MamaGravity
good back-story, and good acting
KnotStronger
This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Adeel Hail
Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.
Michelle Ridley
The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity
FlindersRanger
The incomparable Stephen Fry delivers the acerbic character, Charles Prentiss, and together with the rest of the terrific cast, deliver a wonderful rendition of the radio programme, with a level of satirical splendour not seen in other recent British comedies.It's difficult not to keep watching both series over and over again. You will not be disappointed!
buddleja
Here is British humour at its very wittiest and cutting.The machinations of the team at Prentiss McCabe are a joy to behold as they spin the latest challenge.The dialogue is edged with a delicious sprinkle of smugness. Not that you'd like to meet any of these people - they're utterly self-serving, and are a sharp reflection of the slick wheelings and dealings, counter-dealings, backstabbing, Machiavellian world that I could only imagine might take place in such a real world business.I came late to this series, only discovering it last year and, I can thoroughly recommend it. Like Fawlty Towers, the limited production of episodes will ensure this remains a classic.
jamesmoule
"Absolute Power" reminded me of a cross between "Yes Minister" and the Australian series "Frontline". All three series are essentially concerned with spin. Only the people responsible for the spin are different (politians, media presenters, PR consultants). All three series are very funny but I rate this series as the third of the three. The casting is brilliant. I can't imagine anyone performing the roles of Prentiss and McCabe better than Stephen Fry and John Bird. The plot lines are also very well thought out but the script writing is not of the same standard as the other two series I have mentioned. In the first series, "Country Life" is not as well done as the others. There is a recurring problem of episodes ending "up in the air" with the resolution of the dilemma unclear but imagined. The percussion accompaniment to some dialogue makes the words difficult to understand. That said, I found myself chuckling quite often. I'll certainly remember some of the lines.
playdumb
Hi, This is a fantastic satire on spin and th 'real' power behind popular news stories of the day. British irony at its best. Wickedly funny. Stephen Fry is at his best portraying Charles Prentiss and the script is far above the cheap humour seen on other comedy series, though some might find it a bit too high-brow.There were 2 runs of this show one in autumn/winter 2003 and then in summer 2005. PS - For those who like these kind of media based cynicism would also like "Trevor's World of Sport" another BBC comedy to feature around the same time starring Neil Pearson and Paul Reynolds. Both shows at their heart are about (comic) observations of a crazy world that feature an ironic pair as bosses, one controlling manipulative and the other bumbling, meek work to look forward to retire.