The Hour: I wrote the musical score

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Excellent article. I enjoyed the first series a great deal and intend watching the new series in blocks of 3 episodes I think. I prefer not to have to wait for weekly tx these days. Love the cast, the period details, the feel - a splendid piece of UK TV drama. Will now look out for each of the music cues with this article in mind. Also thanks to the The BBC website for sharing insights into the how these programmes are put together.

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Does anyone know if the writers of The Hour are basing the news programme, at least partially, on the 1960s CBC show This Hour Has Seven Days?



Not only was This Hour Has Seven Days shut down by the Canadian government because its approach and the questions it asked of government ministers, but a 1965 episode where a member of the American KKK was set up to talk to an African-American activist was surprisingly similar to episode 2 season 2 of The Hour.



See:

https://www.cbc.ca/75/2011/07/image-of-the-day-taking-on-the-grand-dragon.html

Frankly, I think your interpretation of music for this period is excellent for modern ears, maybe because it is superior and slick. My own recall of British films, in particular from the early post war era, was an embarassing attempt to try and ape the American stylised cool jazz, as in their crime film noir output. Film/TV scores play a far more important roll these days in underlining and enhancing what is being played out on screen. It is unique to that story, and not plucked out of some library of oddments.

This great show is occasionally spoilt for me by the language. Even badly educated Britons in the 50s would never have said "alternate view" (alternative) or "invite" (invitation). These are American mistakes that have crept into the language recently.

I really doubt that anyone in the UK at that time used "bottom line" for "main point" or "down the line" for "on the phone". Maybe the scriptwriters are all under 30 but sadly, these anachronisms jar on my aged ear.

They say that the best incidental music isn't noticed by the viewer. It wasn't - by me.

But I am old enough to remember TV in the 50s/60s and frankly, the theme for 'The Hour' doesn't give any hint of the period. Think the 'Tonight' prgramme, or even 'Panorama' at the time.

Sorry, no 'period feel'. Nothing personal, Kevin

We need a series for Marnie. Fantastic style, pretty colours, a clever cook. Would be much better than the usual cook programmes.

Love this show, thank you.

I thought Marnie had her series- Rachel Khoo in her retro Paris kitchen is very similar.

Enjoying the music, though the club music could be more raw; also, they could have more of the vital West Indian influence in the music.

Thanks for the info, Kevin- but the marimba (ie 'big xylophone') would have been exotic in the 50s; most of us know a little more now!

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Ciscowen is wrong about ‘invite’ [1659] and ‘alternate’ [1535] being anachronistic but right about ‘bottom line’. I am unclear how ‘down the line’ was used.



As a 68-year-old journalist manque I was so gripped by the plot that I didn’t notice any anachronisms. Thank you for this excellent production & the music: I suggest a Cd of the music would do well.

I somehow missed the first series, but later found it on an american website...and since then I have been totally hooked.

As with the vast majority of BBC productions, this is Excellent.

The sets, costumes, music, script, characters, all capture the 'Mood' of that era

100% believable.

Ben Whishaw (who btw was superb in the recent Hollow Crown) deserves special mention.

Highly Recommended

10 out of 10.

I so look forward to the next series.

I'm just enjoying the penultimate episode -and trying to avoid spoilers- the look, the score and especially the presence of Malcolm Tucker's dad.

The odd anachronism of speech- missing adverbs, etc- one can overlook; however, when one of the nightclub girls says to Kiki, ''get bored of you, did he?'' I'm cheesed off that someone has been that lazy. That cannot be right!

I am off message a bit, but I am missing the old message boards.

What happened to my earlier comment? It's been three days now and no sign if it!

diseqc switch

Thanks to the The BBC website for sharing insights into the how these programmes are put together.

A good series that was getting better - so in their infinite wisdom the BBC cancels it. This has 'quality BBC drama' written through it like a stick of rock, it's the kind of thing that is meant justify the often repeated claim that British TV drama is the 'best in the world'. But that's just not true any more, and part of the reason is the BBC chopping shows purely on the basis of ratings, as if it were a US commercial broadcaster disappointed by advertising revenue. The stated reason of allowing 'new drama to come through' is obvious PR flannel. What's the point of commissioning new stuff, when it's only going to be abruptly cancelled with no story resolution?