Media Consumption
‘The Hour’ and a Vanilla Whiskey Sponge Cake
The perfect British show for binging and the most perfectly decadent, boozy vegan sponge cake to accompany your journey
It was a winter’s morning in 2013. Banked in by blankets, surrounded by snacks, my friends and I watched both seasons of The Hour back-to-back. Twelve hours of sitting silently, with a series I’d already seen several times — it’s one of my happiest memories. Some TV shows acquire what I call an easy rolling commitment, usually without your even realizing it: As soon as you’ve finished the final episode, well, you might as well start over again. The 2011 BBC drama The Hour has been one such show, and if you’re in the market to watch something compelling, beautiful, and positively crammed with brilliant actors, then I enthusiastically recommend it.
The Hour, set in 1956 London, follows three central characters as they launch a television show heralding a new era of current events reporting. Ambitious Bel Rowley (Romola Garai) is producer, followed by her whip-smart best friend Freddie Lyon (Ben Whishaw) whose unrequited love for Bel manifests largely in frustrating behavior. Both know their talent is wasted working on newsreels of socialite weddings, both know crucial world matters are going…
