FTA-TV The Night Manager

[Frank Bunn]

Quality series by the Beeb based on a John le Carré novel about an under cover operative in the shady arms dealing world. They've obviously given it a decent budget. There's private jets, antique sports cars, luxury villas etc. Hugh Laurie probably didn't come cheap. Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Debicki are central to the plot but also provide eye candy. The real star of the show is Olivia Colman as Angela Burr, the embattled leader of a small unit determined to bring down the bad guys.

 

[Ry009]

Really good watch, highly recommended.

 

[Gralin]

Good show, House vs Loki

 

[Jatz]

Yeah recommend this as well.

Hugh Laurie suited that role better than I thought he would.

 

[Predator35]

Great show. Smashed the whole series on flight home from the Phillipines in June.

 

[Maggie5]

I Loved it and also recommend.

Not sure if there will be a second series according to this:
http://www.newseveryday.com/article...-date-spoilers-news-update-tom-hiddleston.htm

Simon Cornwell is the son of John le Carré, the author of the 1993 novel "The Night Manager," which the TV series is based. Cornwell shared that there is no book and there has never been a Le Carré story which has been extended beyond the confines of the novel. Hence, it would be more interesting for fans to see "The Night Manager" Season 2 knowing that it won't be based on the book, Digital Spy noted.


However, Simon Cornwell cleared that they won't plan to do "The Night Manager" Season 2 if they know that it won't stand a chance. Of course, they, too, are planning to make it even better compared to its predecessor. Tom Hiddleston, on the other hand, shared his reaction to Entertainment Weekly that it will be John le Carré's decision if there would be another sequel to come.

Anyone heard anything different?

 

[crafty_bernardo]

Elizabeth Debicki is a total babe.

Fund the series ok, the last few episodes were truly awful however. Pure cheese.

 

[Rod Stroker]

^ Agree.

Thought it started well, first few eps were great and had me hooked, but it tapered off towards the end. I'll put it this way; by about the 3rd ep I was staggered that they only made 6 eps and no second season. By the end, I was glad.

 

[Dry Rot]

If you like John Le Carre style stuff, this is much better IMO

The Game

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3159736/?ref_=fn_al_tt_7

 

[Maggie5]

If you like John Le Carre style stuff, this is much better IMO

The Game

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3159736/?ref_=fn_al_tt_7

Will check it out, hopefully it is still around.

 

[Dry Rot]

Certainly worth a watch now on SBS.

 

[MC Bad Genius]

Certainly worth a watch now on SBS.

Started watching it on SBS On Demand and really want to finish it, but the episodes on iTunes are close to an hour whereas it's only 45 minutes on SBS. My thought is that they've just edited the timing to make 8 episodes, but I can't find confirmation anywhere. Does anyone know?

 

[Vader]

It's 6 episodes, not 8. IMDB lists the episode lengths as varying from 57min to 62min. Not sure whether or not that includes ad breaks.

IMDB lists Ep #6 at 62 min. SBS have it listed (tomorrow night) for 55min. SBS have shorter ad breaks than normal commercial networks. This may account for the difference... or they may be doing some judicious editing.

If so, they wouldn't be the only offender. Ch 10 consistently cut 3-4 minutes out of every episode of Scorpion, for reasons completely unknown. The original episodes are usually around 41 min. The versions 10 broadcast rarely exceed 38min, and have sometimes been under 37min. It's not a show with huge ratings, so I doubt they're making cuts in order to show more ads.

How do I know how long these shows are without ads? I hate watching ads, and I'm anally retentive. I record them on my PVR, then edit out the ads on my computer (using VideoRedo TVSuite). This tells me exactly how much time is in the segments I've selected for inclusion in the edited version.

 

[Vader]

Hold that thought... I've just been looking at the episode descriptions online.

SBS appear to be playing silly buggers with the episode lengths, because they've turned a 6-episode series into an 8-episode series. The version produced by the BBC has 6 episodes, varying from 57-62 minutes. The Wikipedia episode description for Ep 4 matches what SBS broadcast last week - as Ep 5.

Why would they do this? Because 57-62 min, plus ads, comes in at 70-75 minutes of programming. This is not very convenient. By chopping it down to 45min episodes, plus ads, it now fits conveniently into 1 hour episode lengths.

 

[MC Bad Genius]

Hold that thought... I've just been looking at the episode descriptions online.

SBS appear to be playing silly buggers with the episode lengths, because they've turned a 6-episode series into an 8-episode series. The version produced by the BBC has 6 episodes, varying from 57-62 minutes. The Wikipedia episode description for Ep 4 matches what SBS broadcast last week - as Ep 5.

Why would they do this? Because 57-62 min, plus ads, comes in at 70-75 minutes of programming. This is not very convenient. By chopping it down to 45min episodes, plus ads, it now fits conveniently into 1 hour episode lengths.

That was my thought too. I'm just concerned that if they've cut it down, maybe they've edited it slightly differently so that each episode makes sense (rather than just stopping them early). Frustrating either way and also a complete slap in the face of the creators.

 

[Vader]

That was my thought too. I'm just concerned that if they've cut it down, maybe they've edited it slightly differently so that each episode makes sense (rather than just stopping them early). Frustrating either way and also a complete slap in the face of the creators.

I don't think we're missing anything - but carving 6x 60-min episodes, and turning them into 8x 43min episodes, does show a distinct lack of respect for the show's creators.

 

[Lance Uppercut]

only heard about this on the weekend and immediately procured it. It's awesome! Only watched 2 eps so far but hanging to watch the rest.

<3 Hugh Laurie

 

[Frank Bunn]

Season 2 is good, especially with

Spoiler

Hugh Laurie returning

I'm up to ep5. The plot is getting pretty unbelievable.

 

[Jatz]

Been meaning to check this out, want to rewatch the first season again before I do though.

 

[Forward Press]

Been meaning to check this out, want to rewatch the first season again before I do though.

Don't need to rewatch, really, the recaps tell you everything you need to know.

No spoilers, but it is getting into the realms of implausibility now, but hey it's decent TV at least. I've persisted through much worse.