Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas Day! Slowly returning rates but will hopefully be all done by...
Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas Day! Slowly returning rates but will hopefully be all done by tomorrow...Happy New Year for 2010! xx
Member since:01.08.2005
Reviews:132
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I first became a big fan of John Simm whilst watching the brilliant sci-fi cop drama 'Life On Mars'. My Mother - although some would claim slightly bias for various reasons - assured me that the man himself was fabulous in everything that he did, only taking the best scripts available to him.
So, I went off to my local HMV and picked the 'Political Thriller', 'State Of Play' from the shelf, which had been highly recommended to me. As someone who is interested in journalism - possibly something I want to pursue as a career - this DVD ticked many boxes for me; a great cast, a writer who I was familiar with from watching the highly entertaining 'Shameless' (Paul Abbott) and an interesting, original plot.
The show focuses on the clash between politics and the media's portrayal of events. Perhaps seen as a thin line between the two, the first episode opens with the assassination of a young man with news that a Sonia Baker has died. Or was she killed? Or was it suicide?
Many bizarre occurrences lead to the idea that the two deaths were linked in a strange conspiracy theory of oil industry and political corruption.
The script for this drama is engaging, thought provoking and ambiguous. All of the six episodes in the series help to add more twists and turns to the plot, making the show captivating and leaving you wanting to find out more after each episode, the show ending on a bit of a cliff hanger each time.
I do have to admit though that - by the end of watching episode three - I had guessed the main person behind the killings. None the less, it was interesting to find out how the end result came about and my guess work didn't really spoil the conclusion for me at all.
The cast in this show blended well together with a great deal of chemistry between main actors David Morrissey (Stephen Collins) and John Simm (Cal McAffrey); their performances really showing how friendship can be put under strain due to tragic events.
Bill Nighy (Cameron Foster) portrays his editors role perfectly - providing some much needed comic relief in places as well as a witty, controlled performance every bit credible of his Best Actor BAFTA.
Kelly Macdonald (Della Smith) and Polly Walker (Ann Collins) were good in their roles too and the charming James McAvoy really brought the cheeky Dan Foster character to life. Philip Glensiter, 'Life On Mars'' Gene Hunt, played Copper DCI Bell to aptness too in his small yet valuable part in the show.
Dominic Foy - 'Hustle's' Marc Warren - was played extremely well too, helping to close many of the story gaps through out the last few episodes. All of the actors in this gave performances of an exceptionally high standard, another reason, in my opinion, why the show was so successful and critically acclaimed.
The quality of the DVD is very good but I felt that the set up and screen direction on the menus were a little rushed and not as clear as it could have been. However, the packaging is good with 'chapter' information included for each separate programme, which I liked a lot.
So, if you are a fan of well made, well executed television, 'State Of Play' is certainly for you. With top class performances and a script that will make you wish you'd wrote it, this is one of the finest pieces of TV to emerge since the turn of the Millennium.
All I can say now is that I can’t wait to see where the plot and characters alike take us in the next series of this excellent drama!
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Stephen Collins is an ambitious politician. Cal McAffrey is a well-respected investigative ... more
journalist and Stephen's ex-campaign manager. En route to work one morning Stephen's research assistant mysteriously falls to her death on the London Undergroun...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
A tense conspiracy thriller that twists deeper and deeper into the hostile twilight world ... more
where politics meets the press.Stephen Collins is an ambitious politician hotly tipped for the Cabinet. When his assistant mysteriously falls to her death on the ...
![State Of Play : Complete BBC Series 1 [2003] [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78499819.jpg "State Of Play : Complete BBC Series 1 [2003] [DVD]")
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