London Spy BBC

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 7:25am

What did everyone think? I think it is great fun and was thrilled that it is so unpredictable. All three actors are great and Ben Whishaw from The Pride with Hugh Dancy is quite good.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 10:02am

There was already a thread on this topic. I know it just started on BBC America, but if you really want to know what people think, you can look at the previous thread.

 

I like it.

 

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 10:02am

Some of us have already seen it.

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 11:01am

I did a search for a Thread on the show and nothing came up so thank you for letting me know, I would like to say however that I hate the way BBC cuts to commercials. It is too abrupt and breaks the flow of the material.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 2:30pm

I think I said it all in the previous thread--I loved it until the final episode which is a huge mess.  But I am still glad I saw it.

 

Besides adding commercials, has the BBCAmerica showing been censored?

[Scripps2]

Posted: 1/23/16 at 6:19am

There are commercials on BBC America?

 

So relieved to know that.

 

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/23/16 at 4:07pm

I just finished episode 1.  You can fast forward thru commercials on BBC On Demand.  (#feelingblessed)

 

The attic at the end of the show was so Sleep No More I totally wanted to go to there.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 1/24/16 at 12:56am

Don't have an issue with starting a new thread on this show for those us watching at the US pace.  Nice way to avoid spoilers.  That said, I'm not sure if I can make it through the whole series.  Given the attention the series had gotten I was expecting more.  This show is so convoluted, I wore out my Liz Lemon eyerolls.  And I love Ben Whishaw and Jim Broadbent and Charlotte Rampling, but I don't think any of them can overcome such awful, stilted writing and clumsy inartful direction.  It appears to be a bad soap opera masquerading as a prestige drama.  

Updated On: 1/24/16 at 12:56 AM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/24/16 at 12:58am

I've only watched episode one.  All these hour-long Brit prestige procedurals are all the same, ultimately, right?

 

I haven't seen Fraulein Rampling yet.  

[HorseTears]

Posted: 1/24/16 at 1:05am

No, I don't think they're all the same.  Any spy drama or mystery show on paper will probably look ridiculous and far fetched.  But a gifted creative team can immerse you in the experience and make you a believer.  The writing, direction, even the constant close-ups and swirling camera were so poorly executed that I was paying more attention to them than the convoluted plot.  The whole thing feels so overbaked.   I mean, from the recent past, I thought British series like 'The Missing' (on Starz in the US) and 'The Fall' (on Netflix) were excellent.  Even Wishaw's last show, 'The Hour' was much better than this in its first season.  Again, on paper, their plots would seem ridiculous, but it never felt that way watching them for me.  This one, on the other hand, oy!  

 

Oh, Namo, wait until you see the kind of choice dialogue Charlotte Rampling gets in the second ep.  I guess I was expecting something a bit more sophisticated.  

 

 

[javero]

Posted: 1/24/16 at 1:40am

"The whole thing feels so overbaked."

 

My thoughts exactly.  I'm a sucker for spy dramas especially those of the British variety but this one isn't pulling me in.  And then there's the snail-like pacing.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 1/24/16 at 1:51am

Yeah, every other line is so hammy and almost psychotically melodramatic. And it's not just the quality of the ridiculous dialogue, it's the writer's seeming inability to build dramatic tension, to write a coherent scene from start to finish, to build real momentum. It's like something written by a precocious teenager. I'll check out ep 3 next week, but I don't have high hopes.

 

I do find it interesting that the show's creator, Tom Rob Smith, is married to Ben Stephenson who was, until recently, the Controller of Drama programming for the BBC and would, presumably, have commissioned major tv dramas for the BBC like this show. I guess you can sleep your way to the top.

Updated On: 1/24/16 at 01:51 AM

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 1/28/16 at 3:35pm

No plot spoilers--but i did watch the full series.

 

I was with it until maybe mid way through episode four--and then really not with episode five.  Horse, your comments about the early episodes makes sense to me, but I always saw it as a rather florid modern gothic melodrama so I'm fine with that. 

But the plot twists (which, seeing it as gothic, I was fine with until then) suddenly get so bizarre, and then the explanation episode is just a mess.  In hindsight I probably like the wrap up more because I got over my disappointment and it's just so convulated and WTF crazy, but considering the cast they had someone really should have gone over those with a complete rewrite.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 1/28/16 at 5:33pm

Whoops got dp'd 

Updated On: 1/28/16 at 05:33 PM

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 1/28/16 at 5:34pm

I loved it even if the final episode seemed a bit rushed and unbelievable compared to the rest of the series. Hoping for a second season.

[Steve C.]

Posted: 1/28/16 at 6:55pm

The first hour, IMO, is very very well done. Compelling and adult; it portrays the main characters in a positive, questioning and judgement free premise and style. I'm anxious to see where it goes. Jim Broadbent is terrific. I really like Ben Whishaw and I can't wait to see him in The Crucible. (Okonedo, Ronan, Hinds..what a cast!) We've got our front row seats! 

Updated On: 1/29/16 at 06:55 PM

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 1/28/16 at 7:08pm

Edward Holcroft has the weirdest accent. I thought Alex was Czech or something at first,

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 12:12am

Steve C. said: "The first hour, IMO, is very very well done. Compelling and adult; it portrays the main characters is a positive, questioning and judgement free premise and style. I'm anxious to see where it goes. Jim Broadbent is terrific. I really like Ben Whishaw and I can't wait to see him in The Crucible. (Okonedo, Ronan, Hinds..what a cast!) We've got our front row seats! 

 

"

 

Despite my eventual disappointment--I am really glad I saw it, and agree with your take.  (I know it's not the first time Horsey and I have disagreed)

 

[Steve C.]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 12:45am

Hi Eric, now I'm starting to ponder if I should give 6 (or hours to LS??? I haven't watched tonight yet.

(and thanks again for the Louise ballet) 

Updated On: 1/29/16 at 12:45 AM

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 10:36am

I would suggest watching the first episode and leaving it at that. You can just make up your own theory as to what really happened and it'll make more sense than the actual ending. Also it's only 5 episodes.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 9:28pm

EricMontreal22 said: " Horse, your comments about the early episodes makes sense to me, but I always saw it as a rather florid modern gothic melodrama so I'm fine with that."

 

That's a very accurate description of the show's sensibilities - especially in the second episode.  I guess I don't think "florid, gothic melodrama" works in a contemporary setting.  Probably one of the reasons I can't do Ryan Murphy's shows.  

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 2/18/16 at 11:30am

Did anyone else watching it on BBC America keep up?

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 2/20/16 at 12:39am

I think they should have spent more time in Episodes 3 and 4 on plot development. It would have made the last episode more compelling. A friend of mine had to point out that Alex's demise really was due to his own theory because I was so busy trying to absorb the last 40 minutes. Whishaw was very good however with the characters personal evolution.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 2/20/16 at 8:53am

Cast, 10, Plot 3.
 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/20/16 at 10:12am

Exactly

 

Slow moving. Hard to follow with commercials seemingly every 10 minutes. Would have liked it better commercial free.The cast is first rate.

Updated On: 2/20/16 at 10:12 AM