Fusing lush mad men stylings with the behind-the-scenes television shenanigans of Good Night, And Good Luck, this handsomely mounted BBC production excels in its casting - The Wire's Dominic West as debonair anchorman Hector Madden, Skyfall's new Q Ben Whishaw as reporter-in-the-field Freddie Lyon, and Romola Garai as unlikely young, female producer Bel Rowney - but lacks focus as the sprawling plot struggles to maintain direction after a sluggish first episode. The portrayal of a new TV news show, called The Hour, on the cusp of something big is marvellously portrayed but the sinister government intervening is less convincing. Every time the show gets bogged down with murder, sleuthing and posh bureaucrats, you want the action to return to the studio. It's only during the thrilling final episode that the two conflicting storylines meld with authority. The 50's period minutiae, however, is impeccably shot, while the noir visuals are perfectly accentuated by the groovy jazz score. Nice.
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