The Hour

BBC 2, Tuesdays, 9pm
Also available on iPlayer

The Hour is BBC2’s spicy new drama, set in a weekly 1950s BBC News programme that bears a passing resemblance to Panorama. And boy has it riled the first producer of Panorama, Michael Peacock, who wrote to the Times to call its portrayal of his show “a travesty”.

He’s right – it is wildly inaccurate – but I don’t care, and neither should you. The Hour is an excellent diversion from modern life, focused as it does on the more glamorous parts of ‘50s society. The plot contains plenty of murder, sex and intrigue. Following the death of a debutante, a young reporter called Lyons starts to uncover a conspiracy that goes right to the heart of the governing elite.

There are some drawbacks, not least that Lyons is an irritant. We’re constantly told by other characters that he’s brilliant, but he never seems to do any work. Worse, he wanders around the office constantly whingeing about anything and everything.
Much better are the female characters. The real star is the smart, sassy, scotch-swilling, chain-smoking stereotype of a foreign affairs correspondent. She wisely points out that Lyons’ story is nowhere near as important as the Suez crisis, which just happens to be unfolding at the same time. If only the writers had taken her advice, this show would be even better.

Another great character is Bel, the producer. Peacock was particularly unhappy about this, huffily stating that “the idea that women were in the vanguard of Lime Grove journalism is mistaken”. Oh, do be quiet Michael, it’s not a documentary. Never mind inaccuracy: wouldn’t it be great for a show to similarly sex-up the civil service?

television, review, culture

Last updated 281 days ago by Civil Service World