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So I have been swallowed whole by Dan Simmons's novel Drood this past weekend. I thought it would be a nice, easy read to return to during my (many) bouts of insomnia. Ha ha, I laugh at my naivete. That book is fricking addictive.
So I started downloading episode one of The Hour before Drood and then, now that I've finished aforementioned potboiler, I found it downloaded. I had no idea what it was, all non-Drood thoughts having been blasted hence by sheer awesome, so I was like, "Huh, what is this, maybe I should just put it on and knit this sock for a bit."
And let me tell you, I forgot about the sock within like a minute. Romola Garai. Ben Whishaw. Dominic West. Hell, there was even a History Boy alum in there. This cast is like....
( No, really, LOOK AT THIS CAST. )
I kid you not. Also...set in 1956. In London. In a newsroom.
See, my problem with Mad Men has always been the payoff. I mean, yes, that show does stuff aesthetically that makes me weak at the knees. There's no denying that. But what is it for, at the end of the day? Is it just a puff of smoke, just a beautiful garnish? So far--and I'm only one episode in so I will cry if it proves otherwise--The Hour has just as much of the aesthetic and the poise but it's also got something under it, something that means more than the simply accurate recreation of a historical moment.
But, to be honest, I love everything about journalism. My grandfather was a journalist (and covered a Hitler rally in Germany before he fought in the war itself). I just believe in it, you know, in a way I don't believe in many things. And so does this show. So I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
So I started downloading episode one of The Hour before Drood and then, now that I've finished aforementioned potboiler, I found it downloaded. I had no idea what it was, all non-Drood thoughts having been blasted hence by sheer awesome, so I was like, "Huh, what is this, maybe I should just put it on and knit this sock for a bit."
And let me tell you, I forgot about the sock within like a minute. Romola Garai. Ben Whishaw. Dominic West. Hell, there was even a History Boy alum in there. This cast is like....
( No, really, LOOK AT THIS CAST. )
I kid you not. Also...set in 1956. In London. In a newsroom.
See, my problem with Mad Men has always been the payoff. I mean, yes, that show does stuff aesthetically that makes me weak at the knees. There's no denying that. But what is it for, at the end of the day? Is it just a puff of smoke, just a beautiful garnish? So far--and I'm only one episode in so I will cry if it proves otherwise--The Hour has just as much of the aesthetic and the poise but it's also got something under it, something that means more than the simply accurate recreation of a historical moment.
But, to be honest, I love everything about journalism. My grandfather was a journalist (and covered a Hitler rally in Germany before he fought in the war itself). I just believe in it, you know, in a way I don't believe in many things. And so does this show. So I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
