"The Hours" BBC Two Drama

[groovydavidii]

Did any member enjoy "The Hours" much as I, it was BBC drama at its very best. Plot aside, those scenarios of early behind the camera studio broadcasts covering the Suez/Hungary events were gripping viewing, surely "The Hours" deserves a second series with the same team.

[DracoM]

Last epi was VG. As usual Anton Lesser totally but totally stole the show. an object lesson.

[Nick Armstrong]

Indeed: http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...-piece-of-work!

Haven't watched the final one yet. Please no spoilers....

[Pabmusic]

Yes, I enjoyed it very much. The story was (almost) believable, although that didn't matter in the end, since the atmosphere of the thing hooked me. It was in the tradition of books such as Never Come Back, by John Mair, and was right up my street because of it. The cast was good and enough was left open for another series to explore. I hope that happens.

I couldn't help seeing Elgar every time Tim Pigott-Smith showed a profile, even if the nose isn't quite big enough!

[Norfolk Born]

I enjoyed 'The Hours'. For me, the star of Stephen Daldrey's 2002 film was Meryl Streep, although Nicole Kidman was also good. Wish I could say the same of the 2011 BBC drama 'The Hour'.

[Nick Armstrong]

I enjoyed 'The Hours'. For me, the star of Stephen Daldrey's 2002 film was Meryl Streep, although Nicole Kidman was also good. Wish I could say the same of the 2011 BBC drama 'The Hour'.

I like your style, Ofca. Sneaky but accurate...

We really do need to get the AA thread going again, to occupy razor-sharp brains...

[Mr Pee]

Perhaps the OP is echoing my own feeling- that each hour long episode of The Hour seemed to drag on for hours...and hours...and hours......

[Nick Armstrong]

Perhaps the OP is echoing my own feeling- that each hour long episode of The Hour seemed to drag on for hours...and hours...and hours......

And yet you kept watching?

[BetweenTheStaves]

I agree...first rate drama.

[Mr Pee]

And yet you kept watching?

I gave up after a couple of episodes. Life's too short.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

then how do you know about the last four episodes .... a short attention span is an unsound platform for such sweeping assertions as are your custom Mr Pee

[Stillhomewardbound]

Watched the whole thing and while it was, at times, gripping, the final denouement was most week. Too often, it manage to detract from it's absurd efforts at creating the period in which the drama was set. Here's just a few instances:

** Bells have never been rung in television studios. They are used on large soundstages in film studios to alert the many personnel that a take is in progress and silence is required, but not in television, least of all in a live broadcast environment.

** Countdowns would be called by intercom from the gallery by the PA, heard only by the floor manager who would do the silent hand signal stuff. As for her doing a Ted Rogers in the gallery where no one could see her anyway. Piffle.

** Not even the biggest maverick would have been permitted to appear in front of the cameras with tie undone. It was 1956 for freaks sake. Residents in Mayfair and Belgravia were still dressing for dinner of an evening.

** A reporter cutting and splicing footage? They had an editor to do that, and a union to ensure that only he did so.

** The plug pulled on a live BBC current affairs? Did that ever take place? I'm not aware of an instance and as for the creepy government man practically being camped out in the studios. As if. These chaps had clubs to go to of an evening and if they wanted to watch the television they'd pop down to the pantry and watch it on the servant's set.

** And where was the bakelite?? All the phones were plastic and only set to make their debut in 1959: http://www.samhallas.co.uk/collection/bits_706.htm ... and a pulse dialing tone. Perrrrlease!!!

'But it's only a fictional drama', someone cries. Fine then, set it on the Planet Zob. There's no shortage of behind-the-scenes footage and stills for this early broadcasting era and the production designers would have done a much more effective job adhering to that spirit rather then painting some subgrade.

It's not all bad news from me and I will happily signal out a number of excellent performances ... Tim Piggott Smith and Juliet Stevenson, the ever dependable Anton Lesser (especially good in The Politician's Wife), Anna Chancellor as Lix who genuinely felt of the period and Oona Chaplin who came into her own in the last two episodes.

[teamsaint]

I was under the impression that it was The BBC doing a drama about the BBC, and so didnt bother as I
thought it would be self indulgent and tedious.
guess i was wrong?

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

er no teamsaint not if you read the original thread many posters think it a poor show all round!

[Stunsworth]

I enjoyed it, but there were lots of mistakes, both in language and props. For example, when Freddie went to visit the dead man's widow the houses had modern UHF TV ariels, not the old 'X' or 'I-I-I' shaped ones. It would have been easy to shoot that scene without showing the rooftops, so perhaps it was a lack of attention to detail - or the director sisn't know that they had changed shape. I'm sure the phones in the office were from the 60s too. The character of Bel was totally unconvincing as someone in charge of a programme like that, I would have expected someone who was much less of a wimp letting her staff get away with murder.

The 'horse race' in the final episode fell totally flat. The build up to it was over a couple of episodes and in the end the anticipation was better than what was shown.

However, after saying all that, I enjoyed the series, it was a drama not a history lesson.