dcurrie623 Fast moving, very well written show about spies and TV Broadcasting in 50's Britain. The cast is uniformly superlative both as individuals and collectively (sorry about the 'socialist' term - but it is 50's Britain)... sorry, 'Ensemble' is the word. All great down to the smallest parts. Excellent script, good period atmosphere, lighting, photography, set design. There's even some James Bond references which I think is premature but by 1956 Fleming had published three books.I've never seen Mad Men so I can't relate to the comparisons and I have yet to see Series 2. I watched this on DVD (remember those?) in two 150 minute chunks and both parts held interest from start to finish. Outstanding.

taracienna I have to say that I have loved this show obsessively from the moment Ben Whishaw's Freddie Lyon stepped on the screen. Performances like his are why some television shows are superior to most movies being made these days. I cannot recall the last movie that made me really appreciate the hard work actors put forth in their art. It's inspiring. Freddie is the kind of character I will remember years from now and that is a testament to how new and exciting this show felt to me and a testament to Ben Whishaw's talent. He portrays more passion with only his eyes than even the best writers can convey with words. It only happens with great characters on great shows. Take away all the Mad Men comparisons ( I consider myself a Mad Men fan) and this show truly stands on its own because it is much better. The spy-thriller element was compelling because we got to go along with Freddie, but all in all I couldn't help but feel let down with the story's conclusion. With a second season I may change my mind.I will say I was a bit disappointed with the character of Bel Rowley. Romola Garai is incredibly powerful in her subtlety, and coupled with her great looks she has everything it takes to be a knockout, memorable and distinctly female voice on television. Her affair with Hector would have been more tolerable and believable if this weren't a miniseries. To show the beginning and end (if it is the end) of an affair in six episodes is a bit much to take on if it's not poignant and precise, which I didn't think it was. The sixth episode really didn't feel all that satisfying because I just kept seeing the potential for this show to be really brilliant. That's where the script needs a little work.I really think that with a second season we will see an evolution of the characters Bel and Freddie and it will hopefully be moving the way a good story should be. Their relationship is honest and natural, something picked right out of life, and I do believe in it, so I cannot wait to see what Abi Morgan will do with their story. She does an amazing job of giving these two characters the perfect witty banter to keep it entertaining all while giving the audience touching flashes of what it is to know someone inside and out and what it means to be willing to do anything for that person, even if you never tell them that. Ben and Romola have an underlying chemistry that I think many actors on television lack. To wrap a greater story arc around a relationship that feels so real is the challenge for Abi Morgan. Some writers get great characters but don't have the right story to place them in. But if the next season only improves upon these first six episodes (oh how I wished it went on for ten!), I cannot wait until the premiere.

ozmirage I can't blame "The Hour" for the way it's been sold, for all the positive comparisons not just to "Mad Men" but to "State of Play" and "The Wire." But even setting aside all the hyperbole, "The Hour" is pretty flimsy TV drama. With only six episodes, the entire first hour is pretty much wasted on set-up and atmosphere. The character relationships are stock issue, the writing colorless; the is editing nervous yet the pacing is slack. The art direction is fancy-on-the-cheap. I'll be watching episode two this week, but if the show continues as it began, I suspect that I will be missing for episode three.

16mm-3 this is one of the most boring, poorly written and self-indulgently directed shows ever. if you don't fall asleep you must be on crystal meth, or really used to watching bbc period drama productions.there are several superb actors. among other factors, what lets the side down is the plodding, pretentious pace of development and the seriously anachronistic lashings of political correctness. the latter is lethal to any sense of verisimilitude.anarchic humour --the office, monty python, shameless-- is what the brits do better than Americans, not to mention also 'youf' shows like skins and the inbetweeners. but because the bbc is above all a preachy, paternalistic and politicized monolith, it cannot do TELEVISION.the British are incapable of six feet under, sopranos, true blood etc etc --just as the Americans are ludicrously incapable of shameless or the office. and here they prove they are incapable of mad men --every British reviewer leeching onto this comparison.needless to say, brit newspaper reviewers have rallied around the flag, though few enthusiastically.the reality is that this show would never have been produced, must less broadcast anywhere in the world where the government does not extort an annual television fee, and where viewer response has no impact whatsoever upon the commissioning editors.