Babylon

Danny Boyle--but more so his co-creator Robert Jones and executive producer-lead writer Jesse Armstrong--has created a layered analysis of a failing system, and, true to its satirical inception, he doesn't let anyone off the hook.

A pretty gritty and compelling drama.

What it lacks in depth, Babylon makes up for in range and sudden brilliant commentary.

The resonance of this drama with our lives today alone makes it worth a look.

The nastiness of Babylon is refreshing, even while the writing fails to support either the level of acting or the atmosphere, which aspires to something far more clever than what the writers ... have delivered.

Babylon wants to both mock the no-bull crassness of political wheelers and dealers and cling to a moralistic view of government, and the writers fail to find cohesion between these two perspectives more times than not. As a result, the humor often feels dulled by the relevancy of the subject matter, and the politics come off as both self-serious and frivolous.

Admittedly, the actors have a few terrific scenes. But the show--and I say this with much rue-- just doesn't work.