This is Bath --
Well, Channel 4 has gifted television drama with yet another curve ball. Last night the nine o'clock battle of flagship dramas was fought on three sides. On BBC 1 there was The Musketeers, on ITV was Mr Selfridge but wiping the floor with them both was Babylon on Channel 4. Readers of yesterday's What to Watch feature will know that I tipped Babylon to be something special but it exceeded my already high expectations.
Babylon was a darkly funny, fast paced drama brought to life by director Danny Boyle and the writing partnership of Bain and Armstrong. It's production quality, buoyed by Boyle's cinematic trademarks, reminded you of just how great British television can be when we're not pumping out the umpteenth season of Big Brother.
Set during a shooting spree in central London, Babylon followed two teams of on the ground police, one firearms and one unarmed as they dealt with the aftermath of the violence. We were also gifted insights into the PR battles that dog the police in modern times.
Refreshingly Babylon was one of those great police dramas that accepted that, in today's world of 360 information, there are no longer good guys and bad guys. To quote the dark knight, there is no black and white anymore, only grey. With the old guard now butting heads with the internet savvy new breed of police command, Babylon brought to light an issue that was at the core of the most recent Bond movie Skyfall. Winning new wars means you have to adapt.
Is the new approach to police PR highlighted by Babylon the right way to go? There are as many arguments for shadow dealing as there are for total transparency and Babylon sat back to let the audience decide.
It has already been commissioned to become a full series later on in the year and if it can give us what we saw last night every sunday for six weeks then good for Channel 4. Babylon didn't pander, it challenged everyone lucky enough to watch it. It forced discussion from some audiences and silenced others, both are high honours. Make no bones about it, we need more television like Babylon. Well played Channel 4. Reported by This is 22 hours ago.
Well, Channel 4 has gifted television drama with yet another curve ball. Last night the nine o'clock battle of flagship dramas was fought on three sides. On BBC 1 there was The Musketeers, on ITV was Mr Selfridge but wiping the floor with them both was Babylon on Channel 4. Readers of yesterday's What to Watch feature will know that I tipped Babylon to be something special but it exceeded my already high expectations.
Babylon was a darkly funny, fast paced drama brought to life by director Danny Boyle and the writing partnership of Bain and Armstrong. It's production quality, buoyed by Boyle's cinematic trademarks, reminded you of just how great British television can be when we're not pumping out the umpteenth season of Big Brother.
Set during a shooting spree in central London, Babylon followed two teams of on the ground police, one firearms and one unarmed as they dealt with the aftermath of the violence. We were also gifted insights into the PR battles that dog the police in modern times.
Refreshingly Babylon was one of those great police dramas that accepted that, in today's world of 360 information, there are no longer good guys and bad guys. To quote the dark knight, there is no black and white anymore, only grey. With the old guard now butting heads with the internet savvy new breed of police command, Babylon brought to light an issue that was at the core of the most recent Bond movie Skyfall. Winning new wars means you have to adapt.
Is the new approach to police PR highlighted by Babylon the right way to go? There are as many arguments for shadow dealing as there are for total transparency and Babylon sat back to let the audience decide.
It has already been commissioned to become a full series later on in the year and if it can give us what we saw last night every sunday for six weeks then good for Channel 4. Babylon didn't pander, it challenged everyone lucky enough to watch it. It forced discussion from some audiences and silenced others, both are high honours. Make no bones about it, we need more television like Babylon. Well played Channel 4. Reported by This is 22 hours ago.