I’m still not sure I understand what the title refers, to, but if you get a chance to check out the BBC miniseries State of Play, do so. It’s like All the King’s Men crossed with House of Cards. It starts with a brutal street slaying that seems to have no connection to anything else. Then a young woman falls under a train. Over the course of six hours of gripping suspense, a complex mesh of lies, espionage, cover-ups and politics is unraveled by the investigative reporters of the London Herald, spearheaded by Cal McAffrey, played by John Simm (right).
I’ve seen a fair number of six-hour miniseries in recent years, but it’s hard to think of a single one that held me so firmly in its grip. There’s no bloat, no wasted moments, no pointless sideplots. I can’t imagine how this is being adapted as a two-hour movie (Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren, Russel Crowe) without completely eviscerating it. Highly recommended.
Dabney Coleman did a terrific job as a former mobster suffering dementia on Law & Order: SVU last night. There was something scary about the look in his eyes. I liked the way he almost incriminated himself numerous times as he ranted about the past. I think the actual resolution of the kidnapping plot got short shrift, and the son-in-law’s actions were a tad mystifying, but you can’t have everything, can you?
I have a little bit more manuscript reformatting to do before I print the whole thing out for the first time and being the job of editing, proofing and revising. My second delivery point is February 13, at which time I am supposed to be 2/3 of the way through. My goal is to be 3/3 done by then.
