I read a review that said the writing was far too generous and sympathetic towards BJ et al, so I deleted them!
Yeah that was clear as day in episode 1, also the nod to the phone calls to his children.If the writing is too sympathetic towards Johnson, I'd hate to see the writing for a script which goes in at him. I think Johnson is portrayed terribly throughout the early stages of Covid. More interested in holidays with Carrie.
Indeed. Hate this sort of thing. By all means do a documentary based on facts but something like this will contain loads of stuff that's 'imagined' or 'adapted' ie made up and people who watched it will be quoting it as fact in years to come.I think they've done it too soon. Shouldve waited until after the inquiry.
I thought that did come across when they were given speeches after the 'Brexit Day' celebration speeches, and Johnson asked him to step up and he looked sheepish and only managed a few words before scuttling off.But Cummins always came across to me in real life as someone who wanted to hide in a corner and be the super controller but without talking much and keeping out of the limelight while in the drama he seemed to be running the inside of Downing Street and wanting to be at the centre of everything.
Think it was the case that the number 10 staff was huge, certainly around that time.BJ seems to be on holiday or breaks over 50% of time, in this drama, so far. (end of episode 1)
From what I saw in real life he would throw himself into activities and then burn out and be sent on recovery times, but in the drama you don't see the activity time much, just the recovery time (when he appeared to be doing none of his PM job).
The also had him quoting the Classics every 2 minutes, which became comical, almost a parody of him, so it started to feel like Splitting Images without the puppets and the producers were using alot of real news stories to give the effect this drama is 100% of what happened.
Cummins was in it a lot and certain bits seemed spot on, about employing the young experts, putting them on a pedestal and then sacking them 6 weeks later - like the Watford owners and theor managers! But Cummins always came across to me in real life as someone who wanted to hide in a corner and be the super controller but without talking much and keeping out of the limelight while in the drama he seemed to be running the inside of Downing Street and wanting to be at the centre of everything.
What also come across what that there are hundreds of people working in Downing Street, rushing about but not actually doing much, almost just looking busy. Who pays all these people?
Exactly a lot of the meetings were noted and the details published so that will have been factored.Think it was the case that the number 10 staff was huge, certainly around that time.
In terms of meetings etc I'm pretty sure they've used actual minutes where available which adds credibility to some of the scenes.
"This fiction is based on real events" at the start of each episode sums it up quite well actually.
‘Take it on the chin’ & ‘let the bodies pile high’ are two phrases I thought were missing. I did think they went pretty easy on him.. but then it is supposed to be entertaining. It’s not a fly on the wall documentary by any stretch of the imagination. A warts an all program including sticking up MPs accused of rape and sexual assault etc the thing would be too dark for most to stomach.. it would probably be less believable if they covered everything!!Watched a couple (got covid, appropriately) and the general tone around the government's management of the response (or lack of) seems to be well measured so far i.e. decisions mostly being political rather than health driven, especially so earlier on, with an apparent leadership vacuum that led to indecision, denial and procrastination.
In terms of how BJ is portrayed, I do think he's got off very lightly, being shown as largely inept and disengaged - I actually think his role was more cynical and deliberate than that.