This is a great miniseries drama, and I really enjoyed it. It
takes place in the 1950's in Britian and is about a new TV news show called "The
Hour" that focuses on political and other important news of the day..
Apparently, before this type of show, they mostly had newsreels and focused on
human interest or society stories.
The main characters are Freddie and Bel. Freddie is a young, edgy news guy who
wants to do the real news. Bel is the news producer. Freddie is in love with Bel,
but they don't have any real relationship beyond friendship. They hire a
handsome news reader named Hector, and Bel becomes involved with him. On that
level, this is a great tale of love and friendship.
The show is also about how Freddie doggedly tries to uncover the true behind his
friend Ruth's death. It involves spies and a government conspiracy. They do a
good job of weaving the personal and the spy stories together in the 1950's
setting.
The DVD has two main features. One featurette looks at how the show was put
together, and another takes us behind the scenes with the actors, who do a lot
of commenting. Both were very entertaining. They clearly put a lot of work into
the show's visual aspects, especially the sets.
People keep comparing this to "Mad Men", but they really have nothign in common
except that both are very well-written.
The
Blu-ray version doesn't seem to have anything more than the regular DVD
version, from what I could figure out...
More Info:
The Hour is an intriguing, sexy and original, edge-of-your-seat
spy thriller set in the world of television journalism in 1956. Set behind the
scenes of the BBC newsroom, just as an investigative news program is launched,
the drama plots the personal lives, professional interplay and jealous ambition
between aspiring but renegade journalist Freddie Lyon (Whishaw), the beautiful
ambitious young producer Bel Rowley (Garai) with whom he is in love, and his
handsome rival Hector Madden (West), the face and lead anchorman of this rising
television news team. The two-disc DVD set includes two featurettes: a
behind-the-scenes look at the miniseries, a making of special and much more.
Official Site:
o http://bit.ly/noJs2Z
Episode Clips:
o http://youtu.be/Ca-HZ6aB4w0
o http://youtu.be/Wt6-ajTiKwQ
Synopsis:
Set behind the scenes of the BBC newsroom, just as an investigative news program is launched,
the drama plots the personal lives, professional interplay and jealous ambition between aspiring
but renegade journalist Freddie Lyon (Whishaw), the beautiful ambitious young producer Bel
Rowley (Garai) with whom he is in love, and his handsome rival Hector Madden (West), the face
and lead anchorman of this rising television news team. The Hour plays out as a riveting thriller
set against the backdrop of the Cold War.
Viewers witness the decade on the threshold of change – from the ruthless sexual politics
behind the polite social façade of the ‘50s to the revelations that redefined the world for a new
generation. Over the six episodes, the interplay and intense ambitions between the rising news
team plays out against the backdrop of a mysterious murder and Freddie's controversial and
dangerous investigation.
Back to the Main Primetime TV Page
