The Hour (UK)

:

Season 1
Season #: 2, 1
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
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Critic Reviews

  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: David Wiegand
    Aug 17, 2011
    100
    The Hour stands perfectly well on its own merits. It's so good that other shows should start looking to it as something to emulate.
  2. Uncle Barky
    Reviewed by: Ed Bark
    Aug 15, 2011
    100
    Viewers craving a satisfying gourmet meal rather than another summertime "reality" Moon Pie are urged to make The Hour a Wednesday night ritual for the next six weeks.
  3. Time
    Reviewed by: James Poniewozik
    Aug 17, 2011
    90
    The BBC's The Hour, the best new show this summer.
  5. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Aug 17, 2011
    90
    This is sleek, sexy, smart, densely written and deliberately paced adult entertainment.
  6. RedEye
    Reviewed by: Curt Wagner
    Aug 17, 2011
    88
    The smartly written series throws a lot of information, historical context, beautiful sets and costumes at viewers early on to create what eventually becomes a first-rate thriller.
  7. Boston Herald
    Reviewed by: Mark A. Perigard
    Aug 17, 2011
    83
    For those impatient for the return of "Mad Men," The Hour fills that void and then some.
  8. Hitfix
    Reviewed by: Alan Sepinwall
    Aug 16, 2011
    83
    A winning new drama set only a few years before Don Draper would get a new secretary named Peggy Olsen.
  9. The Huffington Post
    Reviewed by: Maureen Ryan
    Aug 17, 2011
    80
    Sure, it's not particularly deep and has some pacing issues, but it's a generally watchable, well-acted effort.
  10. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Matthew Gilbert
    Aug 17, 2011
    80
    It offers amusement and a tad of suspense, but little to ponder over the long run.
  11. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Robert Lloyd
    Aug 17, 2011
    80
    What makes it so engaging is not that the series finds anything new to twist, but that it works so well with and within the strictures of the well-thumbed genres it combines in equal parts: spy thriller, murder mystery, backstage drama, triangular romance.
  12. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    Aug 17, 2011
    80
    No, The Hour is unlikely to remind anyone of "Mad Men." Except that it's superior period drama with a deliberate pace.
  13. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Alessandra Stanley
    Aug 16, 2011
    80
    The plot twists of The Hour can at times be puzzling, but the series is never dull.
  14. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Aug 15, 2011
    80
    This is the kind of meticulously handsome period piece one would expect to find via the BBC--mostly because it would surely struggle Stateside. Judged by the most bottom-line measurement of all, The Hour is an hour well spent.
  15. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Hank Stuever
    Aug 16, 2011
    70
    An engaging yet taciturn new miniseries.
  16. Slate
    Reviewed by: Troy Patterson
    Aug 16, 2011
    70
    Perhaps it's best to consider The Hour as a kind of retro Broadcast News that is most alive when Freddie and Bel banter like Beatrice and Benedick and especially when getting inside of Hector's talking head.
  17. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    Aug 16, 2011
    70
    The Hour looks fantastic but it moves at a snail's pace that's sure to irk impatient viewers.
  18. PopMatters
    Reviewed by: Renee Scolaro Mora
    Aug 17, 2011
    50
    Freddie's stereotypically hard-hitting reporter's persona is soon tiring and irksome. Still, Freddie isn't so tedious as the show's "villains."

Awards & Rankings

18
#18 Best TV Season of 2011
73
#73 Most Discussed TV Season of 2011
74
#74 Most Shared TV Season of 2011

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 62 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 62
  3. Negative: 6 out of 62
  1. MarcDoyle
    Aug 18, 2011
    9
    I've only seen the first episode, but I'm absolutely going to keep watching. The cast is excellent (Ben Winshaw & Dominic West in particular),I've only seen the first episode, but I'm absolutely going to keep watching. The cast is excellent (Ben Winshaw & Dominic West in particular), but it's the sense of impending danger that keeps thing especially intriguing. I'm fired up to see the rest. It's a perfect stopgap before the fall season begins.… Full Review »
  2. dsrs
    Aug 24, 2011
    0
    Over-hyped, but thankfully not yet over here [in the USA]. All the worst features of the BBC committee-style, commissar-style production areOver-hyped, but thankfully not yet over here [in the USA]. All the worst features of the BBC committee-style, commissar-style production are on view here. Some great actors, appalling script and no feel whatsoever for the ers. Almost every scene is drowned in anachronistic political correctness...race, women, health issue. Some Brit critics have complained but with the BBc few dare to challenge the monopoly. They have rallied around the flag to praise this but it does not stand up, especially to the trite comparisons to Mad Men.… Full Review »
  3. jjolla88a
    Oct 21, 2011
    5
    Enticing ... but by the last episode you feel like you have just finished a meal made up of more sauce than meat. The show has the potentialEnticing ... but by the last episode you feel like you have just finished a meal made up of more sauce than meat. The show has the potential to be great, but it runs at far too slow a pace ... and, more importantly, the conspiracy is simply lacking in impact.… Full Review »
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