Goggle box

[mockney piers]

Tuesday, normally so devoid of anything watchable, I can't be the only one watching The Hour can I?

Is Britain rediscovering quality drama this year after so much HBO dominance? Witty, convincing and gripping.

[HonaloochieB]

So far so good, but I reckon any time soon McNulty'll drop that barely believable Brit accent and start shagging waitresses and scheming the way Our Lord intended him to.

[DJKillaQueen]

I think this years UK drama has been good.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

I discovered "The Silent Library" last night. I'm sure it should only be watched after consuming too much alcohol which makes it hilarious.

[Annette Curtain]

I too like The Hour, just can't find anything else I enjoy/can be bothered with.

"Fek though, I missed it lastnight"

( out watering the garden....:-S)

[Moos]

Afraid I gave up trying and just watched Virilius Maximus until just after the first fight in Africa when he, Djimon Hounsou and the big German guy are standing in the ring wrist-deep in blood & listening to the crowd's roar, which is when the baby woke up.

[mockney piers]

Oooh nooo, terrible film.

There has been some other good drama this year, I thought The Exile with John Simm and Jim Broadbent was good, if a little too like the last Abbot/Simm collaboration State of Play.

I tried The Petal Rose Thingy but that was completely incomprehensible, and just got bored of The Shadow Line, though hats off to Rafe Spall for campest villainous turn of the year, most enjoyable.

[Moos]

I know, mea maxima culpa.

The only drama I'm watching at the moment is the American remake of The Killing. Which is good, but now I'm kicking myself for not having watched the original.

[mockney piers]

Yeah, I missed the first few of the original, and much to my chagrin have done likewise with the remake*.

Oh well, I guess a box set coming my way.

*I'm sure originalists will sream blue murder, but from the snippets I've seen the remake actually looks ok. Occasionally the US gets European remakes right, Insomnia wasn't a bad crack at it, and errrr....hmmmmm...

[Moos]

Recording it, so if can work out how to get from hard drive to disk, you're welcome to nab it. I can't compare them, but I'd say it stands up as a good drama series on its own merits - interesting characters well-played, well filmed and fantastic plot-twists already. A lot of which may be lifted from the original, of course.

[RosieH]

Oh come now, is no one watching Camelot? The most ridiculous, over blown, good looking, gratuitously naked festival of high camp to hit our screens for a long time. I love it.

That and The Hour. Missed The Killing, so figure I'll catch up on box set.

[StraferJack]

I haven't seen Camelot Rosie but I find it hard to believe it's more gratuitous than

Spartacus: Blood and Sand

[*Bob*]

Like a comfy old pair of underpants, you could have slipped into the last of Don Siegel's good films, Escape from Alcatraz, on FilmFour.

[Moos]

I like the analogy. What would be the filmic equivalent of a Slanket? Ghost, perhaps

[david_carnell]

I must say I loved the Shadow Line earlier in the year - I was properly addicted.

[DJKillaQueen]

I liked 'Shadow Line' too. Liked it's mood.

Liked the 'Petal Rose' thingy too.

But 'The Killing' tops them all. Haven't checked out the US remake yet though. And there was a similar French thing called 'Spiral'.

[mockney piers]

I'm going to read the petal, I'm assured it's a good book, but even its recommenders said they had no idea how anyone who hadn't read it was meant to be able to follow the drama.

[Ted Max]

The Hour was The Ninety Minutes for me. Fell asleep half way through the second ep. Apparently, though, the prog is a BBC pinko plot to portray the 1950s (where thwarted ambition and unearned deference were the order of the day, and women chose and expected to be housewives) as something other than a social nirvana. (cf Mad Hitch in the DM, can't be arsed to link)

I like those BBC4 biopics that, with great elegance and care, absolutely kebab some dead public figure who cannot sue - like Blyton, Hattie Jacques, Fanny C etc Dame Fonteyn came out of hers quite well, though (her mum not so much).

[citizenED]

By UK drama, are we counting Holby City perchance. I caught 15 mins of one last week. Had me riveted for at least quarter of an hour.

On another issue can some of you let me into the secret of obtaining those extra 2 hours you get every day. I've only been allotted the regulation 24 and after working, child rearing, washing up and worrying and flirting with Face/Forum I have no time for the GB.

[mockney piers]

get home, play with child whilst cooking, feed child, get annoyed by child refusing to eat, play some more, check on cooking, give up on child's dinner, throw away wasted lovingly prepared child meal, put child to bed, serve food, get complaining child up, allow him to eat most of my dinner, put child to bed again, watch an hours drama whilst collapsed on sofa, go to bed.

Rinse and repeat five times, add a bottle of wine into the mix on the fifth night, add bathing the child every third night.

Sometimes if full of beans manage 10 minutes on xbox just before bed.

I may have to join quids down the slippers shop.

[DJKillaQueen]

Technically speaking Holby is indeed UK drama.

Yes the secret of the extra two hours is.......

.....multi-tasking!

Watching whilst doing the washing up or ironing is my fav.

[citizenED]

Yeah, OK I do the TV viewing/ironing thing. I'd watch whilst washing up too, only it take to long to rip out the sink and carry it through to the living room.

[DJKillaQueen]

ha ha....but iplayer on a laptop can come to the sink!

[HonaloochieB]

I've never been able to manage medical drama not even top-notch stuff like Emergency Ward 10.

It's not for reasons of squeamishness, I can never muster up any enthusiasm for it.

My mum was a nurse an' all.

[mockney piers]

I'm with you HB, though I did get sucked into House as it avoids the usual medical drama cliches, just sets up its own to follow slavishly and formulaically every episode.

It's also quite funny.