The Hour Series Review

Over the past few weeks I’ve noticed a pattern in my reviews. I’ve become increasingly jaded and slightly cynical. It has been much easier to pick apart flaws in shows than to truly sit down and enjoy them. I’ve picked out one or two moments that I’ve “loved” from television episodes but mostly to just balance out my review. I don’t want to come across as a complete cynical critic who hates television. I desperately want to watch a program and enjoy it. I want to get lost in the show. But it seems my tastes are changing. Maybe I’ve held on too long to old and stale programming. Or maybe I’m just more aware of the repetitive television cycle network television usually brings us every fall. All I know is that I’m getting sick and tired of reviewing the same shows and new shows when none of them are bringing anything new.

I don’t know how other critics do it. How you can review episode after episode of The Office or American Idol and write about the same thing from week to week. I’ve only been writing my little blog for a few years and I’ve found myself getting a little repetitive. I think it has something to do with the times. The television landscape is changing. I’m still holding on to shows that began in the early 2000s and they are slowly dying off and ending their runs. But I’m disappointed in what is replacing them. These are supposed to be fresh new shows but they don’t have anything original about them. This realization makes me think about the shows that brought me to television in the first place. Maybe they weren’t as original as I had initially thought. But again I think my tastes in television are changing and I’m looking for new and exciting programming.

This is just a long-winded way in saying I’m glad I discovered The Hour. It has its flaws but the whole concept was different enough to capture my attention. Over the course of this short series we watched as The Hour within The Hour grew and became a force to be reckoned with. The British Government became increasingly agitated with the show as it pushed its boundaries as it discussed the Suez Canal crisis. Tension slowly built up between the characters at the same time and in the final episode it all came together with a satisfying finale. A show about a fictional news program isn’t anything original but it’s a new for me and apparently for other US viewers. It wasn’t a hit in BBC but received mostly positive reviews after it aired on BBC America. It might be likened to Mad Men but I think The Hour was something American viewers needed. The funny thing is I don’t think American television critics knew they needed it. Now I’m kind of putting The Hour up on a pedestal but I really enjoyed the series. It made me excited about this medium again and showed me that there are new and different concepts that have yet to be discovered and delved into.

The characters’ motivations really drew me in to the show. Everyone had a different agenda. As viewers we didn’t always know what everyone was up to or what they wanted. A prime example is Clarence, who ended up being the Russian Mole within the BBC. His true intentions were revealed in the final minutes of the show and we now know who he is. At first Clarence just seemed like an average man, proud of his little program that would change how people got their news. Now we know that Clarence wanted to use the program to sway the public. He wasn’t just this little anxiety ridden man but actually has a pretty big chip on his shoulder. His distrust for the government ended up turning him into a Russian spy with a huge agenda. I wasn’t surprised that he was the mole, especially after the paper burning, but it was nice seeing it cleverly play out.

Those different agendas also drew me in to the rest of the characters. Hector, Bel, and Freddie all wanted different things from each other. Sometimes they were at each others throats and other times they were getting advice. We were watching them all play politics with each other as they each tried to get ahead. There was a time where we saw Hector and Freddie bond. But Hector was still so willing to hurt Freddie so he wouldn’t ruin his own reputation. There is a more compassionate man inside of Hector but he is too selfish too unwilling to lose what he has and he’ll quickly burn Freddie and Bel so that his reputation isn’t ruined. While it may have looked noble to let Freddie interview Lord Elms, it was really just a way for him to save is own face. The same goes with Freddie and Bel. The two are very close but could easily be at odds with one another. Bel believed in Freddie but quickly shut him down if it got in the way of her program. Freddie was quick to use Bel if it meant learning more about the conspiracy. I really enjoyed watching all of their different layers. All three of them were trying to figure out what they wanted while pretending to each other that they already knew what they wanted. It was just really tremendous character work all around.

I was a little wary of the conspiracy storyline but it ended up being an easy to follow yet intricate part of The Hour. It was nice discovering all of the little pieces of the puzzle and finding out what was really going on with Ruth Elms and MI6. The writing was excellent the whole conspiracy was well plotted. Every episode I thought I knew what was going on and was convinced I knew what everyone’s role in the conspiracy was. But at the end of every episode there was another piece revealed and character’s intentions changed. What I thought was going on was actually something different. This is especially true about Ruth. At first I thought her family was intricately involved in the conspiracy but they were actually trying to save their reputation. I pitied Ruth and her demise at first but she ended up being a Bright Stone. I felt suspicious of Kish at first but by the end we learned he was just doing job looking in on Clarence (or at least looking for the BBC Mole). I just thought the whole conspiracy was cleverly plotted and enjoyed learning new plot points along with Freddie.

This was an amazing little program! I am so glad it has been commissioned for a second series. At first I found it kind of dull and disjointed. While I admired Freddie’s passion I didn’t care for any of the other leads. That quickly changed and I began to look forward to the next episode. It was nice watching them all one right after another and not having to wait. Again this show gave me hope in television. Maybe I’m just not looking hard enough for quality programming. The Hour was a smart, intricate, show which left me wanting more. I need to find more programs like this where all of the elements work together. I want to enjoy television like I used to.