Hotel Babylon
Hotel Babylon
| 19 January 2006 (USA)

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SEASON & EPISODES
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  • Reviews
    Diagonaldi Very well executed
    Helloturia I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.
    Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
    Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
    I_saw_it_happen This show went for four seasons. The first season is quite enjoyable. The second is still pretty good, although it wears thin by the end of the season. By the fourth season, the show has become something so distant from it's beginnings that it's not even comparable, and in my opinion is barely watchable. Thus, there's plenty in the first season to draw you in... but it's probably not worth the extended stay, so to speak.On the show's strengths --- the first season is well acted, has some amusing minor bits with a range of often unusual and often well-nuanced characters, and establishes the Hotel staff as impeccably sophisticated, and committed to remaining morally ambivalent so as to provide the best service for their clientele --- and this is what makes the show compelling; the glitz and the glamor of the Hotel is well-established with excellent sets, and everything in the first season speaks to the connection between class sophistication and discretion; what makes the show really exceed a lot of other shows which take a peek at the luxurious life of the upper class is that the sophistication/discretion theme is shown in it's worst and best lights, and the show as a whole attends a certain 'moral ambivalence' which makes it rather thought-provoking. The audience is shown exactly how much of 'class' is built on artifice, but it also makes the life of luxury look genuinely seductive.While the writing begins to get notably weaker towards the end of season 2, it's not until Max Beesly's character (Charlie) leaves the show that it gets positively wretched and loses all lustre.Unfortunately, by the fourth season, the show has lost all tact and elegance; it becomes a show about the blue-collar sensibilities of a sitcom staff amid unreasonably mean-spirited guests who are consistently trying to 'discredit' the Hotel. The writing gets so bad that the shows really aren't comparable. The writers no longer make the luxurious life seem tempting, but rather a filthy indulgence to be seen as a character flaw in the rich. The show also becomes more an attempt at comedy than drama. And sadly, the comedy feels horribly out-of-place; it's a slapstick, rather overacted kind of humor which might work well enough in a show about a wacky motel full of transients --- but it seems oblivious to the foundations of dry wit and subtlety that make the first season work so well. The characters all become caricatures.All in all, rather a disappointment. Begins as enticing, but ends up being quite commonplace.
    Ryu_Darkwood I always had the idea that the BBC just made endless adaption's of Jane Eyre and other costume dramas. How wrong I was! In the new millennium the BBC has the same status as the American HBO. They spend their dough on innovative, well crafted and highly enjoyable drama of the highest level. ''Hotel Babylon'' is a little pearl, together with ''Life on Mars'', ''State of Play'' and many, many other BBC-productions.In Holland they aired Hotel Babylon together with Desperate Housewives. A nice combination, both shows do have much things in common. They both have a trendy atmosphere combined with a dark sense of humor, witty dialog and a cast of colorful characters. Hotel Babylon is slightly more deep because it shows the world of the rich and famous as a rotten world; one that is corrupted by preposterous needs, adultery, prostitution, crime, arrogance, the using of others, etc. Every episode has a moral message in it for anyone who wants to see it, cleverly hidden so it doesn't feel like its writers want to push their opinions down your throat.I must say that the romantic tension between Max Beesley and Tamzin Outwaithe is another huge plus. Both actors are really the kind of charismatic actors that carry any show to a higher level, most certainly this one.
    royall02 I would have to say this show is brilliant! Finally they put a show on TV that is worth watching. Its funny, dramatic, sexy and intriguing! The characters all mesh together well and the actors are top class. I would love to work in a 5 star hotel like this in real life just to see if what goes on behind guests backs is true! It does the book its based on justice and much much more. Hopefully its on the television for a few more years to come as I'm sure they have plenty of juicy stories and gossip to tell. Thumbs up I definitely recommend watching if it you want some great entertainment and I assure you, you will be hooked after 5 minutes!
    elka_west I came upon this show accidentally last week. I couldn't be bothered finding the remote so I put up with it. Within thirty seconds I was absolutely hooked. It is the most brilliant show to come out of anywhere in years.The characters have a depth rarely seen on any prime time show. They are sexy, charismatic and appealing to everyone. The humour is black, yet subtle, and I love the way the camera work glides here and there-- it is very "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" in style.Speaking of "Lock, Stock", Dexter Fletcher plays the savvy concierge Tony, clearly the most appealing character. The others each add their own to the show, however, it is the individual guests that bring out the best in the regular characters.I'll be watching this for a while, or at least until the syndicates take it off to be replaced with some other piece of crap show. I give it 4.5 out of 5.