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State of Play (BBC Miniseries) - Specs Hot

DVD Reviews

Studio: Warner Bros.
Genre: Thriller • Drama
Street Date: February 26, 2008
Director: David Yates
Number of Discs: 1
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Cast: • Polly Walker
• Kelly Macdonald
• Bill Nighy
• David Morrissey
• James McAvoy
• Marc Warren
• John Simm
Running Time: 350 minutes
Format: Standard

DVD Specs: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Special Features: • Episode 1 audio commentary with Paul Abbott and David Yates
• Episode 2 audio commentary with Hilary Bevan Jones, Mark Day (Editor) and David Yates
Version: Standard
Store Exclusives: N/A
Review: Coming Soon.

Episode Descriptions (from press release):

Episode 1
Kelvin Stagg, a black teenager, is shot dead at point-blank range by a gunman. A motorbike courier who witnesses the event is also shot, but miraculously survives. Meanwhile, Stephen Collins (David Morrissey), a high-flying, ambitious Member of Parliament (MP), is heading to work on the London Underground when the train grinds to a halt. The driver announces a delay due to the discovery of a body on the line. The body, he soon discovers, is that of his political researcher, Sonia Baker.

At a press conference later in the day, Stephen breaks down. The press smell blood and question him about his relationship with Sonia. His wife, Anne (Polly Walker), is left to read about it in the newspapers. One of the papers chasing the tantalizing story is The Herald. Investigative journalist Cal McCaffrey (John Simm) is an old friend of Stephen’s, and the MP contacts him in despair. He’s convinced Sonia’s death must have been an accident. There was no reason for her to kill herself. Cal wants to help his friend and isn’t interested in a domestic scandal – until his colleague, Della Smith (Kelly Macdonald), turns up an extraordinary piece of information. On the morning of her death, Sonia received a phone call from Kelvin Stagg.

As Cal delves deeper into this puzzling piece of information, he turns up some surprising revelations. Kelvin’s murder doesn’t seem to add up with the police’s version of events, and Cal finds himself in possession of a potentially deadly piece of evidence, which changes the whole course of the investigation.

Episode 2
Detective Inspector Brown has been murdered and the Met (London’s Metropolitan police force) puts hardheaded Detective Chief Inspector Bell (Philip Glenister) on the investigation. He suspects that Della is withholding information and is determined to find out what she and Cal know. Things take a turn for the worse when Della realizes her own life is in danger and begins to distrust Cal.

Meanwhile, an anonymous fax reveals that Stephen’s affair with Sonia was far from superficial. Stephen was prepared to leave his wife, Anne. This news doesn’t go down well with the party’s spin-doctor, Andrew Wilson (Michael Feast), who has been instructed to keep Stephen’s reputation intact. Cal is also worried – why did Stephen lie to him? When a shaky Anne in need of support is brought down to London to take part in a press conference designed to absolve Stephen from blame, Cal finds it increasingly hard to steer a professional line.

Episode 3
DCI Bell grills Cal, who is adamant he won’t reveal his sources. He is eventually released under police protection when they strike a deal. If it appears Cal has the information the hit man wants, Della will be in less danger. Cal agrees to a high-risk strategy of being a pawn in order to smoke-out the hit man. As Cal waits, his team learns that PR wannabe Dominic Foy (Marc Warren) is the author of two anonymous letters. This discovery, coupled with the fact that he had a sexual relationship with Sonia, leads the team to suspect him. But he’s out of the country and they don’t know when he will return. Police and journalists decide they all have something to gain by working together to get to Foy. Meanwhile, Stephen Collins is pulled in for questioning by the police, and Cal’s personal and professional life gets hopelessly entangled when Anne Collins urges him to meet her at a hotel. The cost of their escalating passion could be explosive.

Episode 4
Stephen’s disgust at his discovery of Cal and Anne’s affair leads him to tell Andrew Wilson to spin the news and ruin Cal’s reputation. Stephen’s only supporter now is the Energy Minister, George Fergus (James Laurenson), who wills him to succeed. Anne and Cal meet for the first time after their confrontation with Stephen and it’s clear that, despite everything, they have fallen in love.

Della persuades DCI Bell to help them put pressure on Dominic Foy, who has returned from Spain, and Cal and his team take Foy to a hotel room. He is edgy and obstructive and constantly changes his story. He’s clearly running scared, but why? The team scam their way into Foy’s apartment where they discover evidence that he was being paid money by Warner-Schloss, a lobby firm for an oil company – and Stephen chairs the Energy Select Committee…

Could there be a connection? Was Foy Sonia’s secret lover or employer? Only Stephen can help answer that question, but after their confrontation, Cal can’t call him. Then Stephen makes a sickening discovery that could ruin his political career. Now he needs Cal. Meanwhile, Cameron (Bill Nighy) finds himself under pressure from the Herald’s owners to get the story wound up quickly.

Episode 5
Stephen’s earnest defense over the hiring protocol of Sonia leads Cal to interrogate his assistant, Greer (Deborah Findlay), who finally admits to being influenced by an unexpected source. Sensing that his team is close to snaring their prey, Cal invites Stephen to listen in to an interview with Dominic Foy, hoping that with a few well-aimed questions, the increasingly paranoid Foy will crack. He’s right – Foy’s confession is a goldmine, but it sends Stephen over the edge and Foy to ER.
Cameron is ecstatic at the prospect of such an explosive story. But when U-Ex Oil and the Government get wind of where the paper’s investigation is heading, he finds himself under pressure from his board and makes a startling decision. Stephen is left reeling by a confrontation with Energy Secretary George Fergus.

Episode 6
Following George Fergus’s revelations that he allowed U-Ex Oil to plant Sonia Baker in Stephen’s office to keep them sweet, Stephen is furious. He feels duped by everyone. His anger at the scale of the deception leads him to Cal once more – this time, he’s willing to give a full exclusive interview, naming names and telling facts. He wants to bring George down, even at the risk of destroying his own political career. The Herald’s temporary editor, Yvonne (Geraldine James), has put the brakes on the story. But, armed with the knowledge that Stephen is prepared to go on the record, Cal and Cameron hatch a plan to save it. Cal says he’s actually freelance, having been previously fired by Cameron, and can take the story wherever he likes.

Faced with losing a potentially huge scoop to a rival paper, Yvonne buckles, but says she wants an airtight story before she attempts to have it approved by the board. As Cameron and Cal sit down with Stephen, Della and Dan continue pursuing the trail upwards at U-Ex Oil. Cal is disturbed when Anne arrives in London to offer support to Stephen. A bitter argument follows. As the investigation hurtles towards its final conclusion, there is one further twist to the tale.
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Rating: 0 Stars

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