like there was a chance I wouldn't love this

[ariadnes_string]

So, needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed The Hour (linking you to imdb so you can see the cast list), the six-part BBC series on this summer about producing a news hour during the Suez Crisis in 1956. No surprise: set something in England with any date between 1945 and 1960 in front of it, and I’m there. Plus, it had a fabulous cast, gorgeous

Comments

[linaerys]

I'm definitely going to take a look at this. I love Burn Gorman also, but I hear he's not well-used here.

[ariadnes_string]

It's well worth a look, for the clothes alone! I had some quibbles about the plotting and characterization, but was totally swept along by the acting and awesome period set pieces--smoky clubs! country house weekends with shooting parties!

I've never seen Burn Gorman in anything else--is he from Torchwood?--but no, his character isn't particularly well-served in this :(

[marysutherland]

I see Bel and Freddie as a very brother/sister relationship - they've known each other so long that they see each other as playmates more than adults. When Bel goes to talk to Freddie in the bath, for example, that doesn't feel sexual at all. There's also the question of the extent to which Freddie was really in love with Ruth Elms.

I was disappointed by Bel's character generally, but I think Abi Morgan did do something more interesting with the relations between Freddie, her and Hector than I expected. It looked like it was being set up to be a 1956 version of the Broadcast News triangle, but Hector isn't just a pretty face. The bit where he explains why he got into broadcasting, for example, was very good.

There have been a lot of complaints on discussion boards about Freddie's chip on the shoulder manner, but I thought that went quite well with it being 1956 and him being one of the Angry Young Men.

[ariadnes_string]

Yeah, that definitely seems a plausible way to think about it. Especially from her perspective--she doesn't seem to think of him sexually at all (loved the way that scene ended with them brushing their teeth together!). He seems to pine for her, though--especially in that scene at the nightclub, where he's devastated when Hector shows up

[marysutherland]

If you're interested to see UK reactions, there's been a lot about it in the Guardian, including an episode by episode blog. A lot of people have been comparing Bel unfavourably to Lix, which seems entirely justified.

It's hard to tell how much Freddie feels for Bel. Yes, he does seem unhappy in the nightclub. But in episode 5, when he comes round to Bel's to find Hector there, he doesn't seem envious at all, all he cares about is discussing the show. Maybe the OTP is really Freddie/Investigative Journalism (which might also explain Lix's appeal to him).

[ariadnes_string]

oh yeah, Freddie is much more in love with finding the truth than he is (or probably could be) with Bel or anybody else, absolutely. Which could be the reason Bel can't be attracted to him.

Still some pining, tho'. See, I read him as having some cock-blocking joy in breaking in on Bel and Hector in that scene--like when he suggests he sleep on the sofa--though he's good natured about it.

Oh, and Lix is 300 kinds of awesome! Bel can't compare with that--I will take a look at the Guardian blogs.