Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

JinRoz For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Jacomedi A Surprisingly Unforgettable Movie!

timsmith37 I can understand why a lot of viewers tuned out after the ponderous first episode, but it is a shame, as the second instalment ratcheted the tension up nicely. The drag on the story was not the the weight of polemic, so much as the human interest elements; these had some relevance in setting up character motivation and building plot, but it was impossible to care about Rupert Penry-Jones bland corporate man or Neve Campbell's simpering environmental do-gooder. Also the ending depended a lot on our accepting the relationship between Penry-Jones and Bradley Whitford, but the background to this was never explained.The environmental scenarios in the storyline were certainly credible, the political aspects perhaps less so. The rival lobbyists played by Bradley Whitford and Marc Warren did not seem rooted in any recognisable political power structure, and it is to the credit of both actors that the characters came to life as more than two dimensional cyphers. The depiction of big oil was perhaps simplistic. Not all in the industry are opposed to Kyoto; outside of the US at least, it is seen as a commercial opportunity. The likes of BP and Shell do not particularly care what energy agenda Governments adopt so long as they send out clear signals and stand-by them, enabling investments to be planned with minimal risk. US intransigence on Kyoto is driven more by a lack of political will to tackle the average voter's seeming belief that it is their God-ordained right to consume a vastly disproportionate share of the planet's resources.

pmillsom The plot reverberation with thunderous force of oil politic. The script was gift to the cast who seemed to be enjoying the opportunity to convey the serious message and the message was all too prophetic. Frighteningly prophetic consider the script was written some years earlier. If you read "Carbon Wars" by Jeremy Leggett you will learn that the politics of climate summits is all too real and you'll appreciate that anything published ever by the IPCC is diluted dribble and at least 10 years behind the real consensus of honest scientists and heartfelt politicians.One key message it drives home at the finale moment (that maybe I should have realised before now) is that many US citizens really believe their country will survive or maybe have an overall benefit from climate change. So whilst much of the rest of planet will suffer greatly they have no need to sacrifice there living standard. "Six Degrees" by Mark Lynas tells us that another beneficiary will be Russia, but they risk getting invaded by China for their oil and expanded cultivatable farmland. And so the other key message in the programme's is that climate change and oil shortages could spark world war three. If you live in Europe may not need to worry so much unless - you are under 25. But don't buy a less then 2 meters below sea as it may depreciate in value as the populace becomes more aware of the future risks. This was a great drama with rich dialogue that I could watch again several times. That's the test of a good TV production, the 'watch it again' score.

rowlston How is it that in a world where David Simon can give us The Wire - and in doing so fundamentally alter my perception about how the world works, without EVER making me feel like I'm being preached to - the world's biggest broadcaster can give us such a ham fisted, drama school production? OK, so, let's be honest, with a few exceptions (cracker remains one of the best dramas ever made) British drama is dire at the best of times. But this? It turns out that oil is bad, don'tcha know? Oh and the oil companies (and in fact all corporate entities) are only interested in profits. And global warming is ... this'll shock ya ... a bad thing ...When Michael Moore makes a documentary he wears his heart on his sleeve, he admits, even embraces his bias. Al Gore made a little movie that had a point to make and made it by ... well ... telling it like he saw it.The folks behind this 'drama' decided that they should create (in the broadest possible sense of the term) a work of fiction because, obviously, that would convince us where documentaries had failed.Except I don't believe the drama, the dialogue is part exposition, part school text book, part ... well, mostly actually, poor. The characters are cardboard cuts outs with all the light and shade of a thing that has no light and shade at all, and the story? Let's just say it makes the da Vinci code look WELL written. (Can you believe it?) Bottom line, the first job of drama is to engage my emotion and my intellect with the story and the ... here's a shocker ... drama. Engage me and I might let ya preach a bit, I might not even notice until it's too late if you do it well and I'm invested in the story enough by the time your agenda becomes clear. But If all you're gonna do is preach to me, without character, humour or a real feel for real people then I'm just gonna get angry ...So angry, I'm gonna write a polemic of my own even while the awful first part of your 'drama' plays in the background.Now. Go watch The Wire, watch West Wing, watch Rescue Me ... Watch (and I know this is gonna be hard to believe but TRUST ME) Battlestar Galactica ... ALL of those shows have an agenda, all of them have an opinion, all of them want to challenge the way I look at the world.None of them managed to actually make me want to go out and burn a barrel of oil just out of spite and in protest against your appalling, unwatchable 'drama'.Post Script: Just forcing myself to watch Ep2 of the UK 2 Ep version. Like the Italian designer said when walking around a truly awful 1970's UK car ... "Unbelievable, it' the same THIS side."Not sure I excepted anything more, but I hoped ... Sadly, part two is just as awful as part one, only more so because it's another 90 minutes I'll never get back.There's an old industry saw about 'messages' and Wells Fargo. I don't subscribe. At its best drama can contain insight and inspiration and can create the lever by which the world is moved. Drama can do that. This drama did not.

Cru3 BURN UP is a sharply made four hour mini-series co-produced between the UK and Canada that tackles environmental issues - chiefly global warming - and wraps them up in a cracking conspiracy thriller. The series begins with a mass murder in the Saudi Arabian desert and climaxes at an environmental summit in Calgary. The main thrust of the plot is that evidence exists proving global warming is much farther along - and far more severe - than was previously believed, but is being suppressed to protect the economy. Acting honors belong to WEST WING vet Bradley Whitford as a morally vacant oil executive (dubbed the "High Prince of Carbon") determined to keep the oil flowing no matter what the damage or cost, and Marc Warren (HUSTLE)as an amusingly blunt British politician fighting against the tide. Fine work is also done by SPOOKS star Rupert Penry-Jones as a young oil executive awakening to the evil he is part of, and Neve Campbell as an environmental advocate working for him. A number of the personnel from SPOOKS worked on the mini-series, including director Omar Madha (doing an exceptional job here), and the intelligent script is by FULL MONTY scribe Simon Beaufoy. Lavishly produced (it actually looks better than a number of films I've seen in recent years) BURN UP is never boring, and achieves what it sets out to do: present a story that engages and thrills the viewer.