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47 out of 50 people found the following review useful: Superb, 26 June 2003 Author: henry-girling from London, England
The BBC haven't made a mini series as good since 'Edge of Darkness' in 1985. Although 'State of Play' doesn't quite match that seminal classic it is still superb. It is an oasis in a very large desert of quality programming from the once mighty BBC. Apart from the 2001 co-production 'Conspiracy' the BBC drama output is a poor shadow of what it used to be in the sixties and seventies.The six episodes of 'State of Play' need close attention but once the plot gets going it is a roller coaster ride to the last few minutes of the last episode. The journalists, the politicians and the police prowl around each other as the conspiracy is unravelled. It is not just a driving narrative however, there are real people with real emotions caught up in the action. The six episodes allow several characters to become rounded and interesting. High praise indeed for Paul Abbott, the writer. It gripped from start to finish.The acting is excellent. David Morrissey and John Simm as Stephen Collins and Cal McCaffrey play brilliantly off against each other as truths are eventually discovered. The last scene between them is corker. The journalists are the heroes but they are also flawed and troubled. All the actors playing the journos were great but I thought Kelly Macdonald as Della Smith was exceptional. Bill Nighy had some hilarious lines which he gave full justice to. Forget Hollywood star names, these are proper actors.Apart from the human characters the other character that is well portrayed is London itself. London has many faces and the series brought several of those out. From nights by the Thames , to the bleak housing estates, to the pretty suburban streets, to the formality of Parliament, to the sounds and almost the smells of eight million people jostling together. All photographed atmospherically. As a Londoner it made me look at my city again.I'll run out of superlatives soon, so I'll just say it is a great achievement by all the artists concerned. Apparently another series is being considered and hopefully that will be just as good.
28 out of 32 people found the following review useful: State of the nation, state of the art, 24 June 2003 Author: paul2001sw-1 (paul2001sw@yahoo.co.uk) from Saffron Walden, UK
What makes a good political thriller? Some things are obvious. Firstly, strong believable characters. Secondly, a fast-paced, complex, dazzling plot. But the plot must resolve into something comprehensible - there may appear to be one hundred mysteries, but beneath the smoke and mirrors, there must be one story. Anyone can write an infinite collection of coincidences and conspiracies - but a strong story makes simple sense in the end. Finally, a political drama needs to say something authentic about the current state of the world. If the final conclusion is that the Prime Minister has a prediliction for drinking the blood of teenage girls, then however plausible this is made to seem, an opportunity has been lost - if politics really is the subject matter, and not just the setting, then the personal drama must make some wider political point. Paul Abbott's 'State of Play' succeeds gloriously on all these points, and confirms his reputation as among the the sharpest writers in British television today.Director David Yates also deserves credit, for keeping the mood tense but unmelodramatic throughout, while the cast show uniform excellence in bringing Abbott's characters to life. Abbott has commented that he knew he would have failed if any of his (largely journalistic) heroes could be sumarised as "mavericks" - a simple lesson ignored by ninety percent of writers today. Instead we have real, three-dimensional portrayals. What's especially impressive is how well the female characters are realised - neither passive decoration nor kick-ass post-feminists, but believable, not necessarily glamorous women - the contrast between the sexes has a low-key ring of truth. David Morrissey as the MP around whom the storm breaks is also excellent - when politicians are held in universally low stock, 'State of Play' avoids all the easiest shots. If one of the tragedy of politics is that many of its protagonists are first rate idiots, another is what it makes out of those who are not. Morrissey's Stephen Collins is never sympathetic, and yet comes across as the sort of man you might almost choose to try and run the country. Paul Abbott, meanwhile, is certainly the sort of man you'd choose to write a drama. In 'State of Play', he has produced the best British TV series since 'Holding On'.
30 out of 36 people found the following review useful: Top Notch!!, 4 March 2005 Author: Charles Johnston from Singapore
What a trip watching this masterpiece. It's a fast moving intelligent thriller that had me glued to the couch... more addictive than Crack! The acting is convincing, the plot is thick, the script is delicious and the characters are vivid.It's not often a TV production comes along leaving you hungry for more, but the BBC have a knack for picking quality and producing some of the best programming in the world. This is the stuff that leaves American entertainment for dead. No gadgets, explosions or tough guys! Shame on them with all their money and their smarts, it's the BBC that delivers time and time again.Hats off and if you haven't seen it yet don't put it off.
30 out of 39 people found the following review useful: Extraordinary, 7 March 2004 Author: wendy-107 from Sydney Australia
Not since The Lakes have the Brits delivered such impeccable, classy drama, (incidentally the fabulous and just a tad sexy John Simm was in that too! Coincidence? Nah, he's one of the best young English actors around who seems to choose his roles very well)Where UK drama of late has tended to resemble cheap rip offs of American drama, this brings the Poms back to the very top of the tree. The script is superlative as is the acting. Tight, riveting, believable, gripping and at times just downright funny.The gems that come from Bill Nighy's mouth! He is such a brilliant actor, proof that Love Actually wasn't a fluke for him, he's so on the money in the characterisation of the editor, a joy to watch.Please, please more of this sort of stuff England, it's what you do best when it comes to television.
17 out of 23 people found the following review useful: Possibly the best TV drama ever made, 15 December 2006 Author: keysersoze13 from Edinburgh, UK
Paul Abbott is a genius. His writing here is taut and intelligent, just like anything else he has done. This BBC production is truly flawless. From the writing to direction to the acting, it is outstanding. This is exhilarating and challenging TV that, though politically-charged, crucially develops interesting characters that you can care about. The plot is complex, as the best political thrillers are, and delivers a TV drama that hopefully shuts up those who say that us Brits can't make TV like the Yanks. Yes, American TV is great but the marathon seasons and multiple writers are exhausting and create bloated, sometimes frustrating TV. Look at Lost, it is as easy to hate as it is to love and becomes dull frequently in the flabby, direction-less mid-season hell. Not here though. Six streamlined parts that never let up the pace and never loosen their grip on the audience. 'State of Play' keeps you hooked and leaves you begging for more, as with all great pieces of entertainment. You'll be sucked into this world and won't want to leave.Credit must be equally divided between its makers, and the direction is every bit as thrilling as the writing, and ,accordingly, David Yates is moving on to bigger things with the Harry Potter franchise. The tremendous cast all deliver as you'd expect, with David Morrissey and John Simm excellent as the leads and a stunning supporting cast that includes Kelly MacDonald, Philip Glenister, Polly Walker, Patrick Brennan, Shauna MacDonald, Rebekah Staton, James McAvoy, Marc Warren and, of course, the ever-delightful Bill Nighy.More joy is found in the pulsating soundtrack, tight editing and cinematography.Overall, 'State of Play' is among the most thought-provoking and exhilarating thrillers you'll ever see and is quite possibly the best thing to have been on TV; British, American or otherwise.
9 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Perhaps the best political suspense series I have seen., 27 March 2009 Author: egress63 from India
It is not often that really good series based on politics, suspense and a bit of romance + comedy hit our idiot boxes. However, State of Play manages to do all this with such finesse that I was left spellbound. What starts of as a simple murder case becomes so huge that it really boggles the mind. And at all time, it does not seem one bit over-stretched or silly. Add to this three subplots and what you have is a series that is of immense viewing pleasure. All in a runtime of just 300 minutes.If you want your TV series to be intelligent, do yourself a favour and watch this series. Now.
10 out of 12 people found the following review useful: Best TV material I've seen in years, 16 March 2004 Author: ramora-1 from Akureyri, Iceland
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
This is what I call top class stuff. I haven't had much interest in British mini series for the past years. I loved the Dennis Potter series and "The Crow Road" I thought was excellent(since than I've read almost all of Banks' books). When it comes to thrillers, "Taggart" was good for quite some time, but has been going rapidly down the drain. So I was pleasantly surprised when I accidentally watched the first episode of "State of Play" and was absolutely hooked. The story is tight and exciting and the cast is wonderful. Even the cop who gets killed in episode 1 is a great character. John Simm, David Morrisey, Bill Nighy: all excellent, and I think I almost fell in love with Kelly MacDonald. Bravo. For a long time the best TV material has been American(Six feet Under, The Sopranos). I hope I'll see more stuff like that in the future.
11 out of 14 people found the following review useful: John Simms is absolutely brilliant in this, 24 October 2003 Author: Caitlin
Actually the whole cast is - Bill Nighy, David Morrissey, Kelly Macdonald. What a terrific ensemble piece. David Morrissey's performance was very reminiscent of his role in the equally good "Holding On' I thought.John Simms as the prime investigative reporter was definitely the standout though - a cleverly scripted excellently directed piece that convincingly twisted and turned throughout the five episodes. Totally gripping and highly recommended.
7 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Great ride, but something of a con trick, 20 April 2009 Author: patrick powell from United Kingdom
I read somewhere that Paul Abbott wrote the screenplay for State Of Play on the hoof. And unfortunately it shows - and, at the end of the day, it is to the detriment of the piece. Like the Grand Old Duke Of York, he marches us up to the top of the hill, and then marches us back down again, before once more we are marched halfway up and then — well, what? This series has been lauded to high heaven and impressed the money men in Tinseltown so much that it has now been turned into a movie. But am I the only one who feels just a little let down by the denouement? And am I the only one who feels, just a day later that the plot is so full of holes that something akin to a con trick? Let me give some example, and I trust you have already seen the piece or else my comments will be substantial spoilers. It is hinted throughout that there a huge conspiracy is afoot, and that it is so deep and so serious that the government would even resort to murder to avoid the truth coming out. In fact, this fact - a probably government conspiracy - is the whole raison d'etre of the thriller, from its title - State Of Play - on. So, for example, the hit-man is shot by police marksmen who turn up and whose actions take even the coppers on the case by surprise. The strong suggestion is that he must be silenced. Then there is the question of who and why the autopsy report on the alleged black drug dealer was altered to make it seem that he was indeed a druggie, which his family insist he wasn't. And on it goes. Just why was the government so keen, apparently, to protect Stephen Collins? We are never told, but we are given the impression that it is not so much protecting Collins but itself. At one point Collins is told that Andrew Wilson was not his enemy, the implication being that he had several rather important ones. There are several wild implausibilities as, for example, when the hit-man takes a shot with a laser-sighted sniper's rifle to eliminate a witness who happens to be in the stairwell several floors up or down in a hospital. Just how could the killer or killers - we don't yet know it is only one - know where he was? That, and several other crucial plot strands, are left to sort themselves out and are left worryingly loose by the end of the final episode. Finally, of course, there is the character of the hit-man himself: why are we supposed to accept his actions and given no back story, no fleshing out of his character and motivation? And would not the cops have established the link between him and Collins rather fast - looking at the records of jobs done by his firm, for example? Then there is Collins himself who surely would, under the circumstances have chosen to keep his head down knowing that if everything were revealed, he would be implicated in the two murders. And on it goes, more or less ruining what was at first blush a great and thrilling series. Thankfully, there is more to SOP than just the story. The ending might more of a whimper than one might wish for, but the journey there is a hell of a ride, with more twists and turns than a Cornish lane however implausible and downright contradictory they are shown to be later. And for that we should be grateful. If someone were to ask whether I recommend this as a good way of spending six hours of their life, I would say 'well, why not, but don't go expecting genius'. As for the portrayal of newspaper journalism, it was hit and miss to say the least. I have spent the past 35 years of my life working for newspapers, and the past 19 working for newspapers of the stature of The Herald. And I must say that they get a lot of small details right — the newsroom looks pretty authentic, as does the slight chaos and the mouthy newsdesk secretary. But they also, unfortunately, get quite a bit wrong. As the editor, Cameron Foster would most certainly take a hands-on interest in the story, but he would not do so exclusively, and has plenty of other things to do. Most likely a deputy or associate editor would be delegated to oversee the story. Nor, on a British newspaper (and I'm sure this is also true of the U.S.) would the editor deign to mix it with the troops. Inviting them all, except those essential to getting out that night's paper (which on a morning paper would be all of them) to drop everything and join him for a drink down the pub is — well — pure fantasy. The reporters were reasonably convincing, except that the Lobby correspondent would have spent 99 per cent of her time at the Commons and would merely have been consulted — she would not have taken such an active part. Dan Foster convinces more than Cal McCaffrey. Dan is just the right kind of amoral, young go-getter who doesn't give a stuff except getting what he wants. Cal is too much of a maverick to last more than a day on staff and would never have got so involved personally with Stephen Collins fate. But Della is spot on. So there you have it: an exhilarating ride and some extraordinary large holes in the plot which simply cannot be explained away. Other reviewers have, as usual, rather gone way over the top with their comments, claiming this is the best drama on TV ever, that it is utterly brilliant, top notch, extraordinary, masterpiece ... Not a bit of it, but take a look anyway.
8 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Brilliant. Edge of Your Seat Stuff, 14 August 2007 Author: philip-prise-1 from United Kingdom
I missed this on original transmission (what was I doing in 2003?) but had heard so much about it from Life on Mars fans that I finally got round to buying it on DVD recently. Oh how wished I'd seen it before now.Its tight, fast paced, beautifully directed and filmed. All of the primary and supporting cast are excellent but special credit must go to the ever outstanding John Simm plus Kelly MacDonald and David Morrisey. The thought of Brad Pitt playing John's role in the Hollywood remake makes me laugh and cry in equal measure and not in a healthy way!! What's particularly brilliant is all the characters are three dimensional and believable. As has been said no cocky maverick reporters, no kick-ass post feminist female reporter with a chip on her shoulder. Just a group of professionals who find themselves through Cal's personal connections on the biggest story of their lives. Credit for that lies in excellent writing from Paul Abbot.The story starts and concludes on the apparent suicide of the personal assistant of the Chairman of The Energy Select Commitee, Stephen Collins (Morrisey), whom it transpires were having an affair.By accident and due to an unrelated story his friend and leading Herald reporter Cal (Simm) discovers evidence that her death may not have been suicide. From there the story snowballs until the highest reaches of the Government are implicated in a series of griping twists each one leaving you slightly more stunned than the last.Some people have said the concluding episode is a let-down but I must disagree. It actually makes a great deal of sense in the context of the story because the one thing they can't find in the whole story is that clue that leads to her murder. None of the key players in the conspiracy are able to shed light on it.The revelation as to how she actually died is extremely well played. Its dropped in casually and its not until you realise what has disturbed Cal so much, that it dawns on you that casual drunken outburst is the biggest twist of them all.Its this revelation that makes the ending so powerful because it isn't happy. Cal has published the greatest story of his life, but its the one he least expected or dared imagine could be true in his worst nightmare. State of Play is ultimately a story of betrayal.State of Play would be worth watching just for the ever brilliant John Simm (Brad, you'll need to give the best performance of your life to be half as good), the fact its six of the best hours of television I've seen just sweetens the deal. Watch it, Buy it. SEE IT.
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