{"id":16300,"date":"2022-07-25T14:45:17","date_gmt":"2022-07-25T12:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=16300"},"modified":"2022-07-25T14:45:19","modified_gmt":"2022-07-25T12:45:19","slug":"sean-beans-bafta-winning-bbc-miniseries-time-takes-a-hard-look-at-prison-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2022\/07\/25\/sean-beans-bafta-winning-bbc-miniseries-time-takes-a-hard-look-at-prison-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Sean Bean\u2019s BAFTA-Winning BBC Miniseries “Time” Takes A Hard Look At Prison Life"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Named Best Miniseries at the 2022 BAFTAs, the hard-hitting BBC prison drama Time <\/em>is now available to binge on Showmax. Time<\/em> earned Sean Bean (Game of Thrones<\/em>, The Lord of the Rings) <\/em>his second BAFTA as Lead Actor earlier this year, with his co-star Stephen Graham (Line of Duty<\/em>, Boardwalk Empire<\/em>) nominated for Supporting Actor and Lewis Arnold (Broadchurch<\/em>) for Director. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a built-in tension to any series starring Sean Bean \u2013 we fear for his character, given that the actor has died on screen more than 20 times. That fear isn\u2019t helped, either, by the actor\u2019s penchant for playing particularly sympathetic characters we\u2019d rather not<\/em> see killed off. And here he is, in peril again, making us uncomfortable, again.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Mark Cobden (SEAN BEAN), in Time<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Time<\/em> sees Sean cast as mild-mannered former teacher Mark Cobden, newly imprisoned and confronting the harsh realities of prison life. Stephen is dedicated prison officer Eric McNally, who faces an impossible choice when one of the most dangerous inmates identifies his weakness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The four-part miniseries isn\u2019t the pair\u2019s first outing together, nor is it their first time around the block with four-time BAFTA winner Jimmy McGovern, Time<\/em>\u2019s creator. Sean was nominated for a BAFTA for Jimmy\u2019s 2017 series Broken<\/em>, where he starred as a Catholic priest, and won for his role as a cross-dresser in Jimmy’s acclaimed 2012 drama, Accused<\/em>, where Stephen played his conflicted partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jimmy says Time<\/em>\u2019s two lead roles were written with Sean and Stephen in mind. \u201cThese two guys have played really hard men,\u201d he says, \u201cbut they\u2019re at their best when they\u2019re not<\/em> hard, when they\u2019re vulnerable. They are brilliant actors full stop, but when they\u2019re vulnerable, they are even more brilliant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The critics agree. Time<\/em> has an 8.2\/10 rating on IMDb<\/em>, and a rare 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoe<\/em>s, where the critics’ consensus says, \u201cStrong writing and a magnificent performance from Sean Bean make for an incredible, thought-provoking watch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe performances of Bean and Graham are \u2013 even though we have come to expect brilliance from them both \u2013 astonishing,\u201d The Guardian<\/em> said in their 5\/5-star review. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not just the critics giving the show their stamp of approval either. Time<\/em> has been widely praised for its realism by people who\u2019ve experienced the system from the inside, from retired prison officers to former inmates. \u201cI\u2019ve got a mate who was in prison,\u201d Stephen says, \u201cwho\u2026 went, \u2018Mate, you\u2019s have smashed it; it\u2019s exactly what it\u2019s like in there\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“From about 1982 onwards,\u201d Jimmy says, \u201cI did a fair bit of work in prisons\u2026 doing the writer’s workshops. And I was always fascinated by it for all kinds of reasons, but I think the main reason is, I always felt ‘there but for the grace of God go I’. Because I was young and skint once as well, and I did a few naughty things, but I was extremely lucky. I’m always looking for stories, and the thing about a British prison is it’s full of stories.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere but for the grace of God\u201d is an oft-repeated phrase among the cast and crew. Central to the show, Stephen says, is the question, \u201cWhat would we<\/em> do when we\u2019re faced with our own moral compass?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Praising the show\u2019s \u201cdevastating story-telling and striking direction,\u201d Evening Standard<\/em> says, \u201cIt\u2019s both deeply damning and touchingly hopeful, at once a searing indictment of a system where for the most part, as one of Mark\u2019s cellmates puts it, \u2018You come in bad and you go out worse\u2019, and a testament to our capacity to change\u2026 Essential viewing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BBC announced in March that Time<\/em> has been renewed for a second season, to be set in a women\u2019s prison with an all-new cast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So\u2026 does Sean Bean survive doing Time<\/em>? You\u2019ll have to watch it and see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n