| Spooks | |
|---|---|
Spooks title sequence |
|
| Also known as | MI-5 |
| Genre | Spy |
| Created by | David Wolstencroft |
| Starring |
|
| Theme music composer | Jennie Muskett |
| Composer(s) | Jennie Muskett (Series 1-4) Paul Leonard-Morgan (Series 5-10) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 10 |
| No. of episodes | 86 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 58 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | |
| Original run | 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Spooks: Code 9 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a highly secure suite of offices known as The Grid. In the United States and France, the show is broadcast under the title MI-5. In Canada, the programme originally aired as MI5 but now airs on BBC Canada as Spooks.
The programme was created by writer David Wolstencroft and has attracted popular guest actors including Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy, Tim McInnerny, Bruce Payne, Reece Dinsdale, Ian McDiarmid, Ewen Bremner, Jimi Mistry, Andy Serkis, Andrew Tiernan, Anton Lesser, Anupam Kher, Alexander Siddig, Martine McCutcheon and Anthony Head.
Contents |
Starring Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Jenny Agutter, and Peter Firth, the initial series of six one-hour episodes premiered in the spring of 2002.
Due to its combination of glossy high production values with fast-paced action/adventure and spy intrigue storylines[1] the series was a critical and popular success, averaging 7.5 million viewers over its six episodes.[2]
The second episode gained notoriety for the violent killing of character Helen Flynn (Lisa Faulkner), which drew the largest number of complaints to the Broadcasting Standards Commission in 2002.[3] During an undercover operation Helen and Tom were captured by race riot instigator Robert Osborne, played by Kevin McNally, who tortured Helen with a deep fryer in an attempt to make Tom reveal classified information. He refused and she was killed. This provoked an angry reaction from many viewers who jammed BBC phone switchboards with complaints, despite the show airing after the 9 pm watershed.[4]
With the success of the first series, a second, longer series of ten episodes was commissioned and subsequently aired in 2003. New regular characters Sam Buxton (Shauna Macdonald) and Ruth Evershed (Nicola Walker), were introduced in the first and second episodes respectively, while the series finale ended with a dramatic cliffhanger.[5] The series averaged 7.1 million viewers.[6]
A third series of ten episodes was transmitted on BBC One in the autumn of 2004 and concluded on 13 December. The first episode features Rupert Penry-Jones as Adam Carter, who was drafted in from MI6 to help investigate Tom's disappearance. He later takes over Tom's position as Section Chief after the latter jeopardised an important operation.[7]
In episode six, Zoe is taken to court for misconduct during an operation and is forced to leave MI5 and assume a new identity in Chile. She is replaced by Adam's wife, Fiona (Olga Sosnovska). In the series finale, Danny is killed while he and Fiona are being held hostage. Audience figures dropped to a series average of 5.8 million viewers.[8]
The fourth series of Spooks began transmission on Monday 12 September 2005 on BBC One at 9 pm with the first of a two-part story. The next day (13 September) the second episode was shown. The following week Spooks assumed a 9 pm Thursday slot, a break from the Monday 9 pm slot the previous series had traditionally occupied. Once again, the series ran for ten episodes and averaged 6.05 million viewers, a notable increase on the previous series.[9]
The opening two-part episode introduces two new characters to the series, Zafar Younis (Raza Jaffrey, whose character had debuted in the final episode of series three), and Juliet Shaw (Anna Chancellor). The storyline involves a terrorist bombing central London, something that, in reality, took place on 7 July, two months prior to the airing but already after the filming was complete.
According to The Guardian newspaper, the day the first episode aired, "The similarities were sufficient to cause head of drama Jane Tranter and new BBC One controller Peter Fincham to agonise over whether to drop the episodes."[10] The episodes eventually aired unedited, although before both instalments of the two-parter the BBC One continuity announcer warned viewers that they featured scenes of terrorist bombing in London which some viewers might find disturbing.
In episode seven, Fiona Carter leaves the show because the actress portraying her, Olga Sosnovska, was pregnant during filming and chose to leave the programme. In that story arc, Adam attempts to kill Fiona's deranged ex-husband, who she thought was hanged several years prior. However, her ex-husband ultimately abducts her and later shoots her dead in Adam's presence during her attempted escape. Her character is replaced by Jo Portman (played by Miranda Raison), a new arrival at MI5 who was recruited by Adam in a previous episode.
The fifth (10-part) series of Spooks aired its first episode in two parts, the first appearing on 17 September 2006. In it, elements within the British Government, MI6 and the UK press conspire in an attempt to overthrow the Parliament and the Prime Minister. These elements agree that for Britain to survive the threats posed by modern day terrorism, democracy had to be replaced with rule by committee. The second part followed the next day (18 September), marking Spooks' return to BBC One's Monday night schedule.[11] These episodes introduced Ros Myers (Hermione Norris).
This series' storylines include a fake home-grown Al-Qaeda cell that plans an attack on London; the British government selling nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia; and the US administration selling arms to African dictators.
The ratings for this series remained consistent with those of the previous series, averaging 6 million viewers.[12]
The sixth series was commissioned by Jane Tranter, Head of Drama Commissioning at the BBC, by the time series 5 was announced. The series returned on 16 October 2007 at 9 pm on BBC One, and concluded on 18 December.[13][14] The series averaged 5.68 million viewers (the lowest to date)[15] The sixth series was different in certain respects from the previous five because it had one storyline running right the way through it, and for the first time, the show contained end credits. There was also a less frequent use of the soundtrack composed by Jennie Muskett.[16]
The primary storyline of Series 6 follows Iran seeking the ability to manufacture its own nuclear weapons and searching for sellers of nuclear armaments components. The governments of several nations (principally the United States and its CIA, Russia's FSB, and a shadowy third organisation composed of disenfranchised members of other agencies, including MI5) are woven throughout the plot. Simon Abkarian plays the Iranian Special Counsel liaising with the various governments, Agni Scott as his wife, Matthew Marsh as the CIA station chief, and Robert Glenister as the British Home Secretary, all have recurring roles throughout the series.
A new website called "Spooks Interactive" was created to coincide with the launch of the series.[13] In April 2008, the Spooks production team won the BAFTA Award for Interactivity for their work on Spooks Interactive.[17]
Series 7 of Spooks began airing on 27 October 2008 for an eight episode run.[18] Peter Firth returns as Harry Pearce, along with Alex Lanipekun as Ben Kaplan, Hugh Simon as Malcolm Wynn-Jones, Miranda Raison as Jo Portman and Gemma Jones as Connie James.
In the first episode, central character Adam Carter (portrayed by Rupert Penry Jones) dies in a car explosion set by terrorists, and the character Ros Myers (played by Hermione Norris) returns to the show as a deep-cover agent in Moscow. Richard Armitage joins the cast as Lucas North, an agent who has been held in a Russian prison for the past eight years and released as part of a spy exchange. Following Adam's death, Ros is made the section leader and Lucas replaces her as a Senior Case officer.
The series 8 recommission press release stated there would be a twist in the final episode of series 7.[19] In this episode, a nuclear bomb is set to explode, triggered by a Russian sleeper agent who is part of Operation Tiresias. As Parliament and the Royal Family are evacuated, the nuclear threat to London is eliminated when Ros and Lucas are able to turn Connie James and elude an FSB kill squad. While defusing the bomb, Connie is killed by its conventional explosives. Seconds before the bomb exploded, Connie revealed that it had not been Harry who sold Lucas North out to the Russians as Lucas had always believed but, rather, herself. The episode concludes with Harry, conscious but with his mouth taped shut, in the boot of a car being zipped up in a body bag by Viktor Sarkisian, head of the FSB's London station.
In December 2008, the BBC announced that series 8 would start filming in March 2009 and air late 2009,[19] with both Hermione Norris (Ros) and Richard Armitage (Lucas) returning for series 8. Series 8 started on Wednesday 4 November 2009, at 9 pm on BBC One,[20] with episode 2 broadcast on Friday 6 November at 9 pm on BBC Three.[21] The opening episode of series 8 drew in 6 million viewers a 25% share of audience numbers between 9 pm and 10 pm.
The first episode of the series continues from the cliffhanger at the end of series 7, with Harry Pearce being held captive by the Russians. During this episode, Ruth Evershed is reintroduced, having spent her time since series 5 in Cyprus. The only character other than Harry who has been in the programme since its inception, Malcolm Wynn-Jones departs stating simply that he is "too old". His replacement comes in the form of much younger technician Tariq Masood (Shazad Latif).
The series again revolves around one major plot-arc which is a mysterious organisation known only as "Nightingale". During the course of the series, Lucas North's loyalty is continually called into question, for the most part because of his ongoing relationship with CIA agent Sarah Caulfield who is connected to Nightingale. At the end of the series, Section D does not appear to have made much progress in tackling Nightingale, and Ros Myers is killed in an explosion with the new Home Secretary Andrew Lawrence.
Spooks returned for a ninth series on Monday 20 September 2010 for an eight-episode run.[22]
New cast members in this series include Sophia Myles and Max Brown as MI5 officers and Simon Russell Beale as the Home Secretary. Iain Glen and Laila Rouass also joined the series, playing Vaughn Edwards and Maya Lahan – figures from Lucas's mysterious past.[23]
The season ends with the deaths of Lucas' lover Maya Lahan, following the death of Lucas' blackmailer, Vaughn, in the climactic end of the penultimate episode. Lucas had kidnapped Ruth, binding and gagging her, and was attempting to get a top-secret computer file for the Chinese. The climactic scene was a showdown between Harry and Lucas on top of a tower block in London. After Harry reveals that the file never actually worked, and that Lucas had apparently betrayed his MI5 colleagues and stolen another man's identity, "Lucas" (apparently "real" name John Bateman) orders Harry to turn around. Harry anticipates execution, but no shots come. Hearing a car alarm and screams from the ground many seconds later, Harry turns around to find Lucas no longer on the roof. Forty-eight hours later, the Home Secretary calls Harry to inform him that a full investigation will be made into his actions at MI5 and to "prepare for life after MI5." The series ends with Harry looking out over the London skyline at night. A caption reveals that a 10th series would be shown in 2011.
At the end of Series 9, a teaser screen announced that the programme would return for a tenth series in 2011.[24]
Production on the six-episode[25] series reportedly began during March 2011,[26] with Lara Pulver joining the series as an "ambitious, hungry" new spook "determined to make her mark." Also joining the series were Geoffrey Streatfeild, Alice Krige and Jonathan Hyde, while Peter Firth, Nicola Walker, Max Brown, Shazad Latif and Simon Russell Beale reprised their roles, as well as Matthew Macfadyen in a cameo role in the final episode. Sophia Myles did not return as Beth Bailey.[27]
The season concludes with the revelation of a plot to force Britain and Russia into war. Harry managed to thwart the plot and decides to leave the service to live a normal life with Ruth Evershed. However, a vengeful Sasha Gavrik attempts to have revenge on him and Ruth takes the blow for him before dying in his arms. Harry then decides to return to MI5, the prospect of a normal life no longer being accessible to him.
Kudos and the BBC announced in a joint statement in August 2011 that Series 10 would be the last series.[28] It began airing on BBC One on Sunday September 18, 2011 at 9:00 pm, moving from its traditional weekday evening slot,[29] with the final episode airing on October 23, 2011.
Including the final (tenth) series, the show consists of 86 episodes. Spooks series 10 started transmission on 18 September 2011.
Each episode begins with a "previously" sequence, recapping recent events. Following a teaser, setting up the episode's narrative, a title sequence runs, featuring the main characters but no actor credits, and ends with the name of the series. Each episode ends with the final scene freezing and changing to a black-and-white negative image that then compresses with a distinctive sound effect into a flat white line against a black screen. With the exception of each season finale, a trailer for the next episode is shown, followed by the Kudos and BBC logos. The series airs with no credits on BBC One to maintain an atmosphere of the anonymity of real-life spies and the drama of each episode. Full credits are available online.
Prior to Series 9, the subsequent episode was aired on BBC Three one week ahead of its BBC One showing (the first and last episode were only shown on BBC One). BBC Three airings included a brief credit sequence following the trailer and before the Kudos and BBC logos.
The music for series 1 to 4 and theme tune was composed by Jennie Muskett. Music for series 5 to 10 was composed by Paul Leonard-Morgan. Four soundtracks have been released for the show, the first includes music from series 1 & 2, the second (currently and perhaps only ever available on iTunes) featuring music from series 5 & 6 (Two additional tracks are available on the composer's website). The third and fourth soundtracks (containing tracks from series 7 & 8, and 9 & 10 respectively) were released on iTunes in November 2011.[47][48] The track listings contain spoilers to the episode content.
Broadcast editions of the episodes have been known to feature alternate music to that found on the commercially available DVD releases. In the final episode of Series 2, music from the film score Spy Game was used—composed by Harry Gregson-Williams. The tracks used are "Beirut, a War Zone" and "Operation Dinner Out". Both are available on the official soundtrack release for the film.
Many scenes are filmed in and around the Docklands, especially Canary Wharf, Rotherhithe, London Bridge and Greenwich (including The Old Royal Naval College) area as well as the new More London development.
Following the success of Torchwood (the BBC Three Doctor Who spin-off series) the controller of BBC Three, Julian Bellamy, announced in December 2006 a Spooks spin-off entitled Spooks: Code 9 (working titles: Rogue Spooks and Spooks: Liberty).[51][52] The show started filming in Bradford in 2008 and the first[53] and second episodes were broadcast on 10 August 2008. It was not well-received by critics, who said "the script is poor and the acting little better" (The Sunday Times)[54] and the production "utterly uninspired and stale" (Digital Spy),[55] "daft and unconvincing" (The Telegraph),[56] "an utterly cynical venture" that "given its patronising awfulness ... actually damages the Spooks brand" (The Guardian).[57]
| Series | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | Extras | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series One | 13 January 2004 | 16 June 2003 | 18 August 2003 | Deleted scenes, a guide to Spooks terminology, character biographies, image galleries, interviews and commentaries with the cast and crew. | ||
| Series Two | 11 January 2005 | 20 September 2004 | 21 March 2004 | Outtakes, cast interviews and commentaries, and featurettes. | ||
| Series Three | 31 January 2006 | 5 September 2005 | 23 May 2005 | Audio commentaries, "behind the scenes" featurettes, deleted scenes and DVDROM content, including scripts, wallpapers and image gallery. | ||
| Series Four | 9 January 2007 | 4 September 2006 | 19 May 2007 | Audio commentaries, a "behind the scenes" documentary and interviews with the series producer and the director of episodes 9 and 10. | ||
| Series Five | 8 January 2008 | 10 September 2007 | 19 May 2008 | 2 audio commentaries, cast interviews and Miranda Raison's video diary for series 6. | ||
| Series Six | 20 January 2009[58] | 6 October 2008 | 2 August 2008 | 2 audio commentaries from the location managers, 2 audio commentaries with the producer and writer, a "behind the scenes" documentary on episode 6.8, series 6 trailers, 4 cast interviews and Miranda's video diary. | ||
| Series Seven | 26 January 2010[59] | 12 October 2009[60] | 18 March 2009 | 2 audio commentaries, a "behind the scenes" in Russia with Richard Armitage and Hermione Norris, cast interviews. | ||
| Series Eight | 25 January 2011[61] | 20 September 2010[62] | 3 November 2010 | 2 audio commentaries with the producer and director, two brief featurettes of the Colleville explosion and Walker's murder. This DVD set does not include a Dolby Digital 5.1 which all other sets have. Only a 2.0 soundtrack was included. | ||
| Series Nine | 12 July 2011 | 28 February 2011[63] | 1 June 2011 | 2 audio commentaries, and two mini-featurettes, "The Cost of Being a Spy" and "The Downfall of Lucas North". | ||
| Series Ten | n/a | 28 November 2011 | n/a | Harry's Game - Feature, Top Ten Spooks Moments | ||
All Series of Spooks are available on iTunes, with series 7, 8 & 9 becoming available to download one week after original broadcast. Series 1–8 have been released on DVD by Contender Home Entertainment with its successor Entertainment One then taking over; series 9 was released by Universal Playback.
Now available on Region 1 DVD, Series 9 is also available for streaming on Netflix.
Video games based on the show were created by Preloaded for promotional purposes. In 2005, the video game The Grid (a promotion for Spooks series 3) was nominated for a Webby Award under the category of Best Game.[64]
All of the programmes were filmed on Super 16 and are not available in HD/Blu-ray.[65]
In the United States, the commercial-free and viewer-supported Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) began airing the show under the title MI-5 in January 2009, beginning with Series 1. For the first time, the episodes are being broadcast full-length and in widescreen (1.78:1) format. This is the third network to attempt a successful airing of the show. Series 1 – 4 were broadcast on cable channel A&E from 2003 to 2006, however ratings were poor, and after a marathon showing of Series 4, the show was removed from the schedule. In 2007 and 2008, BBC America aired MI-5, withdrawing the show from its schedule mid-Series 4, again a victim of ratings. Due to the need to insert commercial breaks, the episodes broadcast on commercial stations (A&E and BBC America) in the U.S. were edited for time, with each 59-minute installment edited down to roughly 45 minutes, and were presented in full screen (1.33:1) format. The full-length episodes were broadcast on some cable "On Demand" services and are available on DVD.
In Canada the series was also screened uncut and unedited on BBC Canada, a speciality digital cable channel, under its original BBC title Spooks. However, this was stopped after Series 3 because the U.S. A&E channel had exclusive rights to future viewings in Canada and was showing the episodes as well. Since then, BBC Canada has resumed showing the series and began showing Series 5 to Canadian viewers on 26 August 2007.
BBC shows Spooks on its entertainment channel BBC Prime in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The programme is also aired as Spooks in Australia and New Zealand on ABC and TVNZ respectively. It is syndicated on the Foxtel Pay-TV channel UKTV. In New Zealand Spooks has since 2008[update] being broadcast on Sky Network Television at 9:30 pm Tuesday, and is presently up to Series 9 as of Tuesday 26 April 2011.[66] Season 9 begins on the ABC on Saturday 2 April.
In Sweden it airs as Spooks on Kanal 9. As of winter 2010 both series 1 and 7 are broadcast. (Though the first two series were broadcast by SVT1 or SVT2, the Swedish commercial-free public service channels.)
In France the programme is called MI-5 and broadcast on Canal Plus, France 2 and France 4.
In Denmark several series have been aired on the DR2 public channel, under its original name, Spooks.
In Finland the show is called Erikoisjoukkue and it was first aired on YLE TV1 (Series 1 and 2) and then MTV3 started airing the programme from Series 1.
In Belgium Spooks was broadcast on the Flemish public channel Canvas (Series 1-4)[67] and on the French Belgian channel RTBF.[68] The Flemish channel Acht (only for Digital TV subscribers) broadcasted series 5 till 8, series 9 is to be broadcasted from November 2011.[69]
In the Netherlands Spooks is aired on the channel Nederland 3.
In the Czech Republic it is called MI5 and is aired on ČT1. In Israel it was aired under two different names (MI-5 and Spooks) on the Arutz 2 Channel 2 and on cable.
In Slovenia it was aired on Kanal A as Tajni agenti, with Slovene subtitles.
In Croatia on HRT 2 as Obavještajci, (Intelligence Agents). It is broadcast in English with Croatian subtitles as opposed to being dubbed.
In Southeast Asia Spooks is aired through the Hallmark Channel.
In India Spooks is aired on the channel BBC Entertainment.
In Brazil the series is screened on People + Arts, cable channel, under the title Dupla Identidade (Double Identity). In Argentina the same channel screens it as Doble Identidad (also Double Identity).
In Iceland the series is shown on RUV (The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service) on Tuesdays at 22:25 as Spooks.
Spooks is shown in Hungary under Titkosszolgálat – MI5 (Secret Service – MI5) on Hungarian Television (channel: M1).
In Germany the series began airing under the title Spooks – Im Visier des MI5 on pay television on the German Fox Channel on 3 September 2008 with new episodes Thursdays and repeats through the following days. On 2 September 2009 the new digital free-to-air channel ZDFneo began airing the series on Monday night with a repeat on Tuesday night on the parent channel ZDF.
In Mexico the series is shown on BBC Entertainment on the SKY México satellite network under the title MI-5.
In Bulgaria the series is shown on Bulgarian National Television Channel 1 (Bulgarian: БНТ Канал 1) as Phantoms (Bulgarian: Фантоми). As of January 2010 series 7 is being aired.
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | BAFTA Television Awards | Best Drama Series[70] | Won | |
| Original Television Music[71] | Jennie Muskett | Nominated | ||
| Editing in Entertainment[71] | Colin Green | Nominated | ||
| Royal Television Society Awards | Best Drama Series[72] | Won | ||
| Broadcast Awards | Best Drama Series[73] | Won | ||
| BBC Drama Awards | Best Drama[74] | Won | ||
| Best Drama Website[74] | Won | |||
| 2005 | BAFTA Television Awards | Best Drama Series[75] | Nominated | |
| 2006 | BAFTA Television Awards | Best Drama Series[76] | Nominated | |
| 2008 | BAFTA Television Awards | Interactivity[17] | Won | |
| Crime Thriller Awards | Best Actor | Rupert Penry Jones | Won | |
| Best Actress | Hermione Norris | Won | ||
| Crime Drama[77] | Nominated | |||
| 2009 | BAFTA Television Awards | Best Drama Series[78] | Nominated | |
| Original Television Music[79] | Paul Leonard-Morgan | Nominated | ||
| Crime Thriller Awards | The TV Dagger[80] | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress[80] | Hermione Norris | Nominated |
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