The Hour

The creators can say what they want, but comparison to the transatlantic Mad Men is undeniably correct, whether they like it or not. Which doesn’t mean that in its style, concept and course (and outcome, in fact), The Hour isn’t much more similar to another series, State of Play, which this is a fifties-style prequel to. What is striking is that this is the type of series that relies purely on the actors (and everybody here acts to the letter) and collective performance, but even so Whishaw steals the show. Despite its slow pace, season one is more riveting than most in this genre; especially the final episode is a masterpiece worthy of glorification. And although season two is equally high quality, it isn’t as consistent. Unlike the Suez Crisis in the first season, here they address universal topics (xenophobia, corruption, fear of nuclear missiles and many more), but perhaps too many and the (in)conclusion shows that. To paraphrase one of the characters from season two “she lured us with a story that she never finished telling". It should be pointed out that the blame lies more on it being canceled than on incompetence of the creators. | S1: 5/5 | S2: 4/5 | (07/10/2013)