Time

[Jellybean]

I’m thoroughly enjoying watching a new BBC One three part prison drama series called Time and recommend it to my fellow members. A synopsis from Wikipedia, a review by Lucy Mangan of The Guardian, a RadioTimes review by Flora Carr and a BBC trailer via YouTube are below:

Time is a 2021 three-part TV drama written by Jimmy McGovern and starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham. The series was directed by Lewis Arnold. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 6 June 2021.[1]

Plot
Mark Cobden is newly imprisoned, consumed by guilt for his crime, and way out of his depth in the volatile world of prison life. He meets Eric McNally, an excellent prison officer doing his best to protect those in his charge. However, when one of the most dangerous inmates identifies his weakness, Eric faces an impossible choice between his principles and his family. Time is a 2021 three-part TV drama written by Jimmy McGovern and starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham. The series was directed by Lewis Arnold. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 6 June 2021.[1]

Source: Wikipedia

Time review – Sean Bean and Stephen Graham astound in enraging prison drama

Its two stars give exceptional performances as inmate and officer respectively, in a series about the inhumanity of the penal system which lays bare Jimmy McGovern’s genius

Lucy Mangan
@LucyMangan
Sun 6 Jun 2021 22.00 BST Last modified on Mon 7 Jun 2021 09.48 BST

There is a moment near the start of Jimmy McGovern’s latest drama, Time (BBC One), that perfectly encapsulates his genius. Mark Cobden (Sean Bean) is arriving for processing at the prison in which he will serve his four-year sentence. Among the questions barked at him – name, age, is he on any medication – is one about his religion. Nervous and disoriented, he mumbles something about not really believing in God. “I’ll put you down as Anglican then,” comes the brisk reply (and standard joke, though not here played as one). “No, no,” Mark responds, kicked into focus. “More … more lapsed Catholic.”

It’s irrelevant in the grand scheme of things – Time is a drama about the supposed strengths and many failures of the penal system and Mark’s religion affects his experiences inside not one iota. But it is the perfect demonstration and measure of McGovern’s two greatest strengths – his psychological acuity and his ability to evoke an entire interior world with one brief exchange. He knows a cradle Catholic, even in the most dire straits, would be recalled to himself under the threat of being demoted to Anglican. And he tells us something about the core of the man who is about to be tested as never before, as he enters a world of rules, regulations, petty bullying and sudden violence. It is a place of shifting alliances – a wing full of men who may be mad or bad but are almost always, directly or indirectly, dangerous to know . . .

For the full review see: The Guardian

Time review: BBC One prison drama is brutal, must-watch television

The bleak three-part series is a must-see, both as a lesson on the British prison system, and a masterclass in acting.

By Flora Carr
Published: Sunday, 6th June 2021 at 12:00 pm

At a recent press event, actor Stephen Graham described his hard-hitting new series, BBC One prison drama Time, as “difficult to watch”. He went on to theorise that the reason the three-parter is such difficult viewing is because it makes the audience think: about the British penal system; about the justice system; and about how many inmates should be in mental health units, not prisons . . .

For the full article see: RadioTimes.com

[Brad the Impala]

Very real and very scary. I watched all three episodes(each sixty minutes) in one evening, and I have resolved to behave myself in future as I don't want to end up inside! Pretty sure I wouldn't cope.

[cdnmatt]

Can't watch it here in Canada, but for anyone interested in that kind of thing I can recommend searching Youtube for "Shaun Atwood". Can't remember the name, but he has a channel where he talks about his time in prion, has loads of guests on he interviews, and it's really good. He's even a Brit, went to the US to chase the wall street dream, and ended up becoming an ecstasy dealer facing 200 years. Now he's committed his life to ensuring young folks stay out of prison.

Here's one of his speeches:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq4g-Bv2_Gk

[StevieWonders]

Very real and very scary. I watched all three episodes(each sixty minutes) in one evening, and I have resolved to behave myself in future as I don't want to end up inside! Pretty sure I wouldn't cope.

I prefer Ronnie Barker’s series Porridge

[Brad the Impala]

I prefer Ronnie Barker’s series Porridge

Like comparing fantasy and reality, of course fantasy is usually more comfortable!

[mr giggles]

I prefer Cell Block H

[Armando]

I prefer Ronnie Barker’s series Porridge

Ronnie Barker and that wonderful TV actor Richard Beckinsale who tragically died aged just 31. And Fulton Mackay as Prison Officer Mackay who was perfect as the butt of so many jokes.

[Nirish guy]

Thanks for the heads up there JB re TIME. We watched all three episodes back to backlash night and really enjoyed them, even with the sad twist at the end.

A little dark perhaps but great entertainment.

Oh and I see it also had a small role for an old crush of mine, that being Michael Socha, so that was an added bonus too :-)

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[Jellybean]

Thanks for the heads up there JB re TIME. We watched all three episodes back to backlash night and really enjoyed them, even with the sad twist at the end.

A little dark perhaps but great entertainment.

Oh and I see it also had a small role for an old crush of mine, that being Michael Socha, so that was an added bonus too :-)

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You’re welcome NIrish-guy!

I recorded it not really expecting to enjoy it as many British TV dramas disappoint me. I was fully prepared to ditch it and move on if it didn’t appeal to me, but I was hooked after watching the first episode. I then immediately downloaded the second episode and watched the third episode the following night.

Like Brad the Impala, I too found it “Very real and very scary”. Yes, it is difficult to watch at times as it felt so real. I couldn’t help but put myself in the shoes of the first time prisoner and lead character Sean Bean (no relation ). And throughout the three episodes I kept thinking, there is no way that I could have coped with the bullying, the violence or sharing a cell with dangerous prisoners or prisoners that should have been receiving treatment in a mental hospital, not incarcerated in one of HM Prisons.

Agreed, Michael Socha is a bit of a dish. I checked out his IMDb profile and the only show I previously recall seeing him in is the 2019 TV mini-series, Chernobyl (the video trailer is posted below for those who haven’t already seen it).

[arsenal]

I've just started watching this and 4 minutes in I'm already hooked. Prison dramas are one of my favourites.

I've mentioned them before but Michael Inside and Criminal Justice both paint a similarly bleak picture of life in prison. Porridge it ain't although Jonathan Aitken said he and his cell mate spent 7 months laughing together hut that was an open prison and his crime was nondescript.