When i was at school my drama teacher used a phrase that has stuck with me and its "Freedom is taking responsibility for everything in my life" and this phrase seems very relevant for this series. When Peter (Hugh Laurie) is finally installed into number 10 he makes a speech in which he says he will do anything to keep his country free and it seems there is a lot of truth in this, but how free is he really? For a start he is in the pocket of a defence contractor as he has effectively been installed by them as the previous PM wanted to get rid of them because of their misdemeanours. He is stuck with a wife he doesnt love and when he tried to get her to sign the document and dissolve the shell company that tied him to the contractors she refused so therefore he isn't very "free" after all.
Much as i quite enjoyed this series there were a few things wrong with it. Hugh Laurie for a start was far too likeable, he was always ambiguous and never really came across as a villain, just a man who wanted to do what he felt was best for his country but of course those skeletons were always in his closet and were going to eventually fall out. The so called daughter that he didn't know about was an interesting story line and how he used her to further his political ambition, did he genuinly care about her or did he just reveal her identity to gain public approval, i guess well never know.
The other characters seemed to flit in and out, the journalist trying to look into his past for example, that was a good story arc but it seemed to get bogged down and when she was tragically killed that seemed to be the end of that part of the story although there was a massive hint to towards how the media and politics are intrinsically linked and how certain people have influence over them.
The other side of the story of how politicians and their advisors use their relationships to gain favour added another element. For Iain De Caesteckers Duncan Knock using his knowledge of Peters situation with his illegitimate daughter and feeding that information to his lover Julia to pass on to Helen McCrorys PM Dawn Ellison thinking that might curry favour ultimately cost him his job. I guess loyalty does have a price.
Overall this is a pretty decent political thriller, Laurie is always watchable and most of the support cast are pretty decent, there are a few plot holes but if you can put up with those then this is quite a good watch
Review of Roadkill
