Babylon

I think the reviews and ratings on this page are for the pilot which was a bit confusing and without direction. I didn't know whether this was heading toward slapstick or a drama. The series is much better with some clever dialogue, witty one-liners and sharp but very funny insults. The acting is also great. Brit Marling is excellent as the ambitious workaholic Director of Communications of the London police and James Nesbitt is great as the Commissioner.Their relationship is intriguing and the back and forth banter between Liz and Finn played by Bertie Carvel is very engaging. I became hooked on the series and hope there is another season.

A year ago I watched the first episode of House of Lies and found it as witty and sharp as Babylon. It takes a while to get into it, but the scene where they storm the house is brilliant. No American hero worship, but utter incompetence at the top which results into total confusion further down command. A total lack of communication and nobody is taking responsibility, because everybody is looking out for themselves. Very close to what many people are experiencing in their own jobs. Is it drama or comedy? Really can't say but I really enjoyed it. Something fresh and original and I guess that is not everybody's cup of tea.

Bitingly funny and relentlessly profane take on public relations and police work in London. As someone who thinks The Wire is the best TV series ever made, I was very happy to find something with a similar, dirty yet hilarious tone. Like in The Wire, we follow both the people at the top and a couple of different groups of cops in the streets. There is no educational angle on what life is like for the criminals, though, or how institutions are affected by a serious social problem like the black market drug trade.

Our very self-righteous heroine is an American PR social media guru brought in to help the police reform their image. It's an uphill battle, and the street cops (think Herc, Carver, and Fuzzy Dunlop now) provide wonderful, reckless everyday examples of why. People used to stuffy British crime mysteries will not enjoy this show's sense of humor, which is irreverent and often comes from the gutter and the gallows. This is not your grandmother's Masterpiece Mystery. But if a quip from a lout that reminds you of how contemporary blue collar cops might really act makes you laugh then you're in the right place. Nesbitt is especially witty as the stern, snarling commissioner who snaps out sarcasm through gritted teeth to his smiley-faced softie aide. Danny Boyle has cooked up another something special. Definitely more like Trainspotting than, say, Millions, though. Dark.

I was instantly hooked by the trailer back in 2013 for the Pilot in February the coming year, and i did like it. However the Pilot itself seemed off what it really wanted to be about, you could tell from the start what its goal of being a comedy show about the Metropolitan Police and the struggle with the media was, to be funny with a concrete story, and it was for the first 20 or so minutes however it soon became all too serious and dragged on. I enjoyed it but it could have been more appealing which leads me onto the fact that, the show is getting increasingly better! The first episode of the new series practically begged me to watch it, we all know what Danny Boyle's trailers can be like so i gave the show a second chance and i was right to do so, Babylon picked back up its comedic trophy and beat the serious thick boring mess that was the pilot into something amazing, Nesbitt's role becomes more funny but yet more dark, Brit Marling truly goes on an all out blitzkrieg with her highly intelligent but yet surprisingly competitive character, and all whilst the show focuses more and more of the effects on, and life of the Police but more their humanity and what they deal with. This is at the point now where the storyline gets serious, as it got too much of it during the pilot, but yet the show itself has now found the correct balance of Comedy and a Solid Story. Basically, Boyle took something that needed work instead of ditching it, and made it into a show truly worth follow up series and more than the rating it currently has. Bravo.

Very well put together spoof fly on the wall drama along the lines of 2012 and W1A and just as good. You can see bits of Peep Show shining through from the same team. Funny, well acted and with a story line that builds throughout the seven episodes.

Seriously, don't be out of by the few negative reviews and you'll see what I mean after a couple of episodes.