The Hour

Before leaving for school this summer, I was watching a lot of the BBC America. They were advertising their new Dramaville hour that was called "The home for groundbreaking British drama" and it would be airing on Wednesdays at 10. The first show in the slot was entitled The Hour. After watching the teaser for it, I was immediately drawn in.



I am a sucker for any type of drama series or mysteries. I get immediately drawn in with the characters and their story lines even if I can't follow that well. The Hour is about a cutting-edge news magazine that is being produced in 1956. The producer of this program is Bel Rowley, who gets a lot of heat for being a woman in a man's world. Bel's best friend is Freddy Lyon who believed he was going to get the job she was offered. They began working under Clarence Fendley, the Head of News at the BBC. Freddie's new job is at the domestic news job which he deems as inferior to all the others. The face of this production is Hector Madden. His wife, Marnie Madden, used her connections to get him the job as the new anchor. Freddie is not fond of Hector and is visibly jealous of his position.

Bel, Hector, and Freddy

This show is not all about the trials of creating an interesting and compelling news program however. Freddie is contacted by an old friend, Ruth Elms, to investigate the death of her professor. Freddie begins digging and then a few days later Ruth is found in a hotel room after an apparent suicide. Despite the possibility of some shady characters following him, Freddy decides to keep on with the investigation. This makes it into a spy thriller with a possible mole in the BBC news room.

There are plenty of political, news casting, and romantic scandals in this drama. At times, I was confused as to who was who and I had trouble following along with the Suez Canal business. But what I did understand kept me intrigued till the very end. If I didn't understand the politics, I was at least able to understand the love triangle between Freddy, Bel, and Hector. It also did a very nice job wrapping everything together towards the end and yet keeping the mystery going into the second season. This was one of the shows that I made sure I watched each week last semester. I am anxiously awaiting for the second season!