User reviews

Going into this six-part series, I have to admit that my interest at first was mostly prurient, thanks to a couple of well-placed clips on YouTube (and I'll let you guess which ones.) Rare is the occasion that my partner and I will put up with an entire series over the span of two nights, but we got so involved that we actually did it: Parts 1-3 one night; 4-6 on the following evening.

And was it worth it! From the moment a British jetliner on the way back to London explodes over Washington, DC, THE STATE WITHIN literally grabs you by the throat and won't stop shaking you until the final episode.

Now, fans of series like 24, CSI and THE UNIT should take note here: this is way out of the comfort zone of the 'casual' viewer. To their credit, writers Lizzie Mickery and Daniel Percival are not about to spoon-feed you one single detail, so mentally you'd better be 'on your toes' at all times and keeping up with all the espionage, double-dealing and a large and exceptional cast, because this train's not stopping to wait for anybody. Plus the kinetic directing styles of Michael Offer in the first three episodes and writer Percival taking the helm for the remainder, ensure that it stays moving and engaging, even when there's not a lot of things blowing up or people getting dispatched in the nastiest ways possible.

The ensemble cast, led in an unusually heroic turn by Jason Isaacs is great, as everyone brings something to the table. If you are familiar with British and Canadian television, a few faces will definitely be familiar to you, especially FOREVER KNIGHT'S Nigel Bennett playing one of his most hissable brand of baddies, and Lennie James in a surprisingly sympathetic role as a death-row inmate. Ben Daniels and Noam Jenkins are standouts as two men who are essentially on opposite sides of the same coin (and so much more.)

And definitely worth noting is Sharon Gless' performance as the steely Secretary of Defense who seems to be pulling all the strings and manipulating all the players in this nightmarish scenario, but wait! No one and nothing is as it seems in this piece, and though it feels like the first two episodes kind of leave you swinging in the wind, your patience will be richly rewarded as by Part Three, the pieces begin to fall into place. And if the story threads of WMD's, covert military operations, backroom deals and cold-blooded murder sounds a little too familiar, you better believe that it's intentional.

In fact, it's a mark of Mickery and Percival's creative skills, that when I started watching the news shortly after finishing Part 6, I felt like I was still watching the movie!

I recommend THE STATE WITHIN with extreme bias on my part. I love "thinking man's thrillers", and this is one of the best I've seen in a long time. American writers and producers should watch this and learn something....

This thriller can be described as "24" without the action but with the same wonderful twists and turns. Not until the fourth episode you get some sense what the story is about. Of course the plot seems far fetched. But if you look at Bush and his policy it suddenly is closer to home than you imagine. It is also obvious that this series is some sort of protest or at least criticism against US policy regarding terrorists and the death penalty. (The attention this sub plot got was gripping drama at best. Excellent performance by Lennie James!) We get some insight what a British ambassador does and needs to do in order to maintain his position. Jason Isaacs who is most famous for portraying villains is wonderful and amazing as the main character. Tough,diplomatic,a man of action and not afraid to show his compassion and emotion. He really shows it all. What more do you want. Good performances,intriguing plot and solid entertainment! I hope we will see more of shows like this in the future.

With so much over-hyped mediocrity about we often here claims that programmes get better with every episode - but in this case it really is true! Absolutely riveting stuff this. Tightly scripted, lots of characters with ambiguous motives, very little is cut and dried, but with still enough "boo hiss" baddies to satisfy. It's not very often we get to see a political thriller where anything could happen, to any of the leading characters, at any time and this helps to build on, and at least maintain, the tension and sense of threat throughout.

Only into the third episode, but this is already a classic. I really hope it doesn't peter out or cop out towards its conclusion. But I have a funny feeling it won't disappoint. The only reason this didn't get a 10 from me is because I've not seen it all yet.

I have to admit I was very, very hopeful when I added "The State Within" to the top of my netflix queue. Stellar cast, BBC production. But sometimes you never know. However I must admit I was extremely surprised at how much I enjoyed the series.

It's six hours long and you have to pay attention because it has some great twists and turns and moments that will make you gasp out loud. As you watched the spectacle unfold you couldn't help but see the parallels to today's political climate and it just makes you...sad. Jason Isaacs was brilliant -- he's a far more talented actor then I had ever imagined. Of course, all I have to compare him to is Harry Potter, but I had no idea he had such presence, such ability, such range. The ending catches you completely off-guard. Whew.

The excellent finale last night was indeed a fine conclusion to super series. Good to see the beeb produce yet more high quality and original programming.

As seems to be the way in all TV and Film these days there was a classic twist - you never saw this one coming.

Terrific performances by the lead players, I was especially impressed by Ben Daniels (Brocklehurst) whose last contribution was in 'Doom'and the lamentable 'Cutting It', again on the BBC.

A tense and gripping script which had me hooked from the start and did not let up the entire 6 episodes, and some of the political manoeuvring was an art to behold. (more 'West Wing' than 'Yes Minister') Great bit of drama I'd definitely watch again.

We're at episode four - and I'm like a kid with a new book dying to get to the end and yet longing for the story to carry on indefinitely. A rare title - one that describes the film perfectly - states within at all levels; from political perversion to commercial greed to personal persuasion. A huge onion of a script!

The plot is an artistic reconciliation (thus far) - the more complex the situations become,the more clearly we can distinguish personal facets of characters. But I think that there are yet some darker horses preparing for a gallop.

The story started fairly slowly and we were able to watch as individuals were drawn into the web of lies and deceit, many simply there to be trapped and killed. However I'm not sure whether or not we've met the master weaver yet or whether that will remain a mystery even after the final title has rolled.

I'm not worried about the end being a let down - unless Britain (or any other country for that matter) suddenly produces Sir Lancelot - and I don't think that's likely to happen.

I hope you've not missed it! If you have - watch out for the second showing - this is a really big treat.

THE STATE WITHIN is a six episode series from BBC that has class, excellent writing, top notch acting and enough twists and turns of story line to keep the viewer on the edge of the seat for the six hours it plays. Written by Michael Offer and Daniel Perceval (who also directs 3 of the episodes while Lizzie Mickery directs 3 others) the script is tight, the pacing deliberately fast, and the insertion of new characters into almost every episode serves not as distracting but as additive suspense.

Mark Brydon (Jason Isaacs in one of his finest roles) is the British Ambassador to the United States. The series opens with the explosion of an airplane over Dulles International Airport in Washington DC and Brydon must respond to what appears to be a terrorist plot. But who is the terrorist and who is the country behind the plot? Brydon is supported by his undersecretary Nicholas Brocklehurst (Ben Daniels, also wholly convincing in a tough role) and they must face the US government in the person of Secretary of Defense Lynne Warner (Sharon Gless, proving that she is a fine dramatic actress) and her undersecretary Christopher Styles (the always superb Noam Jenkins). There are clues that unravel slowly, fingers that point to a small Middle Eastern country, currently beset by political problems, not the least of which involve American corporate gains. Informers and witness are knocked off right and left and there are intelligence issues in both the British and the US camps that play on the concepts that Warner is financially involved in the plot and Brydon is compromised by a relationship that is related to the little country's dilemma. It is a rush to the finish to resolve all the subterfuge and it is played out very well by a large cast of excellent actors. One comment should be made about this BBC production: as opposed to films made in this country: there is a frank and well acted same sex encounter between Brocklehurst and Styles in the first episode that sets the pace for the tenor of the story. No items of personal business are left unnoticed in this manipulation of information and the extremes that can be taken. While it is a suspense thriller, there is a lot of space for very real interpersonal relationships to unfold. Highly recommended entertainment, with special kudos to BBC for having the courage to explore topics so stringently avoided by American films.

Grady Harp

I watched the dvd of this recently. I am amazed it was not written or created by the people who made the Spooks British tv series,it has similar themes of government dishonesty and British-American relations. It is a good conspiracy thriller that you will like if you like Homeland or Spooks. But it could have been more cinematic but it has a big budget for a tv series. You will like it if you don't worry too much that the story is unrealistic.

I watched the first episode last night and it is certainly gripping. There seem to be a lot of story lines weaving around the central story. There are high production values and with the mixture of UK and US stars I expect this will gain and audience on both sides of the pond. There is International terrorism a la 9/11, diplomacy, internment, gay spies, CIA, MI6. I am not going to précis the story as it is as yet unfolding. Sharon Gless (Secretary of Defense Lynne Warner), was interviewed on Radio 4 this morning and according to her you will not get the full story until the final episode. She likened it to "The Sixth Sense". Stand by for more gripping episodes.

Helps to kill an interesting, though confusing, story line. after 2 eps. Fortunately it's only 6 eps. Strong players plod through a poorly written script. Hopefully, the camera will find a mount and the lame tension music will subside. Hard to believe this is a BBC production with the cheap sfx, camera swishes and other lo fi nonsense. Worse than a Radiohead performance. State of Play, Secret City, Edge of Darkness are all much better.

The State Within was a miniseries starring Jason Isaacs, Sharon Gless, Ben Daniels, Lennie James, and Eva Birthistle.

Totally amazing miniseries that could have been written YESTERDAY. Eleven years later, all our problems remain the same - terrorists, immigrants, the death penalty, crooked politicians, and conspiracies, to name only a few.

Isaacs plays the British ambassador to the U.S. who becomes embroiled in a couple of tough situations that strangely connect. First, a bomb explodes in a plane carrying both British and American passengers. Then a member of his staff (Birthistle) works on his behalf to free a death row prisoner, a war hero in the Falklands. Information surfaces during this about a black ops that seems to be run out of the office of the Secretary of Defense. And it appears a few people higher up want this soldier's final appeals to fail.

Riveting drama with lots of twists throughout, and a total surprise at the end.

Jason Isaacs is fantastic - I don't think I've ever heard his British accent. He always plays Americans perfectly. Lennie James is a standout as the death row prisoner. But the showcase role belongs to Sharon Gless as Lynn Warner, the toughest Secretary of Defense anyone has ever seen. She's brilliant.

When I say this could have been written yesterday, I'm not kidding. That alone makes it worth seeing.

Doesn't cut the British Crime Story Series & ended the first season without an ending.

Takes shaky cam to a whole new level. It induces motion sickness. The average shot is one second or less. Combined with extreme closeups, bizarre color schemes (blue on blue on blue) or sepia or pastel washout for no reason it's nearly un-view-able. The upside is that this gives the writers an opportunity to slack off and dash together a script that's as scattered and incoherent as the visuals. You rarely have a scene that's connected with any other scene and the notion of a plot is pretty much tossed out. But so what?

It's a BBC production so the basic premise is that the US is a giant sewer of ultra right wing psychopathic anti Muslim bigots and the only the sane people in the world are of course, the Brits and their gently nuanced love of all Muslims. If it turns out the Brits really are behind it, well then it's for our own good. Oh and throw in Florida's death row conviction of a Brit who's, you guessed it, completely innocent.

I wonder if they pull an MI-5 and just blame everything on The Jews.

Seconds after taking off from Washington, flight 113 to London explodes over the city, causing loss of life in the sky and on the ground. Outgoing UK ambassador to Washington Mark Brydon is on the ground when it happens and witnesses first hand the tragic events. US Secretary of Defence Lynne Warner is giving a speech at a business event and is rushed away when she learns of the "attack". A former UK ambassador to Turkistan criticises the US and UK for ignoring human rights violations there. A military training exercise in Virginia sees a solider dead, stripped of ID and dumped in a river. A British prisoner on death row sees the hours ticking away on his appeal. The news that flight 113 was bombed by a British Muslim sees the Governor of Virginia rounding up British Muslims in his state. Meanwhile in Washington, Brydon's attempts to minimise the political fallout sees him drawn into a bigger conspiracy than he could have imagined as connections between the bomber and US interests in Turkistan come to the fore.

The first episode opens quickly, matching the dizzy speed that the camera moves around, with a bomb bringing down a passenger plane. This opening looks to grab you and hold you because the writers know that they all viewers are going to be thrown into the middle of a lot of detail and be asked to keep up with it even though the connections will not start coming together for an episode or two (baring in mind this only was six episodes long). Obviously I didn't know this at the start and I confess I did find the first two episodes to be demanding of attention without giving a lot back. However sticking with it does see all the pieces fall into place in a rather convoluted but engaging web of twists and developments. The conspiracy is sadly believable and the series builds a plot that 24 would be proud of – albeit with a bit less action.

The delivery is solid and enjoyable with an intelligently building narrative that does reward paying attention. Aside from the early plane crash grabbing attention, there isn't 24 levels of action and some viewers may find it quite talky but the series doesn't seem concerned with this – to its credit. The whole production looks professional and expensive but at times the shaky camera-work is a distraction – in moderation it isn't a problem but some episodes felt like it had been filmed during an earthquake! The narrative does have one glaring problem within it and that is the issue of political bias. If you are right-wing and believe that the Iraq war was right and that it was all about WMD (or regime change or whatever the official reason is as you read this) then you will probably hate this series because the whole plot is essentially a very unsubtle parallel with Iraq (in regards US going to war obviously – the whole "fabricating the war thing is total fiction!). As a bit of a liberal, this element didn't bother me that much but at times it was all a bit obvious and unimaginative in regards the underlying ideas.

The cast is a strange mix but mostly pretty good despite some of them betraying the limited budget of the piece. Isaacs runs the show and he delivers a solid leading man who holds the attention well. Below him the biggest name is Sharon Gless; she is OK but somehow she doesn't convince in her role. Ben Daniels is as good as Isaacs in his rather shadowy role. O'Reilly is very so-so while James and Pearson were surprise finds in supporting roles. The rest all do well enough in their various characters as this isn't a story that asks a lot of depth from the supporting actors so much as it asks for solid turns.

Overall then a pretty enjoyable and engaging conspiracy thriller. The cast are mostly good and work well with a script that rewards paying attention with a satisfying story. The basic idea is a bit obvious and will annoy hawks with its obvious political bias but mostly it should be good enough to please casual viewers as long as you don't expect it to be action packed and contain all the gloss and budget of 24 (for example).

This is one of the best TV conspiracy series ever made. For six episodes it is edge-of-your seat, and the performances are staggering. Ben Daniels does a spectacular job of dominating the entire series with his enigmatic and shifting intensity as the head of security for the British Embassy in Washington. We don't know for several episodes whose side he is really on, so complex is the web of political intrigue, and so many are the bluffs and double-bluffs of the story line. Another massive presence on the screen is the overwhelmingly powerful Sharon Gless, who plays the American Secretary of Defence. Rarely has an actor or actress in a TV series so completely portrayed a ruthless political operator so sure of power and not afraid to use it every minute of every day. When she looks at people, they generally curl up like fried strips of bacon, just in sheer terror. The series is a very thinly veiled attack on former Vice President Dick Cheney and the company Halliburton, of which he had previously been CEO. In the series, he becomes the woman played by Sharon Gless, and Halliburton becomes a sinister company named Armitage, of which she had been CEO. A disclaimer at the beginning of the series saying that no real company is portrayed is not so much an act of protection against law suits as an 'up yours' act of defiance, since any discerning person can see at once what the series is about. Instead of provoking the invasion of Iraq and the overthrowing of Saddam, the series is about the provoking of an invasion against the Central Asian country of Tyrgyzstan, whose oppressive dictator also rants on television all the time. Once again, we have the 'weapons of mass destruction' which don't exist, and all that goes with it. As a study of the corruption of power and the ruthless pursuit of international power politics by scheming defence companies and what Eisenhower called 'the military industrial complex', TV series don't get any more gripping or convincing than this. The series opens with a fantastic scene where a jet plane explodes in the air because of a bomb, and the wreckage showers down on a motorway. The series's hero, the British Ambassador to Washington, played convincingly and with every nuance entirely perfect by Jason Isaacs, is in a car directly below at the time and tries to save a woman from a burning car, but it explodes and she is killed in front of his eyes. And that is only the beginning of the first episode. The excitement mounts from there. The series is produced by the glamorous Grainne Marmion (pronounced 'grahn-yah', and she's unmistakably female), who has spared no effort, and the direction shared by Michael Offer and Daniel Percival (he also co-scripted with Lizzie Mickery) is terrific; the scripts are brilliant. Genevieve O'Reilly, always a favourite waif (who came into her own the next year as the star of the series 'The Time of Your Life'), does an excellent supporting job with her sensitive face and trembling voice, which probes possibilities like a hand reaching for a glass of water by the bed in the dark. Really, they are all so good, the menace and the anxiety and the danger are so palpable, that there is no room for any hairs to rise on the back of your neck, because the series has gripped you so tightly by the throat.

This is something of a departure for British TV (being rather less in the clover than TV moguls Stateside) because the productions values are VERY high for UK homegrown produce. I imagine they are hoping (or were hoping) to sell it in the U.S. too. Whatever, it has set the yardstick high and so has set itself a lot to live up to. Will it do it. I have a sneaky suspicion it might (even though much of the excitement is just down to fancy editing). Somewhart trendy in its choice of subject matter, but then these days that"s the name of the game. But as I say, if they carry it off they carry it off. If they don't — well memories are short. So either way it's a sure bet.

A superb piece of action, thriller and romance combination. I would like to see something as stunning as this series more often. Why does everyone state that this is a six episode series? There are seven..... The IMDb policies for submitting reviews are strangely rigid and complex. I feel like I am trying to access a top secret, highly restricted database with special access only to the most determined and ruggedest comment posters. There are so many cautions and warnings to cease and desist that I almost did not want to write anything. I am struggling as of right now to complete my ten lines of comments just to be able to jump the hurdle. I am getting the impression that this comment process is very selective and highly sensitive. I think I made it......

I'm sure there's a good drama to be made about the compromises of modern diplomacy, between means and ends, and conflicting ends as well; and also about the gung-ho nature of western foreign policy. But 'The State Within' is definitely not it, unless you want to immerse yourself in a world where good-looking heroes do battle with cartoon villains. This is a story where the British ambassador to Washington cares passionately about a random British citizen sentenced to death in the U.S for a crime he doesn't even deny committing; and personally pulls victims from the wreck of a burning airliner, brought down, incidentally, in the heart of the American capital by agents acting effectively on behalf of the U.S. government; and where the director of a multi-million dollar company rampages around executing people who get in his way. It's also a story of labyrinthine complexity, whose twists make little sense; even if we accept the motivations of the characters, there must be easier ways for them to achieve their desires than the plots they engage in here. One might almost say that there's a fundamental naiveté about the whole tale, in its belief that a government might be sufficiently ashamed at the idea of supporting and deposing tyrants, and enriching their friends in big business at the same time, to consider it worthwhile to go to such lengths in covering them up. Additionally, the series is not even well made. The acting is poor, most of the cast seem to be playing bad actors playing their characters: Neil Pearson and Nigel Bennett are particularly wooden, while Lennie James (as is his wont) goes the other way, and overdoses on giving an impression of ferocious intensity. While we get endless captions giving us the specific location of places, as if in a desperate attempt to convey authenticity, and pointless fast camera-zooms for no particular reason. Meanwhile, in the real world, dictators continue to enjoy our support, our governments fight wars when their interests are threatened, and the corporate sector grows fat on the proceeds. But surely not as is presented in this overcooked fantasy.

Misguided attempt by the BBC to turn life at the British Embassy in Washington into something resembling "Bourne Ultimatum". In the hands of the brilliant Paul Greengrass this might have worked, but what we end up with here is a big budget, over heated, over stylized, and frankly ludicrous, vision of the British Ambassador as James Bond. With every character a suspect, and a subplot, the whole venture becomes confused and laughable. Jason Isaacs, and Sharon Gless are great, but most of the performances suffer from the jerky camera work and frenzied editing. They aren't allowed screen time to breathe, and stick in the viewers mind. It's as if the directors are saying "Never mind them. This is my show. Look at what I can do!" Jiggle, jerk, cut.

It's probably a great story but 10 minutes in and I'm feeling seasick. The non stop shaking camera shots and the change of shots and the incredible feeling that this was all shot on a home movie camera, makes me wonder why you would sit through the whole series. Cheap and nasty is my conclusion

In 2022, this is a travesty. Such a clichéd script, such repetitive characters, poor direction mars the series right from 1st scene. I was shocked to see that this trash was made by BBC. Shame on them. Tried for 2 episodes but the garbage was incomprehensible and so ridiculously cheesy! Sad part is that the theme of the series had potential. It was tragically totally destroyed by a bunch of most incompetent people.

There is no Season 2. Season 1 ends without any wrap up. I'm guessing they we're planning on a season two, but it never happened. Season one ends without everything being wrapped up. It leaves you hanging, and there is no closure. You will get invested in six episodes and then nothing. I thought it was a great series, but unfortunately there is nothing to wrap it all up. Very frustrating to not have everything completed. I have never watched a series that left you hanging in season one that did not have a season two. I am so angry that I spent time watching this only to find out there is no ending. There is no ending at all.