Mr__Underhill How do I define fluff? To me it is a show that isn't funny enough to make me laugh, yet the characters are too shallow and stereotypical to make me want to take it seriously.Hotel Babylon tries to poke fun at the "lifestyles of the rich and famous" but to me ends up cranking out more of the same politically correct caricatures that that are rampant in Hollywood-style sitcoms.Perhaps this is what Seinfeld would have been like if it was void of humor and had a hidden agenda of bluntly preaching overly cliché morals in each episode.I'm also noticing a trend that all British series today seem obsessed with the idea that no day ever goes by without some man committing a major sexual offense, and that it is the duty of a TV show to constantly remind people about it in every episode as a kind of public service announcement, even if the show is supposed to be a comedy.

TheEmulator23 This is an Good not great BBC show that has some of the best looking women I've ever seen. The plots are good, & it doesn't have have all of the edited FCC crap that we have here in the U.S The only way to see this is on DVD. The women in this show are extremely attractive, especially the gorgeous Emma Pierson who plays the extremely sexual & flirtatious Fanny. She is so good in this show I hope to see more of her. She is so nice to look at that everything she says sounds like poetry. I'm exaggerating to most people (she's a 10 in my book), but one look at this women & you will be hooked. The entire cast is one of those casts that just has that "IT" chemistry, this is that cast. The stories can be endless when you have it set in a hotel. I hope this show goes on and on as anyone could walk into your hotel. I especially remember an episode where a woman strips down to her underwear & has an absolute phenomenal body. If this were an American show, many of these stars/guest stars would work steady. One of the best things is that there is a wide variety of cast members as well. It's not like "Friends" where it is 6 white people. Give this show a try and prepare to enjoy it. The only I don't have it rated higher than 7 is because there seems to be about 10 minutes too long & it meanders in places where it doesn't need to be. A very enjoyable series that puts all the reality crap that is on the air to shame. I'm glad I picked this up & most would enjoy this as well.

marty mascarin Hotel Babylon is a slick bit of business, superficial yet entertaining enough to a degree; the show does benefit from Max Beesley's observant second-in-command, aloof and cool, all-seeing on the lobby floor, his interior monologue serving to give us a sense of a philosophical insider's perspective. Dexter Fletcher benefits from being one of those street-wise, connected types who seems to have a remedy for every problem. Oddly, despite her glitzy status as manager, Tasmine Oouthwaite came off sexier and more personable in the gritty drama The Fixer than she does here, where her character is often hard yet brittle, with only intermittent flashes of humanity. Again, the goings-on are slickly rendered with the break-neck pacing, cross-cut story lines and slick production values to keep us distracted.As the series went along though, two problems became increasingly apparent. One, the hotel crew are always up to something, some sort of cover-up or switcheroo, whether in the name of their clientele or themselves or both in some instances, which may in reality be part of the territory but they come off as a kind of a deceitful, slapdash bunch, hardly as all knowing, professional and savvy as they're made out to be, all ultimately deserving the sack. Secondly, the characters generally do not come off as likable or honourable, more obsessed with making a buck. There is one episode where the Raymond Coulthard character cheats in a wine-tasting competition, going up against an old rival. One could have empathy for him if he was dealing with some n'er-do-well who deserves comeuppance, but Coulthard's catty character is merely desperate and out of his depth, compromising a colleague to aid in the deceit. Do we like this guy? Nope. We're not given enough character development to think otherwise. Ditto for the self-absorbed lobby receptionist, who's petty, venal and superficial. True, people like this can be found in any workplace, but watching them week after week minus any other redeeming traits gets a bit tiresome.I realize these are picky complaints but if our protagonists were bit more rounded or at least made empathetic or charming in spite of their foibles, then the series might have had some resonance and depth, raising it beyond the trifle that is, dissipating from the mind as quickly as a wafer disappearing from the tongue. Nothing lasting beyond the initial sensation.

prosper1 Great show, unlike anything on TV. 10 out of 10. The casting, writing, directing are all top drawer. Too bad we don't get shows of this quality out of the mills that create shows in the USA. After watching shows like this it becomes really hard to watch the tripe that the big three in their quest for the lowest common denominator churn out.The setting a five star hotel provides endless secondary characters through which the series cast work their roles, providing danger, romance, humor and intrigue.Though different, it has the same elements that have made the Sopranos,Deadwood, Oz and Rome compelling TV, that is, great characters, involving story lines and the ability to keep it fresh and real.I actually have gone back and changed my rating after watching season three.