The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard

The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard (2006)

Written by Sally Wainwright
Directed by Simon Curtis, Simon Curtis, Declan Lowney, Declan Lowney, Catherine Morsehead, Catherine Morsehead
Starring Bubble!, Stephen Mackintosh, Jodhi May, Jemma McKenzie-Brown, Janet McTeer

Synopsis
Mrs. Ros Pritchard, in accurately calling out the bullshit of the three politicians who decide to stump in front of the grocery store she manages, starts a political movement which moves her to No. 10 Downing St. within a few months.  (I'm not going to describe the British political system to you).  She's honest, etc. and "not a politician."  Can she make a difference?  Will she keep her promises and be genuine, or will she be discovered to be just another politician?

The Woman
this was good in the way that all british shows are good. those brits have a way of sucking the viewer right in with the writing and the characters. i don't think i enjoyed quite as much as moster, but i think it was a shame that there is only 6 episodes. the first couple episodes were really good and the last group of episodes seemed as though the writers were trying to catch up with the fact that there were only going to be 6. i think there were too many plot points that got thrown in and had to be resolved quicker than they should have been. it also ended in a fairly poor way too. i liked it but i was also disappointed by it.

MOster
This one degraded over its six episodes from a high 4 to a mid 3.  It wasn't even State of Play at the beginning, but it did a great job of keeping the energy and joy where they needed to be.  Throughout the six hours, it played my emotions like a middle-class stripper (i.e. I knew I was being played but I could think about it while it was happening).

But I think they bit off a little more than they could chew.  There were plenty of really interesting, well-played characters, and I would have loved to see back story on a couple more of them; but there just wasn't time for what they started, let alone what they didn't.  It seems obvious to me in retrospect that this was intended to be a pilot series which hoped to get picked up for a considerably longer run, maybe to improve what The West Wing left for us; but that just wasn't in the cards and I can see why: The "new girl" card frays pretty quickly.

There was plenty joy here, and I don't want to minimize that.  Jane Horrocks is an actress who doesn't get nearly enough credit, and I plan to annoy my woman by seeking films starring some of those who supported her.  Direction and editing were largely good to great and the production itself felt natural to me.  Writing was very nice in small bits which unfortunately didn't all coalesce.

I recommend this.  This is the sort of thing that I would leave on the television if I came across it in the guide.