FLEMING: THE Miniseries THAT WOULD BE Interesting

Article originally written for Seat42F.com

FLEMING: THE MAN WHO WOULD BE BOND, a miniseries from BBC America (insert grumbling about lack of actual British programming on the network), begins this week. It tells the story of Ian Fleming (Dominic Cooper, Captain America), an aimless playboy whose talents are being squandered. Longing for adventure, he jumps at the chance to help the British military during World War II. And somewhere along the way, he’ll also be falling in love and writing novels starring the famous superspy, James Bond.

 

The first part of the mini opens with Ian on his honeymoon with wife Ann (Lara Pulver, Sherlock’s Irene Adler) in 1952. When not motor-boating about (literally and, well, you know…), he is finishing up the book Casino Royale. I guess this gives us a glimpse of where he’s heading, but I am baffled by recent programs’ insistence to start at the end. Why not let the story play out in a natural progression? In some cases, perhaps it benefits the tale being told, but in the example of FLEMING, it adds nothing to the narrative, and I really wish it hadn’t been done.

Once that bit is out of the way, we’re back to the late 1930s. The Nazis are rising, and while Ian has no love for them, he also isn’t overly concerned, spending his days bedding women and illegally obtaining first edition tomes for his collection, including Hitler’s own work. This is where we see who Ian Fleming is, and his development begins.

Fleming is a familiar enough type. He’s rich and free-wheeling, with little regard for others, even those he’s intimate with, which is currently Muriel (Annabelle Wallis, The Tudors), a relationship of convenience for him, not love. He doesn’t even try to live up to the sterling reputation of his brother, Peter (Rupert Evans, The Village), much to the disapproval of his mother, Evelyn (Lesley Manville, Cranford). And he certainly doesn’t take his job as a stock broker seriously, losing his only client without losing a bit of sleep. In fact, sleep and other bed-based activities are the cause of his failure.

This is a hard place for a drama to start. The above paragraph does not describe a likeable character, and while some series may set out to paint a complex picture of someone who is only rough on the surface, no compassionate side of Ian is visible throughout the initial hour. He’s intelligent and charming, but that’s not enough to earn him viewer sympathy, especially when so much of his attitude is insincere, an act to win over those such as his colleague, Second Officer Monday (Anna Chancellor, The Hour).

Even when Fleming does good, he’s doing bad. He gets information from Nazi U-boat captains, but goes about it entirely the wrong way, angering his superiors and barely escaping punishment himself. Throughout it all, he doesn’t show a hint of remorse or second guessing, which is a recipe for disaster in real life. Unless he really is just that lucky.

 

Cooper does a fine enough job as the cad, but those looking for the subtleties in his performance, hoping to access the inner psyche, will be disappointed. Like the tone of the show itself, he’s flashy and of less substance than one expects. I feel like most actors would play this role the same, but there are some out there that could bring a magnetic essence to the part that would save it. Not knowing much about the real Fleming, though, this may be exactly the portrayal he deserves.

FLEMING: THE MAN WHO WOULD BE BOND is useful because it paints us a portrait of the author behind the famous series, something many of us know little or nothing about. It helps fill in why he wrote what he wrote, Bond being, as Ann says in the beginning and Ian denies, Fleming’s fantasy laid bare. Ian Fleming wants to be the smooth hero. He does make it a little bit down that path in the first hour, but future parts will need to be viewed before we see if he ever gets very close to the dream.

The pacing does drag in parts, and the structure seems loose, as is often the case with biopics, being resigned to get through several events whether they serve the purpose of the miniseries or not. There’s clearly an attempt at a cohesive arc, with Ann appearing frequently in the past timeframe, but I don’t get the sense that FLEMING is truly a love story. This means it flounders a bit, not quite deciding what it is, and so not quite impressing as it should.

FLEMING: THE MAN WHO WOULD BE BOND airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on BBC America.

Pan Am takes off

     ABC's Pan Am begins with "Pilot," a more appropriate use of that title than in other series, though the pilot is merely one of the characters featured. The Clipper Majestic makes its first flight from New York to London. New captain Dean (Mike Vogel, Miami Medical) wonders why his special gal, Bridget (Annabelle Wallis, The Tudors), suddenly isn't working for the airline. Maggie (Christina Ricci, Sleepy Hollow, Casper) is called upon to fill in at the last minute. Kate (Kelli Garner, My Generation, The Aviator) has a secret mission to complete, and isn't crazy that her sister Laura (Margot Robbie, Neighbours), a recent hire, is the new face of Pan Am on Life magazine. Colette (Karine Vanasse, Set Me Free, October 1970) learns her lover is married.

     Apparently Pan Am flights are busy places! Which is good, given that the show seeks to be a series that will hopefully run for years to come. Some of correct ingredients are present, including pretty good actors and decent characters. The flashbacks are a nice touch, informing viewers who these people are that are suddenly on this airplane together. The Bridget mystery is an interesting one, and Kate, in particular, has several nice stories fleshed out already. As such, there is a lot of room for growth, and enough to hold viewer interest.

     Other elements don't work so well. The music, swelling obnoxiously loud, tries to force viewers to feel emotions. In any decent show, that is the actors' jobs. And they are doing that job, if the music would just back off a little and let them. Also, there is a cheesiness whenever the story tries to stress that Pan Am stewardesses are blazing a new trail for women. The ending of the "Pilot," where a little girl gazes admiringly at these beautiful, confident, independent women, is just plain hokey. These could be done without.

     Over all though, provided the score is toned down, Pan Am has the makings of something worth watching. It's certainly no Mad Men, as the drama isn't nearly as intense or original, but it's miles ahead of the other new network show set in the 1960's this year, The Playboy Club. The best thing to do, going forward, is to let the performers breathe life in the characters, and give them the room to do so. This is Pan Am's strongest element, and the smartest way to make the series work.

     Some reviews have complained about the fact that Kate is recruited to spy for the government, calling it unrealistic. Yet, there are interviews plenty of women in her position who were asked to do just that. Sometimes real life can be stranger than fiction, and this just might be one of those times. It's a fantastic addition, as it allows some high stakes story, while also keeping things authentic to the time period.

     Pan Am airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.

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The curtain closes on The Tudors

     The show was called The Tudors, but really only concerned one of the five rulers from that dynasty.  Now that it's over, it seems a shame that the series didn't start with a season or two of Henry the VII's reign, as Henry VIII (Johnathan Rhys Meyers) came of age.  It its even more regretful that it did not continue into his childrens' time in power.  However, the show was about Henry and his six wives, despite the name, and it was a well-told story.  I am at a loss to think of another show centered around such a despicable main character that still held interest and ran for so long.  Sure, flawed heroes are the norm on television today, but Henry VIII was merely flawed, not a hero.

      All of Henry's six wives appeared in the final season, and four in the finale.  All six were in the finale if you count the final montage, showing scenes from all four seasons.  The scenes where the three mother of his children, Katherine of Aragon (Maria Doyle Kennedy), Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer), and Jane Seymour (Annabelle Wallis, although Anita Briem played her in as many episodes as Wallis, was seen in the montage, and did a better job) came to him were spine tingling, in a good way.  They reminded him of his mistakes, and who he really was.  Henry did not die in the finale, but he was near death's door, alone.  It was hard to sympathize for him, but the finale was a fitting end.

     As mentioned above, Henry had three children, and each also played a part in the end.  Mary (played by Sarah Bolger since season two) was the most prominent.  Here was a daughter who loved her father, despite what he had done to her mother and her religion.  She deeply cared for her mother, her mother's faith, and her mother's people.  She would later become known as Bloody Mary, and it is no wonder, with such torn loyalties.  The other two were played by multiple performers, but the middle child, Elizabeth, ushered Britain into a Golden Age, and so it is unfortunate that the show did not continue for her.

     The Tudors, more than any other show, had a rotating cast of characters.  As mentioned before, the series focused on Henry and his wives, and so it was a bit disappointing that so many faces gracing the theme song appeared for only a season, or less, and were not given fitting endings.  There are two exceptions to this rule, however.  First appearing in episode three, Chapuys (Anthony Brophy), an ambassador from Spain, was never made a main character, but made quite an impression, and I was saddened by his death, which came shortly before the finale.  But the most integral, who the only person in every episode, aside from Henry, was Henry's best friend, Charles Brandon (Henry Cavill).  In real life, Henry died about a year and a half before Henry.  In the show, he died fifteen minutes before the end.  He was the heart behind the throne, and it was nice to see him get such moving screen time as the series came to a close.