Favorite Characters: Randall Brown (The Hour)

Back during Capaldi Fall, I made my great appreciation for Randall known in no uncertain terms.  A simply gorgeous character, wonderfully written and exquisitely played.  If you want to get technical, I’ve said my piece on Randall.  However, rewatching The Hour around the end of summer brought my love for the character flooding back, and now there’s no getting around it:  Randall needs his own separate write-up.

Randall Brown, the new Head of News brought in to oversee The Hour (the in-show news program, not the actual BBC period-drama,) doesn’t appear on the surface to be what anyone wants.  His OCD behaviors cause him to “fiddle with things,” and the ‘50s weren’t exactly a sympathetic time for anyone dealing with mental health issues.  His staff members gawk uncomfortably when he reorganizes thumbtacks or fastidiously straightens chairs – Bel goes so far as to ask Lix, “What have they sent us?”  (Yep, not “who,” but “what.”  Yikes.)  His general demeanor is somber, acutely-focused; when he drops by for a taping, one can’t help but feel they’re being graded.  He isn’t content to enjoy the critical praise the program has received, instead keeping an eye on a competing show and pondering how The Hour could be improved, even “fixed.”  His ideas on how to go about this don’t mess around, and in the early days of his reign, most of his news team seems to be trying to get around him rather than work with him.

Producer Bel doesn’t like his less-than-satisfied opinion of the program, and she really doesn’t appreciate his unilateral decisions, like when he rehires Freddie without running it by her.  When writer/presenter Freddie does rejoin The Hour, he sometimes regards Randall as a troll at the gate keeping him from telling the provocative stories he wants to tell (although, in truth, Randall lets them push the envelope pretty far.)  Writer Lix is uneasy with Randall’s presence for personal reasons – they have a complicated history together, and since he arrived, he’s been poking at days she’d have rather left in the past.  And virtually everyone on the team starts covering for presenter Hector – the face of the program, famous and charismatic but notoriously unreliable – when Randall makes it clear that he won’t tolerate Hector’s continued unprofessional behavior.

But all these impressions don’t quite get at Randall.  Yes, he’s strict, he doesn’t allow free reign, and he doesn’t think The Hour is the pinnacle of news programming.  Yes, he’s unable to let matters lie (as he tells Lix, “We dwell on things we cannot bear to leave undone.”)  This is all true, but that’s not a bad thing.  He’s stringent and dissatisfied because he wants what’s best for The Hour – he sees its raw potential and wants to make it better.  When he doesn’t let his reporters don’t run about unchecked, it’s because he’s been playing the news game for a long time, and he has a good spidey sense about just how far they can push things, what they’ll be to get away with, and what would get them shut down.  Instead of saying, “No,” to a story outright, he’s far more likely to say, “Not like that,” or even just, “Not yet.” 

He places high expectations on his team, in large part because he understands them all so well.  He may seem inaccessible or emotional at first, but Randall is actually deeply, almost painfully empathetic.  He has an uncanny ability to get at the heart of someone’s behavior, often recognizing his own destructive qualities in others.  He gives off a sense that he wants to help his team outrun the personal demons that will drag down their work and, as with The Hour itself, continually pushes them to be better.  Would we were all so lucky to have a boss like Randall.

Favorite Characters: Bel Rowley (The Hour)

Okay, so I don’t find this passionate, determined TV producer fighting the boys’ club of the mid-century BBC quite as cool since I saw the incredible Verity Lambert in An Adventure in Space and Time.  Not only is Verity a) BAMF, b) a real person, and c) the first producer of Doctor frickin’ Who, accounts also suggest she was even more awesome in real life.  So really, who can compete with that?

But that’s all right, because Bel is still pretty great.  She’s a woman with huge ambitions that she doesn’t apologize for.  In the ‘50s, an age when female producers just weren’t a thing, Bel goes after the captain-of-the-ship position on The Hour, a news program with an arresting new format and its sights set on the stories other programs aren’t telling.  Plenty of men in her industry think she can’t do it, and it’s even suggested that she may have gotten the job due to a perception that she’d be easier than a male counterpart to steer behind the curtain.  Is she perfect, as a person, a woman, or a producer?  Of course not, but her creative vision and fierce dedication pay off in big ways.  When colleagues and work contacts give her the old “run along, darling; men are working” attitude, it hurts, obviously – near-daily backhanded slaps in the face – but she grits her teeth and keeps at it.  She recognizes that, ultimately, no matter how cutting and pithy her retorts to their casual, deep-ingrained sexism are, the only real way to beat them is to prove them wrong.

Now, she naturally wants big things for herself and her career, but she also wants nothing but the best for her program.  Bel has a keen eye for television:  what does and doesn’t work on-camera, how to build an interview to a crescendo, and how to get around the red tape set up to limit journalists.  What’s more, she has an honest, hard-won fervor for news.  What happens, at home and around the world, matters to her, and nothing is more precious to her than presenting the news in provocative ways that make people look at a subject from a hitherto-unseen angle.  Though not quite as reckless as Freddie, she puts herself out on any number of limbs in pursuit of an important story.  In the battle for Bel’s attentions, her work comes first pretty much every time.

On the personal-life side of things, it’s hardly the first time we’ve seen a story about a woman whose flings and love interests can’t handle her dedication to her work.  However, this is one of the most well-done versions of this trope that I’ve seen.  I love that the show gets that it’s not just about her obligations, or using work to deflect addressing daunting personal stuff, or even her desire to prove herself to people who don’t believe in her.  These things are all factors, but at the heart of it is her passion for news.  When Bel says she loves her work, I buy it wholeheartedly – she talks about the news the way other characters talk about their love-interests.  Gorgeous.

And as smart, committed, and curious as she is, I like that she can also be kind of a disaster.  She has an unfortunate tendency to fall for unavailable men, and when she focuses too hard on the misogynistic naysayers, her anxiousness to refute them can sometimes get in her way, tripping her up and muddying her efforts.  I like that she’s not always strong.  I like that, even though she knows sexism is ugly and stupid, it wears at her and she can have self-doubts.  Maybe it goes back to that (amazing) Dead Like Me quote about “respecting someone for being a mess, because you’re a mess, too.”  Bel is flawed, but she feels flawed in a rich, complex way, which makes me all the happier to root for her to get it right.

Favorite Characters: Marnie Madden (The Hour)

The Hour has plenty of great characters on The Hour, but Marnie is kind of a stealth favorite.  Though she’s initially portrayed as a dull stereotype and no more than a moderate roadblock for Bel and Hector’s growing attraction, she becomes so much more, adding deeper far nuance to the tone of the already-engrossing series.  (Marnie-related spoilers.)

We meet Marnie as the posh, frivolous wife of news presenter Hector Madden.  Or, more specifically, we meet her after we meet Hector and see his instant spark with Bel.  Their first meeting is flirty in a slightly combative way; Hector relishes in keeping Bel on her toes, and she immediately recognizes the roguishness of his charm.  Our impression is perhaps that Bel should steer clear of the suave womanizer.  But when Marnie enters, presented as little more than sweet but vapid arm candy, we see how “superior” the intelligent, driven Bel is.  Marnie is blithe and submissive, not one to worry about things like news.  Rather, her main concerns are her house, her husband, and society gossip.  While Hector is bored and maybe even a bit embarrassed at Marnie’s shallow conversation topics, he and Bel feed off of one another intellectually.  If anything, the depiction of Hector’s wife rules in favor of his having an affair with Bel.

Fast-forward to the end of series 1, when Marnie make her way to the BBC.  She’s out of her element – she’s made for “Daddy’s” country estate, and the bustle of a frantic news office is no place for her.  She makes pleasant, empty small talk for a few minutes in Bel’s office, talking about anything that comes into her head while Bel busily ignores her.  It isn’t until Bel is about to rush off that Marnie comes to her point:  “At least you’re not his secretary.”  As she proceeds to calmly, quietly talk about what a “relief” it is to speak to “a proper woman” after all the “silly little girls” she’s had to deal with and reminds Bel that, regardless of whatever she and Hector share, he always comes back to Marnie, Bel has no response.  All she can do is stand there petrified while Marnie primly details the state of affairs between Bel and her husband.

This is a phenomenal scene that totally reframes Marnie.  We’re trained to root for clever, career-driven Bel.  Bel is meant to be the boundary-breaker, while Marnie is the trademark Meek Little Housewife of the day.  She’s supposed to be a stereotype, a flat rule-follower made to highlight Bel’s exceptionality.  But that’s the thing.  Marnie has fallen in line with what society instructs her to do.  She has no career, nothing to occupy or challenge her.  She positions herself to exist on her husband’s behalf.  She’s done it all “right,” and in return, she has a charming philanderer who breaks their marriage vows without a second thought.  She’s been shaped to understand that there’s literally nothing she can do about this; she just has to put on a chipper face, look lovely on his arm at society parties, and pretend it isn’t happening.  Marnie’s confrontation with Bel is her way of saying, “Look at the collateral damage of your actions; this much, I can do.”

From there, Marnie just gets better and better.  As the cracks in the Madden marriage splinter in series 2, she becomes more of her own person.  The early scenes of her waiting for Hector to come home and hitting her breaking point epitomize “lives of quiet desperation,” and the more she realizes she doesn’t have to do what’s she’s “supposed” to, the more she finds her own way to be.  Does she start chasing news stories?  Of course not, because that’s not Marnie.  The path she forges is her own, and it’s a good reminder that feminism comes in all shades and stages.  Independence can be found through baking, and one can toe the party line without buying it.

The Hour (2011-2012)

I talked a lot about series 2 of this British period drama back during Capaldi Fall, thanks to Peter Capaldi’s stunning turn in that season.  However, the show itself is splendid, and after a recent rewatch, I wanted to give it a more holistic write-up (I’ve been rewatching The Thick of It as well – signs that I’m antsy for Who to return?)

Set in a gorgeously-realized 1950s London, The Hour follows a BBC news show of the same name, a weekly one-hour program that hungers for putting out real hard-hitting news with no ads, padding, or fluff.  Bel is the ambitious producer, given the sink-or-swim opportunity to run her first major program.  At her side is longtime best friend Freddie, a clever, dogged reporter who’s obsessed with spy tales and chases great stories at all costs.  Also on Bel’s team is Lix, a hard-drinking, dry-humored veteran journalist with her finger on the pulse of the world’s tempestuous political situation – the Suez Crisis is a major series 1 plot, and nuclear armament in the Cold War factors into series 2.  The newcomer of the bunch is Hector, the charismatic “face” brought in to present the program, who’s not used to having to work to get what he wants.

I know I ran through the main characters in my old episode reviews, but they’re so instrumental to show’s success that it bore repeating.  Though all have hints of archetypes in them – from the career woman with something to prove, to the charming but philandering TV personality – each is executed with beautiful specificity.  (I should reiterate that Peter Capaldi’s Randall in series 2 is almost wholly original from the start; I just love that no-nonsense but deeply-empathetic head of news with OCD.)  They all jump off the screen magnificently.  The show’s overarching narrative threads can be pretty involved, juggling weekly news plots, ongoing investigations into season-long mysteries, significant historical context, and a handful of internal/interpersonal character arcs, and the characters allow the various elements to come together in a cohesive way.

The series does a nice job exploring mid-20^th-century issues of gender, class, race, and sexual orientation.  I especially like how the first is handled.  Bel, Lix, and Hector’s wife Marnie are all pretty complex characters; Marnie in particular becomes fascinating as the show goes on.  All three, along with many of the men, address gender inequalities, but in such a way that they never feel like mouthpieces.  For example, when Bel asks why women have to be “married” or “not married” (in other words, why they’re defined by their relationship status) while men do as they like, she’s expressing a universal problem, but she doesn’t say it like Everywoman.  She says it like Bel, in a scene of overwhelming frustration, after we’ve seen weeks of accumulating microaggressions lobbed at her as a woman in an important position.  The series also shows women calling out men for entirely failing to recognize certain imbalances or their own privilege as men.  This is significant to me, because again, while the story doesn’t crusade or anvil-drop, it holds its characters accountable for passive discrimination as well as overt, understanding that one can be sexist even without a “women belong in the kitchen” mentality.  That’s something I wish I heard half so often on TV, and I’m thrilled that The Hour takes the time for it.

Warnings

Sexual content, violence (including offscreen domestic abuse,) drinking/smoking, language (including racial slurs,) and thematic elements.

Three Days to Christmas

And here’s part two of my case for PC as the Doctor.  We’ve talked Danny, the British Ambassador, Islington, and Rory.  Now, I submit the following:

 

 

Mark Collins, Psychos

 

Ah, everyone’s favorite bipolar mathematician.  The Doctor’s I’m-clever-and-I-know-it-ness is a big part of who he is.  With Mark, PC shows he can deliver intelligent, cascading monologues with speed and precision.  Adding in some technobabble shouldn’t be a problem.  Plus, Mark’s manic state has him pin-balling from topic to topic; sound familiar?  It’s easily reminiscent of the way the Doctor’s mind races four steps ahead of everyone else in twelve directions at once.

  

 

Malcolm Tucker, The Thick of It

 

Amusing, sweary youtube mash-ups aside, there are similarities between the Time Lord and the foul-mouthed spin doctor.  For starters, the Doctor has boundless energy.  Like with Mark above, this is no problem for Malcolm.  Whether he’s threatening the life of a junior advisor or running frantically across Whitehall, the man has energy in spades.  If you think PC is too old for the physical demands of Who, think again.

 

And of course, there’s the anger.  While the Doctor gets up to plenty of lighthearted antics, he’s also a powerful man who combats a lot of evil.  Anger is a well that different Doctors draw from to different degrees (Six, anyone?,) but all employ it from time to time.  Malcolm is best known from his shouty anger (think Seven taking on Davros in “Remembrance of the Daleks,”) but there are also times when he goes scary-quiet (Ten destroying the Rachnoss in “The Runaway Bride,”) or when he gets in someone’s face and the gangly man suddenly becomes intimidating (Eleven confronting Ambrose in “The Hungry Earth” about his stance on weapons.)

 

And come on – if Malcolm’s business cards don’t refer to him as “The Oncoming F***ing Storm,” they really should.

 

 

Dr. Pete, The Field of Blood

 

True – a depressed alcoholic isn’t the first thing that springs to mind when I think of the Doctor.  There’s a sadness to the Doctor, but it isn’t the ragged type of sadness that clings to Dr. Pete.  The Doctor’s sadness presents itself in different ways (Nine was a raw nerve, Ten was all about the emo, and a lot of Eleven’s ADD-ness masks his pain,) but he never seems defeated by it.

 

No, it’s not the sadness I’m interested in here; it’s the weariness.  The Doctor has lived long and seen a great deal, and sometimes that weighs on him, cutting through his usual mad exuberance.  Dr. Pete has that same sort of quiet weariness.  Now, he basically lives in the state while the Doctor only shows flashes of it, but it’s still an important part of the character.  It’s the accumulation of his experiences, travels, and losses, and PC’s performance as Dr. Pete proves he can deliver there.

 

 

Randall Brown, The Hour

 

Randall is just one of many highly-intelligent characters PC has played.  I’ve already mentioned wise Islington, clever Rory, smart-as-a-whip Mark, and shrewd Malcolm.  But Randall’s special talent is his perceptive nature.  He sees into people, understanding their pain and motivations.  More importantly, he sees himself reflected in them, and he proves capable of great empathy.

 

This is crucial for the Doctor, especially in his relationships with his companions.  I think of how Two connects with Victoria in “The Tomb of the Cybermen” over losing her father, or Eleven’s intuition that Amy is drifting from him in “The Power of Three.”  Though Randall can seem stiff, there’s such warmth in him, and I think the Doctor’s warmth is another of his best traits.

 

There’s also Randall’s tendency toward recklessness.  He frequently breaks the rules, either because he believes it’s the right thing to do or because his curiosity is driving him to see what will happen.  To crib from C.S. Lewis, the Doctor is good but unsafe, and the show frequently sees him diving headlong into dangerous situations.  The overlap with Randall is strong here – sometimes the Doctor dives because he believes in its rightness (like Five searching for Peri’s antidote in “The Caves of Androzani,”) and sometimes he dives because he simply has to see what he’ll find if he does (like Ten lowering himself into the abyss in “The Satan Pit.”)

 

 

Peter Capaldi

 

Finally, PC himself is proof of his ability to bring the Doctor to life.  The picture above is from a letter he wrote to Doctor Who Magazine after he was announced as Twelve.  PC is a Whovian from the early days who has a genuine love for the show and wants to do it, and us, justice.

 

Furthermore, he just gets it.  I’ve grown wary of Moffat playing with classic series continuity, because his penchant for leaving his mark often feels like he’s writing “STEVEN’S – DON’T TOUCH” on the show in a big black crayon.  But PC seems to understand that Who belongs to everyone who loves it.  It’s his Who, Moffat’s Who, the cast/crew’s Who (past, present, and future,) and it’s our Who as well.  I have every confidence that, for his time with the series, he’ll be its steward and look after it for us.

The Hour: Series 2, Episode 6 (2012)

 

As predicted, the season ends with a gripping, bang-up conclusion.  (Regrettably, the season finale doubles as an unplanned series finale; the show wasn’t renewed.)  While State of Play remains the U.K. journalism show closest to my heart, The Hour has certainly proved to be no televisual slouch itself.

 

The stakes, naturally, go as high as they can go when it comes to bringing the story to light.  I like the way this show really demonstrates the power and reach that news can have.  It’s like a living force.  It can make lives or ruin them.  It can move the people’s perceptions.  It can drive those like Bel or Freddie to a sort of wild, determined greatness.  The Hour understands that power; as Randall says, a truly excellent news broadcast can make you “hear the tick” of each second of the broadcast as you watch from the edge of your seat.

 

As for Randall… all I can say is wow.  PC is absolutely stunning in the finale.  There’s a tremendous scene with Lix that simply has to be seen to be believed.  Almost difficult to watch, it’s so intense.  PC was nominated for a BAFTA for this role, and even if he’d been total garbage for every other moment of the season, he still would’ve been nominated on the strength of this scene. 

 

If this description has made you maddeningly curious, you can find the scene in question on youtube, but I wouldn’t recommend it.  Though I’m sure it’d still be affecting on its own, it’s so much more powerful in the context of the story, knowing who Randall is and why this is going on.  See, I’m so adamant about this that I’m not even giving you a link!  If you can’t resist, you can seek it out yourself.

 

Wrapping things up for The Hour:

 

Accent Watch

 

Scottish.

 

Recommend?

 

In General – Definitely.  Strong characters, an engaging story, fantastic acting, and luscious production design.  Home run all around.

 

PC-wise – Frankly, I’m wondering why you’re still wasting time reading this review when you could be watching PC as Randall.  Yes!

 

Warnings

 

A scene of violence.

The Hour: Series 2, Episode 5 (2012)

 

One thing I’m really appreciating about The Hour is the way that the Cold War’s presence is felt with such immediacy.  This episode features a quiet little scene where a secretary wonders whether the office cupboard will make an adequate safe room if the bomb is dropped.  To some extent, these characters are a group of slightly repressed British citizens of the late ‘50s – there are certain things for which they’ll simply put on a happy face and pretend that nothing is wrong.  But they’re also heavy with the knowledge that weapons capable of burning them down now exist in the world, and that charges their actions with an extra recklessness.  It cuts through their more reserved tendencies, forces them to take risks – personally and professionally – and spurs them not to leave important things unsaid.

 

Some excellent character stuff in this episode from all the major characters.  I mentioned yesterday that each was deciding how much they could afford to give for the sake of the story; today, we see some of the cost in action, and everyone deals with that differently.

 

I’ve come to realize that part of what I like about Randall is his inconsistencies.  He’s blunt and no-nonsense, but he’s also extremely empathetic, with such warmth.  His compulsive habits give him the impression of being jittery or weak, but he casts a commanding shadow.  He seems stiff and reserved, but he has a wonderful way of reaching out to people.  He takes a sensible approach to running The Hour, but he delights in challenging established conventions.  And he often presents the detached, pragmatic approach, but he’s remarkable sanguine in the face of very little certainty.

 

It doesn’t seem right that such a contradictory portrayal should work.  Surely, we should all be online crying, “Out of character!”  We should be arguing that Randall shifts as the story needs him to.  But Randall doesn’t feel inconsistent like a sloppily-written character; he feels inconsistent like a person.  It’s a thorough, somewhat messy combination, and I’m like it so much.

 

One more episode to go.  And suspense?  Forget about it; these people are killing me.

The Hour: Series 2, Episode 4 (2012)

 

This is a show that’s difficult to talk about without spoilers, since each episode builds on the one before it.  Plots are converging, secrets are being unburied, and the different members of the news team are asking themselves what they’re willing to give for the sake of the story.

 

Freddie and Bel’s lead-chasing has unearthed all manner of licentious morsels and suggestions of corruption.  They’re eager to get it on the air, both because they seem to live for that thrill of bringing their stories to light (in this episode, Bel gives a lovely anecdote about how she got into journalism,) and because the secrets they found carry with them a hint of danger.

 

Randall, however, has other ideas.  To two young voracious newshounds, he seems at first glance like the troll at the gate, but his intentions are nothing of the sort.  After all, with the pieces he’s allowed earlier in the season, Randall seems to enjoy that thrill as well.  But Randall’s chief concern is for the story’s security; he knows that, if what they’ve found is true, they’ve discovered the story of the year in January.  And if that’s the case, he needs it to be water-tight.  In this way, he reminds me of Cameron Foster, the fantastic editor Bill Nighy played in State of Play.  No matter how badly he may want to join his staff and get caught up in the excitement of the scoop, he realizes that news is nothing without its integrity.

 

That’s one of several plots Randall is involved in here.  As Head of News, he also collaborates with the BBC executives on personnel:  contracts are up for review.  Once again, he shows off his surprisingly on-the-mark insights of employees he can’t have known for long.  And the subplot with Lix continues.  One particular scene between them is absolutely beautiful, demonstrating entirely what they once saw in each other.

The Hour: Series 2, Episode 3 (2012)

 

The plot thickens on what seems to be the main second-season arc:  the scandal that enveloped Hector last episode has far-reaching implications, and while Hector wants to leave well enough alone, Freddie and Bel are hot on the trail of the story.  I have to say, despite the lingering personal issues between those two, they make an unstoppable team of newshounds.

 

The program continues to push boundaries, airing a debate on the Wolfenden report (which discussed whether or not male homosexual acts should be decriminalized.)  When the topic first comes up, Randall points out the number of complaint letters they received for their recent fascist piece, but he okays the debate with an adventurous glint in his eye. 

 

There’s also some great stuff between Randall and Lix, elaborating on their history together.  Randall confides to Lix that he’s come to The Hour for more than the job.  In a scene that’s a little heartbreaking in its earnestness, he outlines his true purpose.  “We dwell on things we cannot bear to leave undone,” he softly tells her.

 

We’ve already seen how Randall dwells on tiny matters – disorderly thumbtacks, unaligned office chairs – and the matter he discusses with Lix is monumental.  I can only imagine how it’s weighed on him.  Even his explanation, quietly sad as it is, contains itself to his poker face and even-toned voice.  I get the feeling there are tectonic plates shifting deep inside him, and the jittery hands and compulsive habits are all that generally appear on the surface.  But he’s on a path now, and for good or bad, it may lead to an earthquake.

 

Warnings

 

Brief strong language.

The Hour: Series 2, Episode 2 (2012)

 

Episode 2 gets off to a dramatic start when Hector is arrested for his alleged involvement in a scandal.  While he is stuck in a holding cell, Bel searches for proof of his innocence and tries to hide the situation from Randall.  (It seems there’s a history between Bel and Hector as well.  From what I can gather, in series 1 she was in love with Freddie and involved with Hector?  The connection with Hector definitely seems shallower.  Oh, what a tangled, sexy web.)

 

Meanwhile, Freddie is back to what appears to be his old habit of making waves.  It’s what Randall rehired him for; though Freddie isn’t as charismatic or traditionally handsome a presenter as Hector, he lives for risky stories and has a knack for making the news exciting.  This time, he wants to go against BBC policy and interview a young fascist, on the grounds that ignoring hatred doesn’t make it away.  He wants to shine a light on fascism to expose its ugliness.  Unfortunately, he’s adamant about doing so on the same day BBC executives are coming around to kick the tires and decide how much of its budget to give to The Hour.

 

Randall doesn’t have a huge amount to do here – he largely reacts to the aforementioned goings-on.  He does, however, have an excellent scene where he meets with the producer of a competing program on ITV.  ITV has expressed interest in poaching Hector, and Randall tells the producer in no uncertain terms what he thinks of that idea.  He maintains a zen-like calm throughout (except for his restless hands,) but he still exudes force and authority.  Having so recently watched The Thick of It, the difference is remarkable.

 

The scene also highlights Randall’s particular talent for sizing people up.  There was some evidence of it in episode 1, but here, his insights into Hector fascinate me.  Randall zeroes in on Hector’s corruptibility, brilliance, and self-destructive tendencies, seeking to protect Hector from both the best and worst parts of himself.  It’s not clear exactly how much time has passed between episodes, but it can’t have been long, and Randall already has a very clear idea of who Hector is and what makes him tick.

 

It’s interesting.  For being rather blunt and dispassionate, Randall seems to be highly empathetic.  In two episodes, I’ve seen him relate deeply to Hector, Freddie, and others.  It think he tends to see his own demons, past and present, in other people’s darkness.

 

Yesterday, I was so excited about the superb cast that I completely left off two other familiar faces.  Tom Burke, who I first saw in the wonderful State of Play, has a supporting role, and Oona Chaplin (yes, as in that Chaplin – granddaughter,) lately of Game of Thrones, is highly effective as Hector’s on-the-breaking-point wife.

 

Warnings

 

A few shots of pornographic pictures.  Also, the fascist rhetoric is very troubling and includes some nasty racial slurs.

The Hour: Series 2, Episode 1 (2012)

 

Okay, so much to love about The Hour.  This saga of a 1950s BBC news program is smart, sensuous, and sumptuous.  Gorgeous visuals, great music, and some very fine acting.  And that’s just episode 1!  (Good thing PC is a regular for series 2; I’m eager to see more.)

 

Granted, there’s some series 1 plot stuff that I don’t get, but I’m following.  During the Cold War, the staff of The Hour endeavors to remain on top of the airwaves.  There’s Hector, the unreliable alcoholic presenter.  Bel, the tough and dedicated producer.  Lix, the journalist who’s fiercely protective of her work.  And Freddie, the dynamic journalist who’s returned after something big that resulted in his leaving last season.  Obvious past between him and Bel.

 

All of them are trying to make sense of Randall Brown, the new Head of News played by PC.  He’s the one who brought Freddie back (without Bel’s knowledge,) he and Lix know one another from way back (intimately, I assume,) and he makes it clear that Hector is on thin ice.  He seems to have OCD – his habit of “fiddling with things” gets a lot of screen attention, and multiple characters mention it.  Since attitudes toward mental illness weren’t exactly enlightened in the ‘50s, it’s impressive that he’s got where he is in the industry.

 

Basically, I love Randall already.  He’s smart and still, somehow brusque and tight-lipped at the same time.  You can constantly see his wheels turning, and even when the rest of him is immobile, his hands never stop fidgeting.  He has big plans for The Hour, he likes to speak in stories and aphorisms, and he runs a tight, compulsively-punctual ship.  I’m dying to know more about his history with Lix, and I can’t wait to see more of him in action.

 

Also, this cast is made of awesome.  There’s Dominic West, who I saw recently in The Devil’s Whore, and Anna Chancellor, who played Estelle on Fortysomething.  Romola Garai played an interesting Emma a few years ago.  And I just saw Ben Whishaw as the title character in Richard II – oh my goodness, riveting.  Couldn’t take my eyes off him; amazing. 

 

Accent Watch

 

Scottish.  Like the OCD, it’s an interesting detail.  I can’t imagine it was easy for a Scottish man to gain prominence in media when RP was the BBC standard.  Definitely speaks to his talents.

 

Recommend?

 

In General – I’m gonna go with, “oh my, yes.”  I’m already planning to go back and watch the first season after Capaldi Fall.  (If you need further incentive, I understand that series 1 features Burn Gorman (Owen from Torchwood) and Andrew Scott (Sherlock’s Moriarty.)

 

PC-wise – Definitely.  I can tell he’s just getting warmed up.

 

Warnings

 

Lots of drinking and smoking.  Sexual content, including implied sex.