State Of Play - Complete Series [2003] [DVD]

Back in 2003 the BBC asked the award-winning scriptwriter Paul Abbott to write something 'big' for them. Abbott, who'd cut his teeth on the UK's biggest soap, Coronation Street, before creating his own shows such as Touching Evil, Clocking Off and Linda Green, was just about to become the superstar of British scriptwriting, with both his BBC project and another that was in development at the time for C4, Shameless, which was about to launch him into the stratosphere. The BBC project became the political thriller State of Play. To say the BBC pulled out the 'big guns' for it would be an understatement. Some of the UK's biggest and best actors, including John Simm and Philip Glenister (who would be reunited for the excellent Life on Mars three years later) and the mighty Bill Nighy were recruited, along with Polly Walker (Patriot Games, Rome), Neil Morrissey (Framed, Blackpool) and Kelly MacDonald (Trainspotting). The drama also gave huge boosts to the careers of several younger actors, most notably James McAvoy (now a big star thanks to the movies The Last King of Scotland and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) and Marc Warren (Hustle, Hogfather and a memorable cameo in the new Doctor Who). The series opens with a young black man being gunned down on the streets of London. Initially the murder is dismissed as a drug-related killing, although his family are adamant he didn't touch drugs. On the same day Sonia Baker, the personal assistant and clandestine lover of rising Labour MP Stephen Collins (Morrissey), falls to her death on the London Underground. Collins' breakdown makes it clear to the press and Parliament that they were lovers, and soon his career and his marriage to Anne (Walker) are in danger. Ironically, the only friend he can turn to is Cal McAffrey (Simm), the chief reporter for the London Herald, the paper which is investigating both deaths. An examination of mobile phone records suggests that the two deaths are related. The Herald puts its top journalists on the trail which uncovers evidence of high-level corruption and manipulation. When one of his police officers is killed during the investigation, DCI William Bell (Glenister) takes a personal interest in the case, eventually resulting in an uneasy truce as the police and the journalists work together to find the real story behind the deaths, whilst editor Cameron Foster (Nighy) attempts to keep his superiors from shutting the story down. State of Play is a stunning piece of work. Taking its cue as much from All the President's Men as earlier BBC political thrillers such as the House of Cards trilogy of mini-series, this is a gripping story with twists that somehow defy cliche at every turn. Misdirections crop up frequently and the extremely well-drawn characters follow through on them logically. It's nice to see a newspaper drama in which there isn't any 'lose cannon' operating on his own: the journalists act as a team, protected by their editor as long as the story seems worth it, and use contacts and modern technology to dig deeper into the facts in a very believable manner. The workings of Parliament, including how the independent committees function under pressure from lobby groups, are also laid out clearly. Acting-wise, you couldn't ask for a better cast. Nighy gives a performance that may be one of the best of his career, including easily the funniest lines of the series. It takes some damn fine actors to hold their own and stop him stealing every scene, but Simm, Glenister, MacDonald, McAvoy and the rest rise to the occasion superbly, whilst Marc Warren gives a tremendous performance as the incredibly nervous, edgy main lead on the story who is fearing for his life. Morrissey, as one of our very best but underrated actors, makes Stephen Collins a believably weak but human character. Walker is also on terrific form as the wife who finds out her husband was having an affair and planning to leave her. I don't think there's many more adulations I can pour on this mini-series, which was nominated for BAFTAs and other awards, and is now being mentioned in the same breath as Edge of Darkness among the canon of quality BBC drama serials. Filming has just been completed on an American film version, which casts Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck in Simm and Morrissey's roles (although if they do half as good a job, I will be shocked), and it will be released in early 2009. State of Play (*****) is one of the best British drama mini-series of all time, period, and I would thoroughly recommend it to everyone.

Excellent intrigue with an inbuilt game of who’s who big tv names. John Simm and David Morrisay are great and Kelly McDonald shining well. Good stuff originally from the BBC, now on prime.

The series that inspired the film (and it is much better than that), very well scripted and acted, with some of the best british young actors plus mr. Nighy (spectacular as usual). A well conceived plot with brilliant twists, a perfectly balanced rhythm and a serious analysis of how press and politics work, especially how they are influenced by business and financial power. Of course you know who the good and the bad guys are, but this does not make it less smart or incisive, also because some bad guys might turn good and, even among the bunch of good guys everyone has his own flaws and some dodgy sides that does not make them always looks trustable. The resolution of the plot, in the pre-ending, is powerful and brilliant and the increasing suspicion about the collusion between corporations, governments and UK/US is quite corageous, considering this is a public service show. Another great BBC story.

Although I watched this series when it was broadcast in 2003 I had only a dim recollection of it (beyond knowing I enjoyed it); watching the American film-adaptation prompted me to purchase the original. A six-part political drama, it follows the work of a team of investigative journalists who discover an unexpected connection between an apparent suicide and a street shooting; what follows is a deeply engrossing and twisting plot line that unfolds over the course of it's 340 minute running time. An excellent ensemble cast and a realistic, plausible story with good production values make this one of the many outstanding TV dramas of it's time; while the US film version does a fairly good job in it's own adaptation for both American consumption and the shorter format, this is the superior work, without any question. The standard UK DVD release presents 3 episodes on each of the 2 discs; the picture quality is very good on a large-screen TV (not always the case with BBC DVDs of this age) and there are commentary tracks available on episodes 1 and 6; there are no other extras – English language subtitles are available if required. A very recommendable set.

Brilliant script and performances.

Loved this series and it was good to watch again

With a pre-recession budget leading to a pre-recession cast led to a simply classic series. Yes it takes its time, yes it swaggers a bit at times with its political intelligence, but to put it simply; this is as good as The West Wing and I cannot pay it any higher compliment than that. The story is quite simple; a girl and a boy die in separate incidents with nothing to connect the two bar their respective tragedies. As the story unfolds this proves not to be the case as a high-flying young politician is dragged into the fray along with his ex-campaign manager, who is now a journalist. The politician was Chairing a cross-party energy commission to identify what the oil industry was (or wasn't doing) for the environment. Suddenly, you have to choose who to trust; a journalist, a politician, a jilted wife, the government or the oil industry. Hobson's choice of the highest order. There are some lighter moments, mainly involving the girls ex-boyfriend and his hapless attempts to avoid being drawn into the situation. Overall though it is a seriously compelling mini-series aimed at an adult audience with the time and patience to just sit back and let the quality of the drama wash over them.

Excellente mini-série de la BBC (qui nous y habitue !), avec une très bonne distribution. L'histoire, parfaitement adaptée au format, est très bien menée, la production de grande qualité ; et, comme souvent, les britanniques parviennent à joindre avec intelligence le sentiment de la gravité et leur adorable humour. Avec cette maîtrise et cette efficacité, on pourrait dire de State of Play que c'est un classique du genre.

A fantastic British show that has great acting, wonderful directing, nice camera work, good editing and good audio. The show is about journalists uncovering stuff going on in the government when a new/youn politician's assists and lover is killed. What follows is a great Drama/Mystery/Crime show that is still as good today as it was years ago. You get alot of top notch actors and actresses in this show, there is no bad actors anywhere at all, its just top notch talent oozing out of this project. Pick it up asap if you like Crime Drama, it is one of the best imo! Up there in quality with the likes of The Wire, The Shield, Carnivale, Foyles War, Endeavour and Twin Peaks for me! The show also has great replay value and is one that you can watch more than one time and you will appreciate it more and see new things you didn't notice before. Its also just as great now as it was back when it first came out. Top Notch stuff right here, if you get the chance to buy this, do it!

I was hooked on this series from the word go. A mixture of politics and journalism which works well in this case. Unfortunately. this is another where you feel you are being cheated by only having a limited number of episodes. This occurs especially when all the solutions are crammed into the last episode, which makes it rather overwhelming. However, that does not detract from the series - wellworth seeing and wellworth recommending.. An interesting side is the fact that the secondary personality of a Scottish fellow reporter, played by Kelly Macdonald, reappears as an Irish immigrant in the excellent US series, "Boardwalk Empire". She is certainly an actress to follow.

黒人の少年と政府系委員会の調査員の女性。関連のないように見える二人の死亡事件がほぼ同時に起き、調査員の上司で国会議員でもあるStephenは敏腕新聞記者で友人のCalに連絡を取る…。 イギリス独特の権威的で秘密主義的な政治の世界と新聞社＝マスメディアに警察という三極の思惑が絡み合い、二重三重に隠蔽された事件を真相へと導く、重厚で腰の据わった社会派サスペンスです。 十分な時間枠の中、多重で密度の濃いシナリオをじっくりと展開し、終始タイトな緊迫感で惹きつけます。しかし男性性一辺倒のストーリーには陥らず、恋愛や友情、そして様々な色情関係を孕む人間関係が盛り込まれ、丁寧にキャラクターの心情や機微も表現。複雑な陰影をドラマにもたらしています。曇りや雨の多いグレートーンのロンドンの雰囲気と重なります。 イギリスの俳優はアメリカと違って見た目普通の人な感じ？の人が多いけれど(そこがまた良い)、セリフ回しや声の強弱緩急などの声音の表現力。またキャラクターの心や情動を表現する繊細で質の高い演技力。本当に皆が皆素晴らしいので惚れ惚れします。ビル・ナイは相変わらずシリアスなのにスッとぼけた可笑しみで絶妙ですし、見事なケミストリーを見せる主役男優2人の演技合戦には鳥肌が立ちます。 約10年前のドラマですが全く古さなどなく、細やかにしっかりと作られ俳優陣の演技も見応え十分な、ラストまで飽きさせない力のあるドラマです。 余談ですが、Cal役ジョン・シムと警部役フィリップ・グレニスターが共演していてニヤけてしまいました。「Life on Mars」での抜群のコンビネーションを思い出します。70年代の音楽が効いてる渋くてカッコ面白い（笑）ドラマで人気でした。興味のある方にはオススメします。

This is an absolute don't miss. The story is simple enough: a young woman working for a British M.P. chairing an energy committee is found dead in the Green Park tube stop. An accident or a murder? We later learn that the woman was having an affair with the M.P. We also learn that she may have been a plant from the PR firm representing a leading energy company. Perhaps the government itself has helped to engineer this, since they are hoping for a particular result from the energy committee. And the newspaper may be loathe to press too hard since they are seeking some government licenses. Enter the dogged reporters Cal McCaffrey, Della Smith, Helen Preger and Dan Foster, all being led by their editor, Cameron Foster, Dan's father. The structure suggests a remake of All the President's Men, with reporters as heroes and the newsroom as central set. The difference is that this is newsroom noir, with endless threats, payoffs, secret recordings and reporters' tricks. The color palette is dark, the pacing is nonstop/riveting and the direction (by David Yates) and writing (by Paul Abbott) is nothing short of superb. The most dazzling element, however, is the acting, with key roles in an ensemble cast played by John Simm, Kelly Macdonald, Philip Glenister, David Morrissey, Deborah Findlay, Amelia Bullmore, Polly Walker, Marc Warren, James McAvoy, and Bill Nighy as Cameron Foster. Each of these actors is capable of carrying a film as lead actor. The cup simply overrunneth with talent. There are 6 55-minute episodes. This is a prime candidate for binge watching or you could set it aside for a week's unparalleled enjoyment. Trust me on this, State of Play is top-notch entertainment.