"State of Play" (2003) TV series

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

18 May 2003 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Sometimes you have to read between the lines

Plot:

A thriller set in London, in which a politician's life becomes increasingly complex as his research assistant is found dead on the London Underground and, in a seemingly unrelated incident, a teenage drug dealer is shot dead.

Plot Keywords:

London | Politician | Politics | Forbidden Love | Male Female Relationship

Awards:

14 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

John Simm	...	Cal McCaffrey (6 episodes, 2003)
David Morrissey	...	Stephen Collins (6 episodes, 2003)
Kelly Macdonald	...	Della Smith (6 episodes, 2003)
Bill Nighy	...	Cameron Foster (6 episodes, 2003)
Amelia Bullmore	...	Helen Preger (6 episodes, 2003)
Benedict Wong	...	Pete Cheng (6 episodes, 2003)
Rebekah Staton	...	Liz (6 episodes, 2003)
Philip Glenister	...	DCI William Bell (6 episodes, 2003)
Polly Walker	...	Anne Collins (6 episodes, 2003)
James McAvoy	...	Dan Foster (5 episodes, 2003)
Marc Warren	...	Dominic Foy (5 episodes, 2003)
Michael Feast	...	Andrew Wilson (5 episodes, 2003)
Johann Myers	...	Sonny Stagg (5 episodes, 2003)
Tom Burke	...	Syd (4 episodes, 2003)
Deborah Findlay	...	Greer Thornton (4 episodes, 2003)
James Laurenson	...	George Fergus (4 episodes, 2003)
Christopher Simpson	...	Adam Greene (4 episodes, 2003)
Maureen Hibbert	...	Olicia Stagg (4 episodes, 2003)
Sean Gilder	...	Sergeant 'Chewy' Cheweski / ... (3 episodes, 2003)
Shauna Macdonald	...	Sonia Baker (3 episodes, 2003)
Stuart Goodwin	...	Robert Bingham (3 episodes, 2003)
Charlie Ryan	...	Louis Collins (3 episodes, 2003)
Rebecca Ryan	...	Karen Collins (3 episodes, 2003)
Patrick Brennan	...	Neil Woods (3 episodes, 2003)

Runtime:

57 min (6 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M (some episodes) | UK:15 (5 episodes) | UK:12 (1 episode) | Australia:MA

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

A second season was commissioned by then-BBC Commissioner Greg Dyke before the first season had even been transmitted. The second season never materialized, however, because Paul Abbott felt he didn't know how to make the story work and he had already had tremendous success with Shameless.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Top Gear: (2006-05-21)" (2006)

State of the nation, state of the art

What makes a good political thriller? Some things are obvious. Firstly, strong believable characters. Secondly, a fast-paced, complex, dazzling plot. But the plot must resolve into something comprehensible - there may appear to be one hundred mysteries, but beneath the smoke and mirrors, there must be one story. Anyone can write an infinite collection of coincidences and conspiracies - but a strong story makes simple sense in the end. Finally, a political drama needs to say something authentic about the current state of the world. If the final conclusion is that the Prime Minister has a prediliction for drinking the blood of teenage girls, then however plausible this is made to seem, an opportunity has been lost - if politics really is the subject matter, and not just the setting, then the personal drama must make some wider political point. Paul Abbott's 'State of Play' succeeds gloriously on all these points, and confirms his reputation as among the the sharpest writers in British television today.

Director David Yates also deserves credit, for keeping the mood tense but unmelodramatic throughout, while the cast show uniform excellence in bringing Abbott's characters to life. Abbott has commented that he knew he would have failed if any of his (largely journalistic) heroes could be sumarised as "mavericks" - a simple lesson ignored by ninety percent of writers today. Instead we have real, three-dimensional portrayals. What's especially impressive is how well the female characters are realised - neither passive decoration nor kick-ass post-feminists, but believable, not necessarily glamorous women - the contrast between the sexes has a low-key ring of truth. David Morrissey as the MP around whom the storm breaks is also excellent - when politicians are held in universally low stock, 'State of Play' avoids all the easiest shots. If one of the tragedy of politics is that many of its protagonists are first rate idiots, another is what it makes out of those who are not. Morrissey's Stephen Collins is never sympathetic, and yet comes across as the sort of man you might almost choose to try and run the country. Paul Abbott, meanwhile, is certainly the sort of man you'd choose to write a drama. In 'State of Play', he has produced the best British TV series since 'Holding On'.