Manhattan Digest

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BBC America

Fleming Makes For A Fun Origin Story

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Dominic Cooper as Ian Fleming (Source: BBC AMERICA)
Dominic Cooper as Ian Fleming (Source: BBC AMERICA)

Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond: Wednesdays at 10 Eastern on BBC America

It’s pretty amazing how often we take our neighbors across the pond for granted when it comes to pop culture (especially TV). Whether it’s been wholesale appropriation of British series for American audiences (series as diverse as All in the Family and The Office were adapted from British shows) or straight up cult fandom of existing British content (I personally cannot go a day without someone posting something about Doctor Who on my facebook news feed), it seems that the BBC has managed to play a surprisingly strong role in shaping pop culture on this side of the Atlantic as well. Tonight, the BBC has a four part miniseries delving into yet another piece of British culture that has a strong foothold in American’s entertainment consciousness, delving into a man who tended to act like his most famous creation.

Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond (from here on out referred to as Fleming), follows it’s titular character and James Bond (Dominic Cooper) creator Ian Fleming in the 1940’s as he operates in a naval intelligence unit during the second world war. In many ways Fleming is like the man he would eventually write about: a great spy, a debonair playboy, and a man who thinks big. This four part series takes a look into his rise from the black sheep of a wealthy family into the superstar novelist he would become after the war.

From a purely visual perspective, Fleming is absolutely beautiful, whether it’s focusing on Jamaica, the Swiss Alps, or pre-blitz London. This is furthered by incredible use of the camera, whether it involves the wide angle shots wherever Fleming takes us to those exotic locales or the use of cuts such as when a Nazi officer shuts the curtain in front of a stunned Fleming preoccupied on the atrocities occurring just outside the window. Particular credit has to be given to the camera work in the episodes climax, as the camera freezes on both exploding windows and a passionate kiss between Fleming and the married woman he’s been chasing all episode. If there is one knock that I will mention, it’s some conspicuous and often fake looking CG graphics that are used in establishing shots whenever a train or plane becomes part of the plot.

I also appreciate how Fleming manages to take no prisoners with it’s central character. This mini-series is about the making of the man, and the first episode relentlessly reinforces the notion that Ian Fleming circa 1939 is both a complete disappointment and a completely insatiable poon-hound. Unfortunately, with it’s short run-length, and what overall seems to be a war story, it somehow spends a little too much time focusing on Fleming’s attempts at romantic dalliance at the expense of setting up the spy thriller that the series is attempting to market itself as.

I also must highlight the amazing casting choice of Dominic Cooper for the lead role. It’s a difficult task to play a thoroughly unsympathetic protagonist (at least at this stage in the series) without turning people away, but Cooper brings a wry, almost puckish charisma to the role, making it impossible to turn away. Cooper is surrounded by a fairly strong supporting cast that excel in both bouncing off of and stifling him at every turn.

The Final Verdict: This is the second time I’ve gone to BBC America on a slower TV week (premieres are grinding to a halt as the networks brace for the Winter Olympics) and for the second time I can say that I haven’t been disappointed. Fleming at it’s core is about the evolution of a flawed individual, and it fearlessly shows the flaws in it’s central character from moment one. I would recommend checking it out, especially if you’re looking for a new TV fix in what will be a slow February.

It’s easy to get hooked by Broadchurch

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Cast of Broadchurch (Source: BBC America)
Cast of Broadchurch (Source: BBC America)

Broadchurch: Wednesdays at 10p.m. Eastern Time on BBC America

One of the perks of sharing a common heritage and common language with Great Britain is that there always seems to be a great amount of cultural exchange coming across the pond. We’ve seen it with music in the past (ever hear of a little band called The Beatles?), but recently we’ve seen it more and more with television. In the last decade we’ve seen a number of breakout hits come from Britain, including The Office (and it’s longer running US adaptation), Downton Abbey, and an explosion in popularity for Doctor Who. Tonight marks the debut of another British show that looks to capture the eye of America (Fox has already greenlit an American version for 2014-15) in Broadchurch.

Broadchurch is a mystery series along the lines of Twin Peaks or The Killing, in that the entire season is devoted to the investigation of one overarching case as opposed to the case-of-the-week model that CBS has made its’ bread-and-butter for the last decade. Following the case are Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) and Alec Hardy (David Tennant), whom not only have to deal with the technical aspect of finding a young boy’s killer, but doing so in a way that keeps an interfering media away.

The first thing you’ll notice with Broadchurch is that the camera work is visually stunning, filled with long tracking shots that convey a sense of busyness and an almost cinematic quality to them. This aspect is only aided by the scenery, as most of the show takes place on a beach set beside a cliff and a quaint seaside village not unlike what you’d expect to see out on the east end of Long Island. The scoring is similarly strong, giving off the eerie vibe that sets the mood for a mystery.

Another strength of the show is the dynamic between its’ leads. There are numerous ways that shows of this ilk tend to differentiate their characters: by the book vs. loose cannon being a classic example, but this is the first time that the dynamic could be described as emotional insider vs. cold and aloof outsider. Of course, the writers also manage to find new twists in which to create difficulties within this partnership as Alec was given a job essentially promised to Ellie, while Ellie’s nephew is responsible for the journalistic tsunami that is about to descend on Broadchurch.

The show is also particularly well acted, with a strong commitment to subtlety. Olivia Colman does a superb job portraying Ellie Miller, whose life goes from normal to upside-down in a matter of minutes between getting jettisoned for her promotion and the death of her son’s best friend, however, this is never overplayed, as Ellie looks like she has keeping it together just enough to trudge on with the investigation while still credibly maintaining the possibility that her emotions can compromise the investigation. Similarly, David Tennant does an equally strong job ensuring that Alec Hardy does not turn into the caricature of the more bureaucratically oriented cop while allowing for the stark differences between himself and Ellie to come forward.

The Final Verdict: 44 minutes in and it’s no surprise that Fox jumped at the opportunity to adapt this show. Visually beautiful, subtly acted, and well written, Broadchurch is the sort of show that The Killing has tried to be for the past three seasons. Debuting in the United States at the quietest time of the TV calendar, I strongly recommend watching it, as it seems to be the sort of captivating high concept crime drama that is otherwise absent on this side of the pond.