So, caught up with The Hour 1 and 2...

[partystress]

and each of those hours felt like about 4. Was sooooo looking forward to it when we got back from hols, but so far, so disappointed.

Should I persevere? Will let MN democracy prevail. Off to bed now and will follow the majority verdict in the morning. TiA

I thought Ep 1 was just OK, Ep 2 was rubbish, but have hung in and 3 and 4 are better. I still think there's a lot wrong with it, but would advise trying at least one more episode before you give up. Unless you have more of a life than I do which is almost certainly the case and would rather spend the time otherwise!

Thanks LadyC. A low turnout gives you mighty power, and I will indeed try Ep 3.

I agree - finding it tedious to say the least. Then they have the nerve to say they're axing Spooks...the world has gone mad!

A low turnout gives you mighty power. Well, I AM flattered. Sorry in advance if you still hate it.

saythat, I admit to only having watched one ep of Spooks but I'm afraid to say I thought it was rubbish ... Should I try some more?

Well, to return the favour LadyC, I would say Spooks has not aged well. The first series was edge of the seat stuff, plus Matthew McFadyen, so it was unmissable as far as I was concerned. Series 2, was ish, and since then it's been a bit silly. However, from other threads on MN, I think the guy who played the main spook in the last couple of series was generally considered a bit lustafterable, but he left me so cold I can't remember his name!

Richard someone?

I only recently discovered Matthew McFadyen (in Pillars of the Earth: fantastic) and would like to familiarise myself with his back catalogue, so maybe I should start by looking up some old Spooks.

Disclaimer: I know the 'back catalogue' comment sounds like a dreadful euphemism, but I'd like to make clear that my interest is, genuinely, purely due to his excellent acting!

What ladyC said re The Hour.

Does get better but not better enough for DP and I to watch it without passing comment at regular intervals about plot/unlikely characterisation etc.

DP and I watched the first episode of The Hour then didn't bother with any more. It wasn't terrible, just didn't really 'grab' us and didn't seem worth making the effort to persist with. From what I've heard, we're not missing much.

I think it's improvong weekly, I have watched up to episode 3 and it does get better - still not brilliant though!

party the pace picks up in the later episodes so you might want to stick with it. I am loving it but have deliberately parked/ignored anything that grates in terms of dialogue/sets/costumes! And I like several of the actors/actresses and that helps!

I love it - but then my usual fare is CBeebies so I cant really offer a balanced viewpoint...

Just to stick with Matthew McFadyen's back catalogue for a moment , I am very envious of you LadyC having it still to get to grips with. I can thoroughly recommend Little Dorrit, in which he plays the loveliest character imaginable with lots of barely suppressed Dickensian 'longing'. And of course, his Darcy beats Colin Firth's into the proverbial cocked hat. Happy catching up!

I'm going to go against the grain and say I really like it. I think I've developed a bit of a girl crush on Romola Garai and I'm obsessed with her lovely 50's wardrobe. I agree it's patchy in places but it's still pretty good overall. I like her friendship with what's-his-name. And I like the man from The Wire.

Well, am now mildly hooked and will go forth to ep 4, so thank you for the encouragement. Rambling, is the Wire guy Hector? Can't find him remotely attractive I'm afraid, just too slimy, but agree Romola is very watchable - how do you think they achieve that waist? I'm sure my rib cage is wider than that.

I wondered that re the waist. Impossibly thin

party, how about Any Human Heart? I missed it, am quite keen to try it but have heard mixed reviews.

Yes, that's Hector. I know what you mean about him being slimy but I find him strangely attractive too

I reckon the waist is thanks to a good bit of corsetry. In the 50s it would have been a sturdy girdle. Whatever it is, I could do with one!

Rosa, yes, I'd forgotten that they'd still have been corseted/girdled in the 50s. I know Mad Men got all the actors to wear the right clothes and underwear, so the women had those incredible pointy tits. I guess The Hour has got Romola g all corseted up appropriately. Anna Chancellor's character doesn't look as if she'd wear a corset/girdle if you paid her, though; is she meant to be a bit 'butch', do you think?

Yeah, I was surprised to see Anna Chancellor's character fall into bed with the skinny bloke. I had assumed she was meant to be a lesbian. And no, she doesn't look like she'd consent to being girdled!

Girdles definitely would have been de rigeur in the 50s. Don't think women started dumping their corsetry until the swinging 60s.

Oh, I didn't mean I thought she was a lesbian, just that she obviously cultivates a 'butch' look in contrast to Bel. I definitely think her character is meant to represent an 'other kind' of woman of the period ? one who had to be quite aggressive and cynical, and dress differently to be taken seriously. I was surprised that she got off with Freddie though, albeit not for that reason; I'd got the impression before that she thought of him as a bit of an annoying-younger-brother figure.

Mad Men goes into the early 60s I think, and most of them were corseted still then. Which seems weird now. Although I guess we have control knickers, Spanx etc; not that much difference really!

Sorry ...

I'd also assumed she was supposed to be a lesbian, but after the incident with Freddie I'm wondering if she's supposed to be more like, oh waht's her name, the Andre Deutsch woman who wrote her racy autobiography? Diana Athill is it?

Well, Lynne Reid Banks writes about The Hour in the Guardian today and calls her a 'Martha Gellhorn figure'.

a quick comment re. Matthew McF's back catalogue - See him in Perfect Strangers by Stephen Poliakoff, he was SO gorge in that

Thanks, Sugar!