MouthLondon - London Student & Youth Magazine

TV Review: Hit and Miss

Posted on Jun 13th, 2012 by Ben Rider · 1 comment so far · Tags: assassin, Chloë Sevigny, Hit and Miss, Paul Abbott, pre-op transsexual, Review, TV

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Very few British dramas have equalled the complete and professional cinematic spectrum of American TV, largely due to the differences in finance between the two continents, but also the talent and groomed markets. The last show I recall being made here that I really loved was BBC’s Bleak House back in 2005, although I am guilty of not giving Downtown Abbey a fair chance. Regardless though, both suffer from that all too familiar cast, upper class with clenched-lips and poorly treated love stricken maids, who run around the polished and poorly lit period piece sets.

That was until Hit and Miss.

…what if HBO were to set up in the UK?…

With Sky Atlantic’s first trophy worth outing as a production house, we finally are offered an answer to what if HBO were to set up in the UK?

Despite Paul Abbott working with Showtime on his re-imagined, remixed and improved Shameless, he returns to a small farm setting to helm a new classic, one which, with the right audience, will hopefully become a shining beckon for new shows to follow.

…a pre-op transsexual assassin…

Lead by the stylish Chloë Sevigny, Hit and Miss outlines its complicated and diverse premise in the pilot: a pre-op transsexual assassin who discovers she has a motherless family assigned to her, one of which is her son, whom she fathered a few years ago.

Sevigney is almost unrecognisable, for me at least, having followed Big Love for the past five years – until its end last summer, and loving her role as the eye-rolling bitch slapping Nicolette Grant, I find it hard to see any trace of her previous role.

…often landing herself into controversy…

She has managed over the past few years to simply jump in and out of the limelight, often landing herself into controversy (The Brown Bunny and actors guild for example), a few understated successful roles or an eye-popping reminder of how talented she actually is and of course smiling her way on the red carpet.

And her latest venture is just that.

…moral dilemmas…

Hit and Miss, which was created by Shameless UK and US’ Paul Abbott, and much like his really successful nitty gritty family drama, no controversy is left unturned, providing Sevigney an opportunity to be a puppeteer of her own reigns of a character constantly playing with moral dilemmas.

The climax of the pilot arrived like a quick EpiPen shot, jolting its slow countryside cinematography as Mia (Sevigney) tells her son to hit his bully.

…Hit and Miss isn’t your average show…

It has continued to maintain that spiralling narrative ever since. Without giving away too much, all one would need to do is watch the following two episodes, which include the beginnings of a romantic relationship for Mia with the town’s hot runner, a landlord dispute and a quick and dark visit to the hospital.

Hit and Miss isn’t your average show, at least not in the UK – that’s for sure.

… a compelling story…

With a few complaints already made about its nudity, one can only assume there will be plenty to follow, its beauty though is both in the first proper high-production show in the UK of this standard, its dealings head on with a subject often neglected and avoided by the mainstream media; and the shedding of terrible British kitchen sink drama traditions, which still appear every few evenings on the BBC.

It is nonetheless a compelling story and hopefully only the start of a new formula for TV, as well as for Sky or any production house in the UK.

4.5 Stars

Images courtesy of Sky Atlantic, Matt Holyoak and Liam Daniel