Yes, I know, we're all incredibly outraged - even though if we really cared, and paid attention, we wouldn't need a TV show to tell us about this and it could all have been sorted out years ago. The whole country is up in arms, delighted I think that for once we can all agree about hating someone (or some number of people - it's going to be hard to know where to stop). We all luuurve the chance to be sanctimonious. But actually, purely as TV, this isn't great. It's clunky, it's obvious, it's simplistic, it's ALL IN CAPITALS. In fact it isn't really a drama at all, it's a 'dramatisation' - like those segments you get in a doco about Cleopatra. The cast is decent, Toby Jones is of course always great, although Ian Hart is miscast as a posh civil servant type.
From a political angle, it's a depressing example of government by TV; but I suppose it does prove that, contrary to what some say, there is plenty of life left in traditional telly - if only they could come up with stuff we want to watch. Ironic in a way that it coincides with both BBC and ITV beginning to switch off their SD channels altogether.
One other little point: a white male hero and a woman villain! Never in fiction - only in fact.
Edit: I notice that, if you read between the lines, the media reviews quoted by ITV in their own trailers are saying pretty much what I'm saying. They say it is 'meticulously crafted' - which I suppose means 'true to its subject matter' - and that it's a great cast. They want to be nice about it, without saying that it is a great show - because it isn't.
From a political angle, it's a depressing example of government by TV; but I suppose it does prove that, contrary to what some say, there is plenty of life left in traditional telly - if only they could come up with stuff we want to watch. Ironic in a way that it coincides with both BBC and ITV beginning to switch off their SD channels altogether.
One other little point: a white male hero and a woman villain! Never in fiction - only in fact.
Edit: I notice that, if you read between the lines, the media reviews quoted by ITV in their own trailers are saying pretty much what I'm saying. They say it is 'meticulously crafted' - which I suppose means 'true to its subject matter' - and that it's a great cast. They want to be nice about it, without saying that it is a great show - because it isn't.