More of the Cast Speak Out on The Hour and a Possible One-Off!

Yesterday evening at the BAFTA Television Awards Romola Garai and Peter Capaldi both expressed to Radio Times their desire to make a one-off episode to finish off The Hour as intended.  Here's hoping the BBC listens to the actors and the fans, and gives them a chance to finish everything off!

Romola Garai and Peter Capaldi: The Hour could be revived in a one-off special

At the Baftas, the stars of the cancelled BBC2 period drama say they have ideas for what happens next

Susanna Lazarus and Jack Seale

2:37 PM, 13 May 2013

Tears were shed and petitions signed when BBC2 cancelled period drama The Hour earlier this year after two critically acclaimed but low-rating series following the birth of a fictional BBC current affairs programme in the 1950s. But the show, created by Abi Morgan, should come back in the form of a one-off, 1960s-set special, according to two of its stars.

Speaking at the 2013 Television Baftas in London last night, Romola Garai said of her time on the drama: "It was an amazing experience: a fascinating period of history, amazing actors, one of the best writers writing in television at the moment.

"It's very sad [that the show has been cancelled] but these things happen. You just have to be grateful and glad that you got the job in the first place and you had a wonderful time making it."

Co-star Peter Capaldi, who was nominated for a Bafta for his portrayal of head of news Randall Brown, said: "We had plans to take it into the 60s, move to Television Centre. That would have all been good fun. There might be a chance to do a one-off catching up on some of the characters. It'd be fascinating to see them doing Panorama or something like that."

Garai agreed: "We could do [a one-off episode]. The show was never intended to end as a cliffhanger so it's really sad that you don't get to finish off the storylines. Abi was always talking about taking it much more into the 60s: huge social changes."

The actress added that a new episode might see her character Bel fix the romantic tension between her and fellow journalist Freddie – the character played by Ben Whishaw, who last night won the leading actor Bafta for The Hollow Crown. "Freddie and Bel's story might have a dramatic resolution," Garai said. "Possibly they might have ended up together. People who enjoyed the show really wanted that to happen!"

After speaking to RadioTimes.com on the red carpet, Garai presented the award for male performance in a comedy programme – and brought the house down at the Royal Festival Hall with her introductory remarks. "Good evening. After the recent birth of my child, I had the misfortune of having 23 stitches in my vagina," Garai told the star-studded crowd. "So I didn't think I'd be laughing at anything for a long time. Tonight's nominees have proved me wrong."

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-05-13/romola-garai-and-peter-capaldi-the-hour-could-be-revived-in-a-one-off-special

On a semi-related note:  Massive congratulations to Ben Whishaw from Save The Hour on his win for Best Leading Actor for his brilliant work on Richard II, The Hollow Crown.  A much deserved win!

SaveTheHour Flash Mob— London Meet-up Further Details!

SaveTheHour Flash Mob— London Meet-up Further Details

It's time for some further details on the London Meet-Up, as arranged by our wonderful flash mob organizer in London: justacockeyedoptimist!

Hey all! The Radio Times article about the possible one-off this am has got me excited! Maybe we really can show BBC they should do this and make a difference! So here’s the details for the meet-up in London.

Reminder: Please come with a sign that somehow expresses our “Save the Hour” message! Ash has posted great ideas and clips from the Suez Canal episode on the Round-Up.

I’ll be coming with my best attempt at dressing like Bel and if others want to join me in period dress that would be brilliant! But don’t let a lack of period clothing deter you from participating! The more people we have the better!

If you’re planning on coming, can you please message/inbox me and let me know so I know how many to expect?

So, the closest underground station to BBC Broadcasting is the Oxford Circus stop. I propose we meet outside the station on Oxford Street at 11:30 am and then we can walk to Portland Place and the BBC together from there. We can try to stage our own little mini protest outside with our signs, but then also depending on how much recognition we get we’ll probably also go into the front office just to let them know we’re there/we care, etc. 

I’ve sorted out that Kudos TV is about a 26 min journey using the underground from the BBC so I think it’d be lovely if we could make the trip since we’re already there. But we can make the final call on the day. Either way I have directions from place to place! 

If someone wants to inform the London authorities because they think it’d be wise, please do so! I’m not a UK citizen so I have no idea how to go about that/am not sure they’d listen to me. 

Also, if someone wants to bring a camera to film it, that’d be great as well! I’ll have my regular camera for photos, but it’d be great to get some on video also. :-) 

Finally, please just message me (justacockeyedoptimist or email savethehourofficial@gmail.com) if you’d like my mobile to make this all easier on the day.  

If there’s anything Freddie Lyon taught me, it’s that even the smallest person/voice can make a difference and “it’s not impossible when it’s possible.” So very excited to meet my fellow Hour lovers!!

It's time for Save The Hour's Flash Mob/Meet-Up! Please Join Us!

SAVETHEHOUR’S OFFICIAL LONDON FLASH MOB/MEET-UP INFO POST!

Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - 12:00 p.m. - London

What: A flash mob/fan gathering happening outside BBC Broadcasting House, showing our support for The Hour!

Where: BBC Broadcasting House, located at Portland Place, LONDON, W1A 1AA. 

The Plan: We’ll be having a flash mob/meet-up with a special twist a la The Hour! Rather than a song or dance, we’re going to be re-creating the protest that Hector, Freddie, and Isaac cover for The Hour in the fifth episode of Series One (albeit, a bit more peaceful ;) ). You can catch a sample of that protest by watching this.  In Save The Hour style we wanted to tie it in with the show and also show what wonderful, intelligent fans are dedicated to the series.  

Here’s what you’ll need to bring with you if you can:

• A sign or signs for the “protest”. This can be poster board or a sign like the ones in the show. Some possible phrases would be some of the campaign’s most popular, including (but not limited to):

• “You haven’t seen our best yet, BBC! #SAVETHEHOUR”

• “It’s The Hour you can’t miss, The Hour you have to see! #SAVETHEHOUR”

• “The Hour: The most important sixty minutes of television in your week. #SAVETHEHOUR!”

This obviously isn’t an exhaustive list. You can put any variation on these you want, or choose a different quote. However, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a quote. A “The Hour” variation on one of the signs they used in the Suez protest in the show would be great, or just a simple variation of: “#Save The Hour, BBC.” Making sure your sign is clear that it refers to The Hour, and putting some variation of #SaveTheHour on your sign large enough to see is very important.

• Your best 1950s period dress, love for The Hour, and readiness for fun with fellow campaigners! Cosplaying is amazing as well. (If you feel you don’t have 1950s dress, don’t worry! Please, don’t let that make you feel that you cannot participate.)

We will spend some time outside BBC Broadcasting House, and if we can, we might head inside as well to say hello and tell them about our campaign for a third series!  

justacockeyedoptimist has so graciously volunteered to be in charge of organization for this event. She will be there on the day looking lovely in period dress, and will be in charge of leading things. If you have any questions you can direct them to her or to usand we will answer you asap!

In addition, we’re in talks to possibly head over to Kudos TV later as well just to let them know we’re still supporting the show for a third series! We want to make sure travel would not be too far, so this part of the plan is still a bit tentative.

Can’t make it to London?

We’ve also got Salford Media City and BBC America in NYC to visit! The plan is the same, only the locations have changed.

Salford Media City meet-up will be at:

Salford Media City
BBC 
MediaCityUK 
Salford
M50 2EQ
Tuesday, May 28th 12:00 p.m.

NYC Meet-Up will be at: 

BBC America Offices
1120 Avenue of the Americas
5th Floor 
New York
NY 10036-6700
Tuesday, May 28th 12:00 p.m. EST 

Please note: We have had people mention they would attend these, however, we still have not had anyone volunteer to lead them, so if you’re interested, let us know!   

If you are a fan of The Hour and are able to be at any of these locations, join us! It should be a great time with fellow fans supporting our show. Thank you all so much who have already responded to tell us you’ll be there! If you have any comments/questions feel free to ask.

If you do not live close enough to attend any of these locations, no worries! A Twitter Party on May 28th is in the planning stages, so be on the look out for information coming soon on that!

UPDATE: NATIONAL LITERACY TRUST & SAVE THE HOUR PETITION

Save The Hour has raised 43 % of its goal for the National Literacy Trust

That is about £652 out of our £1500 goal.  Please remember to keep spreading the news about our page, not only through social media, but through word of mouth to friends and family who might be interested in giving to a wonderful cause as well!  There are many fans out there who aren't even aware of this initiative.  Lets continue to spread the word!  We would love to do this both for the NLT and for the campaign.  We'll email a link to the page to the BBC as well when we get near our goal.  

Here are some quick promotional ideas.  If you have any suggestions for wider promotion, please get in touch with us by email.  We value your input!

Finally, TREMENDOUS thanks goes out to those who have donated.  Your contribution is very appreciated.  Also, thank you to all of you who have tirelessly promoted this and all of the initiatives we've been working on here at Save The Hour.  Together we can reach our goal.  Together we can show the love and dedication we have for this show.  Lets keep the momentum going!

The Save The Hour petition has gone beyond 20,000 signatures!

This is an amazing show of people from around the world who love and appreciate The Hour, and see the value in completing the trilogy.  Signatures are being added every day.  We are proud to be a part of such a dedicated and passionate following who are still fighting for a more than deserving show.  Here's to our next milestone: 25,000!

As a small addendum:  Remember, all of our initiatives remain active!  Please feel free to continue to send letters or postcards to the Head of Drama Commissioning, tweet your support at #savethehour to @KudosTV and @bbcpress, buy the DVDs, make a donation, or promote the petition, fundraiser, and #savethehour video - it's never too late to take part in the campaign!  You can find all the info you need for each initiative on the right sidebar.  Thank you everyone!

Save The Hour's National Literacy Trust PROMOTIONAL POST

Hello all!  It's time once again for an update on our fundraiser!  

We are still holding at 42% after a few days, and while this is pretty great for the short time ago our page went live, we could really use more promotion outside of Tumblr.  Many of the fans of the show are not on this site.  It's been wonderful to see people continuously reblogging and asking people to take part, but now maybe we should reach outside the scope of Tumblr and Facebook.  

The possibility for wider reach could REALLY be stepped up by increasing our presence on TWITTER.  This is where the "important" people are easier to get in touch with!

One of the best options for promotion at this point might be to tweet the link to the fundraiser on Twitter and ask for retweets, etc.,  (Our page is http://www.justgiving.com/savethehour) especially to journalists (those that wrote reviews for The Hour would be great), news outlets, and maybe some celeb fans such as Caitlin Moran, etc?  

These should be a good starting point:  (click the names for links)

• The Guardian (did an interview with Ben mentioning The Hour’s cancellation)  
• The Telegraph (mentioned Ben's interview about the cancellation)
• Radio Times 
• Digital Spy
• TV Guide's Matt Roush (wrote a glowing review of S2 in the U.S.)
• Andrew Romano of Newsweek (wrote a glowing review of Series Two in the U.S.)
• DenofGeek (just wrote an article about The Hour needing a third series)
• David Lister (just wrote a piece for the Independent about how the BBC needs to reconsider cancellation)
• Vulture (reported on Abi's plans for a Series Three)
• Caitlin Moran (huge fan of the show)

Lisa Greenwood (SIssy) and Oona Chaplin (Marnie), and KudosTV would be worth tweeting as well!  Signal boosts and getting awareness out there is something we could really use for the campaign, given that we are certainly not reaching everyone that might be interested in giving at this moment through reblogs and Facebook updates alone.  

The more people that help to do this, the more people we can reach.  To build a presence and more importantly, gain attention, we need everyone.  So as always campaigners, your help and participation would be much appreciated!

Also, if you have any other promotional ideas, please let us know!  Thank you all for continually being wonderful fellow campaigners for a show that deserves to be finished.  :) 

Sidenote: Promoting the #SaveTheHour Video -   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fewagZaqnLQ  would be a great idea for these Twitter handles as well!

Two Updates: The National Literacy Trust & the STH Petition!

We have reached 42% of our goal for The National Literacy Trust!

  

This is great news!  Firstly, we'd just like to thank every single person who has donated thus far, or who has helped to promote this initiative.  Your help truly is invaluable.  THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

We are so close to the halfway mark, so continued promotion is very much appreciated.  Once we get close to our goal we are hoping to send a link to our page to the BBC!  Spread this around on other social media sites, mention it on Facebook, even tell your friends and family about it!  Every single donation helps a wonderful cause.  In addtion, we're showing that fans of The Hour care about the show and a cause tied so closely to it.  

Let's reach our goal for the National Literacy Trust and Save The Hour!  

The #SaveTheHour Petition is nearing 20,000 signatures!

Right now the SaveTheHour petition has reached an outstanding 19,831 signatures.  Fans from all over the world have signed and left wonderful messages of the importance of having such a show on air.

It would be great to reach 20,000 this week!  Let's see if we can make that happen!  Remember to spread the link around and get fans of the show to sign.   

Sign the SaveTheHour Petition Here!

As always, thank you all for continuing to support this campaign.  We wouldn't be able to do this without each and every one of you!

  

Two Articles in the Past Week Reiterate the Need for the BBC to Give The Hour a Third Series

In the past week, and in the wake of five BAFTA nominations, news outlets and blogs are again highlighting the need for The Hour to be given a third series.  Den of Geek and The Independent both posted articles saying as much on their websites recently:


David Lister, The Independent:

I see that The Hour features in the Bafta nominations announced last Tuesday. This time Peter Capaldi is up for best supporting actor. The latest series of the BBC drama achieved a rare feat, a second series that was even better than the excellent first. It had, of course, a cast to die for with Ben Whishaw, Dominic West, Anna Chancellor, Romola Garai and Capaldi, as well as a script by Abi Morgan.

But despite past Bafta, Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for the taut, tense drama set in the BBC itself and in Soho in the Fifties, the BBC decided to axe it because of lower than expected ratings. This week's Bafta nomination should make the BBC think again. Ratings aren't everything. This was a class act.  - Source

Philip Lickley, DenofGeek.com:

The cancellation of The Hour is to be mourned for reasons outside viewing figures and demographics. It was a drama created, written and produced by women with strong female leads, which is a big positive in an area dominated by male figures. It is popular in North America and, unlike other shows, has a market on DVD and Blu-ray. It’s a period drama, usually always popular in the UK, and features a wide-range of issues that have contemporary parallels, and is more ‘high-brow’ than the usual drama, covering political issues regularly in its episodes. It’s also one of the few series I’ve watched with a strong arc that holds it all together and feels like it justifies its six episodes with a lack of filler. 

Re-commissioning The Hour would also restore my faith in dedicating time to television series. - Read More

It's good to see those in news outlets still campaigning for a third series too!

That said, THE SAVE THE HOUR PETITION almost has an amazing 20,000 signatures from viewers and fans all over the globe.  If you haven't signed yet, you can sign HERE.