Month: August 2011

I’ve just finished watching the final episode of the BBC’s “The Hour”. Much has been said in the press about it being a British equivalent to “Mad Men” (lazy reporting – the two shows have nothing in common at all, aside from most of the male characters wearing suits), and of the frequent misuse of modern dialog in a drama set in the 50s.

The anachronistic language didn’t bother me too much, but one thing did. Throughout the whole drama, set in 1956, the two principle characters jokingly refer to each other as “Moneypenny” (frequently) and “James” (rarely, in response). The first James Bond novel was written in 1953, and at the time of the drama, only 3 novels had been published. While it is true that both the characters are intelligent and well read, so may have been familiar with these early novels, it seemed to me the joking seemed based on the depiction of Miss Moneypenny in the films, the first of which wouldn’t be produced for another 6 years.

I felt this was typical of the sloppyness (or absence) of basic research on the period. Despite this, I found the show fairly enjoyable to watch. However, this was mainly for the characters, as I felt the plot itself was rather weak.

What follows contains serious spoilers. Do not read if you haven’t yet watched this program (but intend to).