patch on the first. They randomly decided to make Freddie the centre of attention but forgot to make him interesting or vaguely likable. They wasted the character of Belle and the talents of Garai playing her. I struggled to even finish the 2nd series.

Cosmic Maybe

Really disappointed that the BBC have decided to cancel this. What makes it worse was that there were so many loose ends after the last series. I don't think the writers were expecting it to get the axe, especially when you consider its was nominated for several Baftas and Golden Globes.

pinkypinky

It's particularly a shame when it obviously came out of the blue based on ratings. The writers would never have left it hanging like that if they expected this to be the last series.

expectationlost

wasn't perfect but it was good

Cliona99

I really, really liked The Hour, and I can't believe it's been cancelled! Especially after the way it ended.

There was a petition started on Tuesday if you're interested:

http://www.atvtoday.co.uk/p26569/

brian_t

Peter Capaldi has hinted that The Hour could return for a one-off special.

The BBC newsroom drama was dropped after two series, but Capaldi claimed at last night's (May 12) BAFTA Television Awards that a final episode could be in the works.

http://www.digitalspy.ie/tv/s177/the-hour/news/a481019/the-hour-to-return-for-one-off-special.html#ixzz2TGUDze00

Currently watching it again on DVD. It would be good to have some closure to the second series.

Alfred Borden

Just finished this, what a brilliant show. How on earth was this cancelled???

expectationlost

abi morgan been busy writing movies about the ladies charles dickens was eh dicken and a suffragette movie, no more tv from her at the mo.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

expectationlost wrote: »

abi morgan been busy writing movies about the ladies charles dickens was eh dicken and a suffragette movie, no more tv from her at the mo.

Actually she is writing a TV series for BBC about a detective who's haunted by the past or something. She talked about it on the South Bank show special that was on Sky Arts recently.