Yes boss
Continuing my trip down The Guardian's Top 50 TV Shows of 2021.
#7 : Time
Jimmy McGovern’s hard, horrifying look at prison life was seen largely through the eyes of former teacher Mark Cobden (Sean Bean), who was serving his first stretch. Bean’s performance was a masterclass in understatement, communicated mainly through silence and shuffles on the wing – and it made for even more devastating television.
Jimmy McGovern, Sean Bean and Stephen Graham - some proper quality there. It's never going to be full-on chuckle-fest though, is it? But if The Guardian calls it "hard, horrifying", that suggests it's going to be hard work indeed. I'm guessing it'll be something well written and well acted but hard to watch - and I'm certainly not expecting to enjoy it.
So we have Sean Bean as a first-time prisoner having killed someone through an initially unspecified incident (the story of which unfolds across the episodes) and Stephen Graham is his warden (that's "boss" to you). And it's basically a series of vignettes as we have many moments of dilemma, drama and danger as both of them navigate their way through a pretty unforgiving system.
And yeah, I could only really manage 30 minute doses of it (at most - there was one bit where I needed to take a break after 2 minutes!) before I had to go and cheer myself up by listening to some Joy Division or The Smiths. Generally "unremittingly grim" would be a fair summary - there are moments of hope and redemption, but it doesn't take long for something to come along and knock them down. Everyone is caught up in a system over which they have no control and it takes every opportunity to prove this to them and to you. And some parts of the final episode in particular are extremely emotional as well - but it does manage a slightly hopeful ending (in a very cool location). Overall,
To my inexperienced eye, it seems pretty believable, although I imagine it doesn't all happen in one prison all the time (but it's obviously not my area of expertise and I intend to keep things that way, if that's OK with you). If anything, I'd guess that prison life has to considerably duller than it's shown to be - but I guess it's hard to quickly demonstrate the boredom (although I imagine Jimmy McGovern could give it a shot as well as anyone)
It's obviously very well acted - you're not going to have Sean Bean and Stephen Graham in something for it to be a shoddy drama now, are you? And Sue Johnston pops up as well and she's hardly a slouch on the quality drama front. Basically, everyone takes their opportunity in the spotlight well, but Anna Madely deserves a specific shout-out for her small but crucial role. One other nice touch is that Stephen Graham's wife is played by - Stephen Graham's wife! Hopefully that aspect of the roles wasn't too much of a stretch for the pair of them.
As well as being well written and acted, it's also very well shot giving you a good feeling for both the claustrophobic and chaotic nature of the prison. So well written, well acted and well shot - I couldn't really say I enjoyed it, but I am glad I stuck with it until the end, although if it had been any more than 3 episodes, then I suspect I might not have made it. Those who like hard-hitting dramas will lap this up - I find my nerves can't quite cope with them, but I appreciate all the skills on display nonetheless.
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