The BBC have finally released their first high definition disc titles in their home country, several months after they debuted Planet Earth across the Atlantic - good to see that UK tax-payers who fund their overseas expansion actually get some advantage (not!). Unfortunately the best new release for those that hadn't already purchased Planet Earth (which is superb) on import has been cancelled a mere week before its scheduled release. So if you were excited to see Bleak House advertised in full-page ads all over the home cinema/DVD/film magazines last month you're in for a disappointement. Yet another great way to spend the tax-payers money - glossy ads for titles you don't have - don'tcha think?!
Moving quickly on, we have four or five other high definition titles to look forward to. And, to their credit, the Beeb have released all the titles on both the available formats: HD-DVD and Blu-Ray.
That being said, the initial list of titles seems a bizarre one at first glance. Does anybody REALLY want to see the infantile mess that is Robin Hood Series 1 on high definition disc? And what about the subject of this review (its coming, honest!) trash-TV 'soap' Hotel Babylon?!!! Have the BBC completely lost their minds?
Well no, as it happens. I approached Hotel Babylon with some trepidation. I'm not too snobby to enjoy trash 'camp' TV, but learnt after getting drawn into the likes of Footballers' Wives, Bad Girls and Cutting It that plotlines soon become more and more ludicrous, and a sort of naffness unique to certain gay hairdresser establishments in the North ('Isn't the Eurovision Song Contest fab?!') quickly sets in. Watching several episodes of these shows back-to-back is a bit like watching The Jerry Springer Show - addictive, but you feel like you need to take a shower afterwards.
The TV advertising for Hotel Babylon, with its Z-list ex East-Enders actors did nothing to convince me that Hotel Babylon would be in any way different from these 'trash TV' shows. My bad!
There's still a high 'trash' quotient of course but, based on an insider's guide as to what really happens in five-star hotels (I don't think I'll EVER use a hotel glass to drink out of again!), this glossy soap delivers it with real panache and style. With individual scenes separated by consistently stunning high-definition helicopter shots of London during the day and night, the series really impresses on this high definition disc.
The scripts are, for the most part, well constructed, and the characters, with the sole exception of the obligatory super-bitch character fairly believable.
The real surprise is the main lead Max Beasley, someone I'd previously labelled as an out-of-work musician 'faking it' as an actor, who as Charlie delivers a performance that's subtle, sophisticated, real and charismatic - completely at odds with the rather ignorant, real-life persona heard and seen on chat shows (and the extra's on this three-disc set). Beasley plays the part of the newly promoted assistant manager, the series narrator, and slightly-naughty-but-essentially-good guy hero of the series. He's effectively the viewer's guide to the series and it's very bizarre that he only gets second-best billing, after the over-exposed Tamzin Outhwaite.
Outhwaite plays Charlie's boss, the general manager of the hotel of the title, and repeats her endless previous performances (ie she plays herself) on the few occasions the script actually gives her something to do. I can understand that she's more of a household name than Beasley, but even so she is effectively a rather minor character in the series so her name as the star of the show seems just plain wrong.
In the eight, hour-long (real hour, not American TV hours that equate to 40 minutes!) episodes we get some nice self-contained stories, with ongoing story arcs that add character depth for most of the four or five main characters. The best scenes are invariably those taken directly from the book, with elaborate little cameos to illustrate each point. The series has had a lot of money spent on it and it shows, particularly in these little 'hotel life' recreation scenes, although the 360 degree fast spin-round effect soon gets tiring, particularly if you've already tired of it in the likes of Smokin' Aces.
Alas the series does, on a couple of occasion, feature ridiculous character reversals that just wouldn't happen in real life, usually just to up the 'trash' or 'pantomime' level of the plot - none of which is necessary as the series has enough strong characters and plot points to hold the viewer's attention throughout.
The BBC have done a great job on the high definition transfer of the show, and the series is a real visual treat for the eyes - a long, long way from the East-Enders production values I was expecting. There's the expected end-of-series cliff-hanger cop-out (Didn't Dallas do all this many, many years ago) but at least give the audience some sense of closure instead of leaving everything hanging in the balance.
The extra's are good value too, if far too gushing in places. I don't know if it was intended that the producer and director gush about how beautiful Outhwaite is for comedic effect whenever she looks particularly haggard or 'mutton dressed as lamb', but it soon wore thin. Luckily, although the commentary track is far too self-congratulatory and gushing, the other 'on the set' featurettes and cast interviews do make up for this. All-in-all, a surprisingly good high definition presentation of a rather good TV series for the masses.
I'm not convinced it's a purchase, but this one's definitely worth a rental, and the BBC appear to have got off to a good start with their high-definition releases. Those who thought that high definition was only about cinema are going to get a shock when they start looking at the TV series making their way onto the format, and Hotel Babylon is up there with the best of them. Recommended!
