Spooks - BBC Drama Series
Created | Updated Sep 11, 2009
'Spooks' is a double BAFTA award winning drama series produced by the independent company 'Kudos Film and Television' for BBC. To date 7 series of Spooks have been transmitted, with the 8th in production. The drama follows the day-to-day lives of MI5 officers as they deal with issues of national security and terrorism, at the MI5 headquarters 'Thames House'.
The programme was created by writer David Wolstencroft and has attracted popular guest actors including Hugh Laurie, Tim McInnerny, Bruce Payne, Ian McDiarmid, Jimi Mistry, Andy Serkis, Andrew Tiernan, Anton Lesser, Alexander Siddig and Anthony Head.
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Character profiles -
Thomas Matthew Quinn was born on the 27th of August 1971 in Cambridge. He attended the Leys School and then after that Cambridge University. When applying for MI5 Tom explained he would be suited to intelligent work because ' My university degree sparked an intellectual curiosity about the world of intelligence. In my final year I was able to take a paper in the history of espionage which I enjoyed greatly. I therefore think I am approaching a career in MI5 from a more realistic viewpoint than many of your applicants. I am well able to distinguish between fact and fiction' He was called by MI5 for interview on the 3rd of January 1994 and subsequently went on to training. Training is scored out of five and there are 3 sections overall. Tom received a '4.53' for Practical, a '3.53' for intellectual, and a '4.6' for other core competencies.
Initially Tom dated Ellie Simm but their relationship broke down after a bomb was discovered in their house. Simm felt it would be unsafe for her daughter and herself to stay with Tom.
After several years of duty Tom experienced one of the most traumatic events in his life. Herman Joyce framed Tom for a series of high visibility assassinations, which led to him going 'on the run'. The stress from this episode him Tom to reconsider his position in the intelligence services. After his dismissal he set up and independent security firm with his wife, Christine
____
Danny Hunter born 19.07.1976 was Tom Quinn's right hand man in MI5. He was called to interview for the service on 4th December 1999. He believed that his early life had been a struggle and that he was under no illusion about what the day-to-day work of an intelligence officer entailed. In training Danny received mixed results with Practical and Other Core competencies averaging around 3.5, he actually scored one of the lowest in the services history for his intellectual capabilities, only scoring 1.93.
In MI5 Danny's main role was commanding and undertaking surveillance operation. He had a troubled relationship with fellow spy and roommate Zoe Reynolds, due to sexual tension and Danny's refusal to cooperate with Zoe's fiance.
Danny was killed in July 2005 five after he was kidnapped by gunmen.
________
The first series of Spooks was transmitted in 2002 instantly becoming a critically acclaimed and popular series, averaging 7.5 million viewers over it's 6 one hour episodes.
It is interesting to learn that the show was almost dropped after the second episode, due to complaints at the level of violence shown, after one of the main characters was killed in a deep fat fryer. The complaints actually jammed the BBC's switchboard.
With the success of the first series, a second, longer series of ten episodes was commissioned and subsequently aired in 2003. This series saw the introduction of new main character Ruth Evershed in the second episode. It again drew praise, particularly for the fifth episode, which involves a simulated terrorist attack using the lethal nerve agent, VX, and it's effects on the entire countries and the dramatic cliffhanger ending of the series finale, in which Tom Quinn finds himself framed for a crime he does not commit. The series averaged 7.1 million viewers.
A third series of again ten episodes was transmitted on BBC One in the autumn of 2004 and concluding 13 December. The first episode saw the introduction of Rupert Penry-Jones as Adam Carter, drafted in from MI6 to help investigate Tom's disappearance. He later took over Tom's position as Senior Case Officer as over the course of the series all three of the original leading trio (MacFadyen, Hawes, Oyelowo) left the programme, their departures staggered over the second, sixth, and tenth episodes respectively.
In episode six, Zoe is taken to court for misconduct during an operation and forced to leave MI5 and assume a new identity in Chile. She is replaced by Adam's wife Fiona (Olga Sosnovska).
The season garnered varied critical reactions, audience figures also dropping to a series average of 5.8 million viewers. Despite this the BBC commissioned a fourth series. However, it was series 3 than won the BAFTA for best drama.
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 10 episodes and averaged 6.05 million viewers, a notable increase on the previous series.
The opening two parter provided the series with two new regulars in Zafar Younis (Raza Jaffrey, whose character had debuted in the final episode of series three) and Juliet Shaw (Anna Chancellor). However it was also a controversial storyline as it featured terrorists bombing central London, something that in reality had taken place two months earlier on 7 July after the episodes had already been shot.
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." The episodes eventually aired unedited, although before both installments 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.
Episode seven saw the departure of Fiona Carter, as actress Olga Sosnovska was pregnant during filming and elected to leave the programme. In a by-now traditional shocking exit Carter attempted to kill her deranged ex-husband, who she thought had been hanged several years previously. Her ex-husband, however, abducted her and later shot her dead in Adam's presence when she tried to escape (by cutting her own wrists with broken glass to fake a suicide attempt, and thus managing to overpower her guards temporarily.) It was after this point that the emotional well being of Adam Carter began to rapidly deteriorate resulting in latter series, flash-backs, suicidal tenancies and, as the 'spooks' called it 'burnout' (post-traumatic stress disorder)
Her character was replaced in the Spooks set-up by Miranda Raison as Jo Portman, a new arrival at MI5 who had been recruited by Adam in the previous episode. She was originally a journalist and was recruited after she followed Adam to an incident, in which she ended up offering the solution. Adam saw her potential and asked her to join the MI5
Episode nine also introduced the idea of extraordinary rendition to British television. The episode, entitled The Sting, once again displayed the programme's ability to deal with delicate subjects and hinted at the levels of subterfuge in international politics. Spooks has been acredited and being able to relay current events extremely well. It has covered such current events as, terrorism, cyber-crime, drug smuggling, climate change, troubles with Iran, and in the 7th series, the build up of tension between the UK and Russia
Spooks returned for its fifth (10 part) series on 17 September 2006 with the first part of a two-part story, which saw elements in the British Government, MI6 and the UK press conspire in an attempt to over-throw the Parliament and the Prime Minister. These elements had agreed that for Britain to survive the threats posed by modern day terrorism, democracy had to be replaced with rule by committee in the 21st Century. Tactics used included the assassination of members of MI5, notably Colin, an attempt to kill the Home Secretary and kidnap the Prime Minister's son. The second part followed the next day (18 September), marking Spooks' return to BBC One's Monday night schedule.
Its storyline included a fake home-grown Al-Qaeda cell planning an attack on London (they are actually a Mossad team); the British government selling nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia; and the US administration selling arms to African dictators.
Series 5, as mentioned earlier, saw the rapid collapse in Adam Carter's mental well-being. He, at one point, attends a clinic to help him cope with the emotional torment he has been storing up inside him
The series featured a more stable cast, more 2-part stories allowing for more complex plots and more dramatic use of split-screen. The ratings also remained consistent with those of the previous series, averaging 6 million viewers
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. The series averaged 5.68 million viewers (the lowest to date.) The sixth series was markedly different from the previous 5. For the first time, end credits were broadcast and there was less frequent use of the soundtrack composed by Jennie Muskett. The sixth series also attempted to weave a common strand across all ten episodes - the efforts of the MI5 and the British Government to strike a peace deal with the Iranian Government, having been tricked into bombing a chemical weapons train in Tehran by American intelligence. While the US prepared a pre-emptive war against Iran, MI5 attempted to maintain the peace and cover up the evidence of the UK train attack from both the public and Iran. Complicating these matters was Adam Carter's affair with the UK Iranian Ambassador's wife. During the course of the series, the serial arc was moved into and out of individual episodes.
Series 7 of Spooks began airing on 27 October 2008 for an eight episode run. Peter Firth returned as Harry Pearce, along with Alex Lanipekun as Ben Kaplan, Hugh Simon as Malcolm Wynn-Jones and Gemma Jones as Connie James.
The first episode saw central character Adam Carter (portrayed by Rupert Penry Jones) die in a car explosion. It also saw the return of Ros Myers (played by Hermione Norris) and Jo Portman (Miranda Raison) as both of their fates were uncertain at the end of series 6. Richard Armitage joined the cast as Lucas North, an agent who has been held in a Russian prison for the past eight years. Following Adam's death, Ros was made the section leader and Lucas replaced her as a Senior Case officer.
In an interview on BBC Radio Five Live, Peter Firth intimated that Harry and Ruth might well be reunited, though this proved to be a red herring with regard to Series 7. He also stated that he was unaware of any potential plans for an eighth series, "like all TV, it depends on ratings...we'll have a good idea after (tonight's episode)". Spooks attracted an average audience of 5.9 million, with roughly 825,000 viewers watching the 10:30 pm showing of Episode Two on BBC Three. The second episode when shown the following day on BBC One drew in 5.6 million (a 22% audience share). The third episode when shown on BBC One on 3 November had an average audience of 5.6 million, once more claiming a 22% audience share. On November 10th, Spooks drew 5.2 million viewers, with a 21% audience share, down from the previous week. On 17 November, it drew an average audience of 4.9 million receiving a 20% share, however, it was broadcast against I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! in the same time slot. The following week, Episode Six averaged an impressive 5.4 million, with a 22% share. Interestingly, the penultimate episode of the series which was broadcast on BBC Three at 10:30 pm managed to bring in 1 million viewers, being one of the most watched multi-channel shows of the night, easily beating Sky1's return of 24 which managed just under 400,000 viewers.
The series 8 recommission press release stated there would be a twist in the final episode of series 7. In this episode, a nuclear bomb is set to explode, triggered by a Russian sleeper agent who was 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. Connie was killed defusing the bomb 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 concluded 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.
The series ended on a cliff-hanger. Jo and Adam, captured by a terrorist group offering spies to the highest bidder, faced torture and eventual death, the group also being responsible for the torture and death of Zaf who disappeared after the Tehran bombing. Jo asked Adam to kill her rather than let her face a similar end. The final scene was of CO19 Specialist Firearms Command mounting a rescue by breaking into the house in which they are held captive, just as a limp Jo is shown in the arms of a devastated Adam.
A new website, Spooks Interactive, was published to coincide with the launch. In April 2008, the Spooks production team won the BAFTA Award for Interactivity for their work on Spooks Interactive.
Series 8 is currently being shot in various locations, and is thought to be another 8 part series.
Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/spooks ; spooks.johnsto.co.uk/forums/index.php
The programme was created by writer David Wolstencroft and has attracted popular guest actors including Hugh Laurie, Tim McInnerny, Bruce Payne, Ian McDiarmid, Jimi Mistry, Andy Serkis, Andrew Tiernan, Anton Lesser, Alexander Siddig and Anthony Head.
__________________________________________________________________________
Character profiles -
Thomas Matthew Quinn was born on the 27th of August 1971 in Cambridge. He attended the Leys School and then after that Cambridge University. When applying for MI5 Tom explained he would be suited to intelligent work because ' My university degree sparked an intellectual curiosity about the world of intelligence. In my final year I was able to take a paper in the history of espionage which I enjoyed greatly. I therefore think I am approaching a career in MI5 from a more realistic viewpoint than many of your applicants. I am well able to distinguish between fact and fiction' He was called by MI5 for interview on the 3rd of January 1994 and subsequently went on to training. Training is scored out of five and there are 3 sections overall. Tom received a '4.53' for Practical, a '3.53' for intellectual, and a '4.6' for other core competencies.
Initially Tom dated Ellie Simm but their relationship broke down after a bomb was discovered in their house. Simm felt it would be unsafe for her daughter and herself to stay with Tom.
After several years of duty Tom experienced one of the most traumatic events in his life. Herman Joyce framed Tom for a series of high visibility assassinations, which led to him going 'on the run'. The stress from this episode him Tom to reconsider his position in the intelligence services. After his dismissal he set up and independent security firm with his wife, Christine
____
Danny Hunter born 19.07.1976 was Tom Quinn's right hand man in MI5. He was called to interview for the service on 4th December 1999. He believed that his early life had been a struggle and that he was under no illusion about what the day-to-day work of an intelligence officer entailed. In training Danny received mixed results with Practical and Other Core competencies averaging around 3.5, he actually scored one of the lowest in the services history for his intellectual capabilities, only scoring 1.93.
In MI5 Danny's main role was commanding and undertaking surveillance operation. He had a troubled relationship with fellow spy and roommate Zoe Reynolds, due to sexual tension and Danny's refusal to cooperate with Zoe's fiance.
Danny was killed in July 2005 five after he was kidnapped by gunmen.
________
The first series of Spooks was transmitted in 2002 instantly becoming a critically acclaimed and popular series, averaging 7.5 million viewers over it's 6 one hour episodes.
It is interesting to learn that the show was almost dropped after the second episode, due to complaints at the level of violence shown, after one of the main characters was killed in a deep fat fryer. The complaints actually jammed the BBC's switchboard.
With the success of the first series, a second, longer series of ten episodes was commissioned and subsequently aired in 2003. This series saw the introduction of new main character Ruth Evershed in the second episode. It again drew praise, particularly for the fifth episode, which involves a simulated terrorist attack using the lethal nerve agent, VX, and it's effects on the entire countries and the dramatic cliffhanger ending of the series finale, in which Tom Quinn finds himself framed for a crime he does not commit. The series averaged 7.1 million viewers.
A third series of again ten episodes was transmitted on BBC One in the autumn of 2004 and concluding 13 December. The first episode saw the introduction of Rupert Penry-Jones as Adam Carter, drafted in from MI6 to help investigate Tom's disappearance. He later took over Tom's position as Senior Case Officer as over the course of the series all three of the original leading trio (MacFadyen, Hawes, Oyelowo) left the programme, their departures staggered over the second, sixth, and tenth episodes respectively.
In episode six, Zoe is taken to court for misconduct during an operation and forced to leave MI5 and assume a new identity in Chile. She is replaced by Adam's wife Fiona (Olga Sosnovska).
The season garnered varied critical reactions, audience figures also dropping to a series average of 5.8 million viewers. Despite this the BBC commissioned a fourth series. However, it was series 3 than won the BAFTA for best drama.
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 10 episodes and averaged 6.05 million viewers, a notable increase on the previous series.
The opening two parter provided the series with two new regulars in Zafar Younis (Raza Jaffrey, whose character had debuted in the final episode of series three) and Juliet Shaw (Anna Chancellor). However it was also a controversial storyline as it featured terrorists bombing central London, something that in reality had taken place two months earlier on 7 July after the episodes had already been shot.
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." The episodes eventually aired unedited, although before both installments 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.
Episode seven saw the departure of Fiona Carter, as actress Olga Sosnovska was pregnant during filming and elected to leave the programme. In a by-now traditional shocking exit Carter attempted to kill her deranged ex-husband, who she thought had been hanged several years previously. Her ex-husband, however, abducted her and later shot her dead in Adam's presence when she tried to escape (by cutting her own wrists with broken glass to fake a suicide attempt, and thus managing to overpower her guards temporarily.) It was after this point that the emotional well being of Adam Carter began to rapidly deteriorate resulting in latter series, flash-backs, suicidal tenancies and, as the 'spooks' called it 'burnout' (post-traumatic stress disorder)
Her character was replaced in the Spooks set-up by Miranda Raison as Jo Portman, a new arrival at MI5 who had been recruited by Adam in the previous episode. She was originally a journalist and was recruited after she followed Adam to an incident, in which she ended up offering the solution. Adam saw her potential and asked her to join the MI5
Episode nine also introduced the idea of extraordinary rendition to British television. The episode, entitled The Sting, once again displayed the programme's ability to deal with delicate subjects and hinted at the levels of subterfuge in international politics. Spooks has been acredited and being able to relay current events extremely well. It has covered such current events as, terrorism, cyber-crime, drug smuggling, climate change, troubles with Iran, and in the 7th series, the build up of tension between the UK and Russia
Spooks returned for its fifth (10 part) series on 17 September 2006 with the first part of a two-part story, which saw elements in the British Government, MI6 and the UK press conspire in an attempt to over-throw the Parliament and the Prime Minister. These elements had agreed that for Britain to survive the threats posed by modern day terrorism, democracy had to be replaced with rule by committee in the 21st Century. Tactics used included the assassination of members of MI5, notably Colin, an attempt to kill the Home Secretary and kidnap the Prime Minister's son. The second part followed the next day (18 September), marking Spooks' return to BBC One's Monday night schedule.
Its storyline included a fake home-grown Al-Qaeda cell planning an attack on London (they are actually a Mossad team); the British government selling nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia; and the US administration selling arms to African dictators.
Series 5, as mentioned earlier, saw the rapid collapse in Adam Carter's mental well-being. He, at one point, attends a clinic to help him cope with the emotional torment he has been storing up inside him
The series featured a more stable cast, more 2-part stories allowing for more complex plots and more dramatic use of split-screen. The ratings also remained consistent with those of the previous series, averaging 6 million viewers
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. The series averaged 5.68 million viewers (the lowest to date.) The sixth series was markedly different from the previous 5. For the first time, end credits were broadcast and there was less frequent use of the soundtrack composed by Jennie Muskett. The sixth series also attempted to weave a common strand across all ten episodes - the efforts of the MI5 and the British Government to strike a peace deal with the Iranian Government, having been tricked into bombing a chemical weapons train in Tehran by American intelligence. While the US prepared a pre-emptive war against Iran, MI5 attempted to maintain the peace and cover up the evidence of the UK train attack from both the public and Iran. Complicating these matters was Adam Carter's affair with the UK Iranian Ambassador's wife. During the course of the series, the serial arc was moved into and out of individual episodes.
Series 7 of Spooks began airing on 27 October 2008 for an eight episode run. Peter Firth returned as Harry Pearce, along with Alex Lanipekun as Ben Kaplan, Hugh Simon as Malcolm Wynn-Jones and Gemma Jones as Connie James.
The first episode saw central character Adam Carter (portrayed by Rupert Penry Jones) die in a car explosion. It also saw the return of Ros Myers (played by Hermione Norris) and Jo Portman (Miranda Raison) as both of their fates were uncertain at the end of series 6. Richard Armitage joined the cast as Lucas North, an agent who has been held in a Russian prison for the past eight years. Following Adam's death, Ros was made the section leader and Lucas replaced her as a Senior Case officer.
In an interview on BBC Radio Five Live, Peter Firth intimated that Harry and Ruth might well be reunited, though this proved to be a red herring with regard to Series 7. He also stated that he was unaware of any potential plans for an eighth series, "like all TV, it depends on ratings...we'll have a good idea after (tonight's episode)". Spooks attracted an average audience of 5.9 million, with roughly 825,000 viewers watching the 10:30 pm showing of Episode Two on BBC Three. The second episode when shown the following day on BBC One drew in 5.6 million (a 22% audience share). The third episode when shown on BBC One on 3 November had an average audience of 5.6 million, once more claiming a 22% audience share. On November 10th, Spooks drew 5.2 million viewers, with a 21% audience share, down from the previous week. On 17 November, it drew an average audience of 4.9 million receiving a 20% share, however, it was broadcast against I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! in the same time slot. The following week, Episode Six averaged an impressive 5.4 million, with a 22% share. Interestingly, the penultimate episode of the series which was broadcast on BBC Three at 10:30 pm managed to bring in 1 million viewers, being one of the most watched multi-channel shows of the night, easily beating Sky1's return of 24 which managed just under 400,000 viewers.
The series 8 recommission press release stated there would be a twist in the final episode of series 7. In this episode, a nuclear bomb is set to explode, triggered by a Russian sleeper agent who was 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. Connie was killed defusing the bomb 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 concluded 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.
The series ended on a cliff-hanger. Jo and Adam, captured by a terrorist group offering spies to the highest bidder, faced torture and eventual death, the group also being responsible for the torture and death of Zaf who disappeared after the Tehran bombing. Jo asked Adam to kill her rather than let her face a similar end. The final scene was of CO19 Specialist Firearms Command mounting a rescue by breaking into the house in which they are held captive, just as a limp Jo is shown in the arms of a devastated Adam.
A new website, Spooks Interactive, was published to coincide with the launch. In April 2008, the Spooks production team won the BAFTA Award for Interactivity for their work on Spooks Interactive.
Series 8 is currently being shot in various locations, and is thought to be another 8 part series.
Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/spooks ; spooks.johnsto.co.uk/forums/index.php
