Is it me, or did all the fun go out of everything round about 1979?

Continuing my trip down Empire's Top 50 TV Shows of 2022.  

#18 : Slow Horses (Seasons 1 & 2)

Everybody loves an underdog. Mick Herron’s Slough House books are espionage thrillers with a twist, focusing on the rejects, outcasts and misfits of her majesty’s intelligence service — a delightful proposition that translates perfectly to this Apple series. Gary Oldman steals the show as swearing, farting, washed-up spy Jackson Lamb, overseeing a gaggle of operatives in exile, including the recently demoted and shamed River Cartwright (Jack Lowden). Both stories were gripping from start to finish, but the real delight here is the character-work. Lamb’s team of fuck-ups are lovable losers one and all, but it’s Oldman that dominates, his scenes spent trading barbs with Kristin Scott Thomas’ icy intelligence chief being pure, profanity-laden art. Funny, surprising and occasionally touching, Slow Horses’ setup may position it as Poundland Le Carré, but the execution is anything but.


I've watched both seasons of this (and am currently close to the end of season 3) and I have absolutely no idea how The Guardian missed this off their list - it's just great.  I mean everything about it is great - great characters, great plot, great dialogue and great acting.  And I think that's all I really need to tell you.

As Empire says, Gary Oldman steals the show in a very unglamorous role that you get the impression he loves - some of the insults he gets to reel off are absolutely brilliant.  However, there's some high quality actors supporting him, with his team including Jack Lowden, Saskia Reeves, Rosalind Eleazer, Christopher Chung and Dustin Demri-Burns all of whom are flawed in interesting and believable ways.  Other notable names who pop up from time to time are Kristin Scott Thomas (who is having a blast with this), Jonathan Pryce, Sophie Okonedo, Samuel West and Phil Davis - all of whom have a great time chewing up the scenery.

To be honest, that's all I really have to say on the matter - I think this is some of the best telly I watched last year and I enjoyed every minute of it.  As Empire puts it, it was "funny, surprising and occasionally touching" - but it was so much more than that.  Just start at the beginning and work your way through it - I have one more episode of season three to watch and then I have to go back to waiting for the next season.

#19 - Yeah, this is good
#17 - Gorgeous but frustrating

Comments

  1. Anonymous22 December 2023 at 14:54

    If you enjoyed Jackson Lamb’s sophistication, finesse and after shave aroma you are bound to be interested in real spies. Don't miss Beyond Enkription in #TheBurlingtonFiles about the real scoundrels in MI6 aka #PembertonsPeople. See https://theburlingtonfiles.org/news_2022.10.31.php.

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