This England

Oops - meant to say with my * that it is not to be confused with This Is England, which is another thing altogether.

I have watched two episodes of this. So far it is as much about how the NHS and care homes coped with the pandemic while the government is making up its mind. It is heartbreaking in parts.

We have watched 2 episodes. I’m absolutely hooked on it. Kenneth Branagh is fantastic, has Boris voice perfectly. You wonder who has given them some of the information? And Dom is a real b*****d!
Never knew we actually sent PPE to China……..

I was initially really, really looking forward to it.
But I won’t be able to deal with the gritty pandemic stuff, so unfortunately I’ll be giving it a miss

I've only watched Episode 1. Yes I thought it was impressive, particularly the interlocking of real news footage with scripted drama.
Incredible how much misery we've forgotten, because of subsequent misery.

Soroptimum I knew about our PPE going abroad. It made me remember established PPE providers in UK who never had their calls returned by govt, and eventually had to sell their wares to USA or lose money.

I wouldn't call it gritty, Fanny. There is less detail than there was on the news at the time. 'Going into' a care home knowing what we now know is difficult, of course, but we don't see bodies piling up or people dying. (Not yet, at least.)

I agree about the voices. Branagh and whoever it is who plays Cummings are spot on.

i am finding the focus groups and the way the news is manipulated the most fascinating thing about it. Some of this was obvious (to some) when it was happening, but seeing it spelt out, and getting the results of the focus groups adds a dimension.

I started to watch but found Branagh's voice quality and accent jarringly wrong especially as the wig and prosthetics made him look quite like Boris. So I switched off.

FannyCornforth

I was initially really, really looking forward to it.
But I won’t be able to deal with the gritty pandemic stuff, so unfortunately I’ll be giving it a miss

I know what you mean, FannyC

It might be far too soon, too raw for many people.

Doodledog I didn’t watch the news then.
I’ve got a TV, but I haven’t seen the news for nearly 30 years.

PS it does sound incredibly interesting

WARNING!!

In later episodes there are scenes of Covid deaths that are distressing. You may wish to avoid this, particularly if you have lost someone to the virus.