BBC lovers, check out ‘State of Play’

Came in this morning to an e-mail DVD recommendation from a North Idaho reader:

Hi Dan: I can’t recall how I came to add the BBC thriller “State of Play” to my Netflix list. If it was one of your recommendations, then a big THANK YOU. If it was due to Netflix’s savvy recommendation process, then may I return your many favors and recommend it to you?

It’s a taut, well-acted, conspiracy whodunit, with the full range of the UK’s many accents, slang words and class-driven insults providing aural delights. And it’s based in a newsroom.

Happy holidays to you and your family.

Pat: Much as I would like to, I can’t take credit for the recommendation. But I will make an effort to check it out. Are you referring to the six-chapter BBC miniseries? If so, that’s just the kind of immersion experience that I love.

In return, I would recommend the five-season-long HBO series “The Wire.” If you haven’t checked it out, it’s a savage indictment of big-city politics.

Also, my wife and I watched a charming, deceptively intelligent and challenging little film last night called “Happy-Go-Lucky,” which was playing at the River Park Square Theatres and is likely now gone. But when it comes out on DVD, I’d recommend it highly. It was written and directed by Mike Leigh , whom you may know from such films as “Secrets & Lies,” “Life Is Sweet” and “Naked.”

And thanks. Feel free to pass on any other DVD surprises that you come across. I’ll pass them along on my blog.

The same goes for anyone who dares come to this online voice of the Spokane Daily Grit . We all, from time to time, need viewing suggestions.

Below: David Morrissey, shown here promoting 2006’s “Basic Instinct 2,” stars in the BBC miniseries “State of Play.”

Associated Press photo