"Hotel Babylon" (2006) TV series

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Creator:

Tony Basgallop

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

19 January 2006 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Dexter Fletcher	...	Tony Casemore (27 episodes, 2006-2009)
Emma Pierson	...	Anna Thornton-Wilton (27 episodes, 2006-2009)
Martin Marquez	...	Gino Primirola (27 episodes, 2006-2009)
Michael Obiora	...	Ben Trueman (27 episodes, 2006-2009)
Raymond Coulthard	...	James Schofield (26 episodes, 2006-2009)
Danira Govich	...	Tanya Mihajlov (23 episodes, 2006-2009)
Max Beesley	...	Charlie Edwards (22 episodes, 2006-2009)
Natalie Jackson Mendoza	...	Jackie Clunes (21 episodes, 2006-2008)
Tamzin Outhwaite	...	Rebecca Mitchell (16 episodes, 2006-2007)
Alexandra Moen	...	Emily James (11 episodes, 2008-2009)

Runtime:

60 min (8 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Carnival Films

Quotes:

Rebecca Mitchell: I want you to be as thorough as possible Miss Merchant, any bottle or napkin that can't be accounted for I want to know about it
[hands her keys]
Helen Merchant: Before I start a job I always ask a question, Do you trust your staff?
Rebecca Mitchell: Well I used to
Helen Merchant: Then you've been naive, in my experience people are generally bad, they lie, they steal, they copulate.
Rebecca Mitchell: I'm not sure I should judge them on that
Helen Merchant: A sin is a sin Miss Mitchell, as well as the audit would you like me to set any traps?
Rebecca Mitchell: Traps?
Helen Merchant: I could stick an extra case of wine behind the bar, some steaks in the fridge, see where it ends up in the next audit.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live (2008) (TV)

The dark side of the rich and the famous

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.