The Hour review [November 12th 2012 in The Courier]

As the BBC still tries to recover from the on-air out-burst over the Suez Crisis and the existence of a communist spy high up in the BBC hierarchy, the groundbreaking BBC news show, The Hour begins to lose its edge. As lead anchor Hector is being lured in by the ITV, everything is not looking too good for the once pioneering news show. The Hour is back as we delve into the seedy underbelly of the media.

Faced with the opposition of a commercial news channel and having dismissed investigative reporter, Freddie Lyon, the BBC bring in a new Head of News in Mr. Brown (a character specifically written for Peter Capaldi, giving him something to do now The Thick of It is over). This shake up brings back Freddie while Hector delves further into the gangland world of Soho.

Evoking the style of Mad Men with the sharp witted, snappy dialogue of anything churned out by Aaron Sorkin, The Hour made a big splash last year, marking the start of some great original BBC dramas. Once again, The Hour is set out to be the leader of this autumn’s BBC drama schedule and for good reason. With Spooks like espionage and Mad Men like suits, The Hour was a bit of a slow starter but, once it got going, audiences were hooked. 1950s historical events collide with how it is dealt with in the media while those behind the media deal with their own problems. Gripping.