Spooks

holly_johnson

Am I the only person who's glad Spooks is back on BBC1 next Monday at 9??

Anyone I have spoken to has kind of sniggered...
I know it is going to be hard to get into because all of the main characters have left, but I still think it was good drama!

mike65

Spooks is cool, it got slightly up its arse towards the end of the "Tom" era with to much "artsy" filmed melodrama. I can take only so much adagio string and camera movement. The arrival of Adam Carter and his missus has livened things up as they are thrill seekers first public servants second.

The new series starts with a precient story about London and 4 terrorist bombs.

Mike.

440Hz

have you tried the spy games on the spooks website?! super fun! i can't wait for monday, soooo excited!

holly_johnson

Must try those spy games.. interesting !

holly_johnson

Anyone see it last night?

Pretty good I thought, if a bit close to the bone with the London bomb thingy.
The second part is on tonight at 9. Looking forward to it!

corblimey

Yeah, good show, great to have it back, although I missed the last ep from the last series and didn't know that Danny had been killed. Bit of a shock, tbh.

Last night's ep seemed very 24-ish just with everything speeded up and unnecessary fillers removed. The mole is a bit of a let down, though.

grumpytrousers

holly_johnson wrote:

Anyone see it last night?

Pretty good I thought, if a bit close to the bone with the London bomb thingy.
The second part is on tonight at 9. Looking forward to it!

Did the professor bloke (or was it Ruth) get it a bit wrong there when going on about 'people who should survive' and somebody mentioned

"Andrew Lloyd Webber" and the other character says "I don't know, I quite enjoyed Les Mis"...

O'course as any fule kno, the oxygen thieving peer of the realm didn't write Les Mis...so was this a howler in the script, or do i just need to pay more attention.

See, ordinarily I'd have 'rewound' on the aul SKY+, but as the thing is tempermental as hell these days, i'm afraid i had to let it go!

topping episode overall though...just didn't let up at all. Harry is, officially, one of the coolest chaps on the telly. And wasn't that George from Drop The Dead Donkey as the Home Secretary?

holly_johnson

grumpytrousers wrote:

Did the professor bloke (or was it Ruth) get it a bit wrong there when going on about 'people who should survive' and somebody mentioned

"Andrew Lloyd Webber" and the other character says "I don't know, I quite enjoyed Les Mis"...

O'course as any fule kno, the oxygen thieving peer of the realm didn't write Les Mis...so was this a howler in the script, or do i just need to pay more attention.

See, ordinarily I'd have 'rewound' on the aul SKY+, but as the thing is tempermental as hell these days, i'm afraid i had to let it go!

topping episode overall though...just didn't let up at all. Harry is, officially, one of the coolest chaps on the telly. And wasn't that George from Drop The Dead Donkey as the Home Secretary?

Yeah a bit of a howler mistake alright! Still, very enjoyable episode

unkel

Love spooks, probably the only program out there that I'd make sure I record if I'd miss it

That home secretary is a class dude

mike65 wrote:

Spooks is cool, it got slightly up its arse towards the end of the "Tom" era

Exactly, it was getting a bit soft. I liked the interweaving of 6 and all its intrigues in the last series (or was it the first series) though

Pepe LeFrits

Good episode last night. I love Martine McCutcheon!

Is there some kind of running joke to do with the Gherkin? Every single shot of the London skyline they show has it. I know it's fairly prominent, but it seems that they go out of their way to include it in every shot, no matter where they are. For example, in the episode last night, it had already been shown several times, and then at the end at the waitress' apartment, you can see it in the distance...

I also watched the season 2 episode about the Russian mafia moneylaundering last night on DVD, and it was pretty unnerving. Most of the episode was shot in or around the Bank of England, which is a 30 second walk from where I work. Pretty distracting actually. I think they may have even shot the nightclub scene in the local meat-market 'Abacus', though it was a narrow shot so it was hard to tell. When they showed Danny's tracker on the roadmap, it was a strange feeling! I guess the recent bombings at Liverpool St and others show that the area is a target.

Sarsfield

Any news of a repeat on BBC3 or anything? I watched episode 1 not realising part 2 was on last night and I wasn't in reach of a TV

holly_johnson

Episode 3 is on BBC3 tonight for those (like me) who can't wait until next Monday!

mike65

One complaint I have is the use of that great big phased Bang!!!!!!!! sound complete with cunning reverse reverb. It makes me jump!

Is there some kind of running joke to do with the Gherkin?

Indeed, it must have featured in a dozen shots. Once upon a time it was Big Ben or Bust!

Mike.

Pepe LeFrits

I watched the season 2 finale on DVD last night, i've never been so depressed after watching a TV program before. I felt physically ill after it

holly_johnson

Lesson learnt last night to check tv listings before I get comfy...

Was all settled with a cuppa and some choccie biccies to watch Spooks, only to see Waking the Dead! I started to panic, switched to BBC2, BBC3, nope.
Really panicking now, check digital tv listings for today, nope. Tomorrow, oh I forgot, crappy NTL digital never has forward listings.
Check on BBC teletext, nope not listed for tomorrow. Leg it upstairs, boot up pc and go to spooks website - not on until Thursday! phew. Console myself by playing the games on the spooks site instead.

What's the story though, it always used to be on a Monday, and why have the premiere on a Monday if it's not going to be on that night for the rest of the series?

mike65

I was'nt confused but its suprising they moved Spooks to Thursday, previously Spooks and Waking can't have been on at the same time as Waking is always a two parter shown on consecutive nights (Sun and Mon) or was it on Sat and Sun before?

Mike.

Pepe LeFrits

I enjoyed the episode tonight, the ending was a bit obvious though. I like the look of the new girl, literally!

Looks like she's taking Fiona's place(?) so hopefully she'll fare a little better than Helen did in season 1. 5 episodes into the season now, it's time they started to build some real momentum.

holly_johnson

Spotted the Gherkin at least 4 times last night...

mike65

Anyone else noticed how political Spooks is getting this series, the writers are clearly having some fun attacking the "new world order". Last nights episode clearly had echoes of David Kelly (just in case you've forgotten).

The new member is HOT! So was Helen in series one...in good and bads ways!

Mike.

blondie83

The one on Network two last night was pretty good. Was a training exercise that they all thought was an exercise, and then got real but just turned out to be an exercise in the end - was really tense though! Is Tom still there in season 3 or what happened to him?

Pepe LeFrits

Yep, as expected, Fiona departs. I don't think it had anywhere near the impact that the previous trio had when departing, but she didn't get that much screen time I guess.

Didn't spot the gherkin tonight, but I did see one scene was shot in Browns - fancy restaurant/bar nextdoor to where I work. So THAT'S what they were filming a few months ago! Dagnabit, if only i'd known then

mike65

Was surprised to see Fiona get the chop.

There's no job security on that programme!

Mike.

Pepe LeFrits

Well Mike, Spooks has always had their lead team as a trio (lead male, token ethnic/racial minority character, token female) so when they doubled up on the number of lead girls, it was always going to happen...

mike65

True! No dount Adam will be getting to know the new bird after he gets over his angst.

Mike.

jrey1981

mike65 wrote:

Anyone else noticed how political Spooks is getting this series, the writers are clearly having some fun attacking the "new world order". Last nights episode clearly had echoes of David Kelly

I like the fact the writers play around a bit too...and the new girl is lovely it was pretty gripping last night as well...I wasnt surprised Fiona ended up dead...

They seem to like killing off characters Tom, Danny, now Fiona - where did Toms American blonde totty go, by the way, as I didnt see any of the third series?

mike65

jrey1981 wrote:

They seem to like killing off characters Tom, Danny, now Fiona - where did Toms American blonde totty go, by the way, as I didnt see any of the third series?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/spooks/personnel_cd.shtml

Mike.

jrey1981

Thought the story in last nights episode was very cleverly written - quite topical in a way as well as regards the NHS...

Did anyone else see it?

Pepe LeFrits

Yep. I thought it was quite topical considering a certain Russian Oligarch's involvement in Chelsea! They're a bunch of dirty bastards.

Good episode, but I thought they could have pulled harder on the emotional strings at the end. The new girl, Jo - I think i'm in love!

jrey1981

kaids wrote:

Yep. I thought it was quite topical considering a certain Russian Oligarch's involvement in Chelsea!.....

Good episode....The new girl, Jo - I think i'm in love!

Yes the Chelsea analogy struck me too...

and the camera does seem to like lingering on that beguiling blonde...

jrey1981

Another great episode...the writers are being quite daring in the topical storylines.

And still time for emotion too as it looks as if Harry might score with the brunette meaning he might end up with another companion besides his rough-coated Jack Russell!

Looking forward to next weeks take on the death of Diana

grumpytrousers

Echoed. Very close to the bone. It's like the BBC saying 'post Lord Hutton, our news department will have no more idle speculation as to what kind of dirty tricks the government might be up to'. Our Drama department, on the other hand...

(yes - i know it's kudos and they're an outside organisation...)

mike65

Next weeks programme will either be a cracker or will see the series cancelled forever! I'm imagine they'll play it carefully showing the Spook who is re-opening the case is a fantasist.

Mike.

unkel

Jo is nice

mike65 wrote:

The new member is HOT! So was Helen in series one...in good and bads ways!

The most gruesome scene in spooks yet, remember the deep fat fryer? *shivers*

holly_johnson

That was a great scene... really enjoyed that although I thought it was a bit early to be killing of the character. Seems that they enjoy "rotating the staff" though!

mike65

Er I would have called that a great scene more of a Great Scene if you see what I mean!

Anyways to nights episode, I knew she'd be a Caburys' Flake. I wonder what Princes Harry and William thought of it all?

Did anyone find the sound quality was very bass heavy during all the whispering?

Mike.

jrey1981

mike65 wrote:

I wonder what Princes Harry and William thought of it all?

Did anyone find the sound quality was very bass heavy during all the whispering?

I was thinking the same thing...and yep I had to turn the volume up a bit

Thought the story was very clever...Jo looking very doe-eyed and lovely...remind you of anyone...?

holly_johnson

What a pi$$er that we have to wait a year now to see what happens!
I hate the fact that this series is always so short! What not make 12 episodes at least instead of a paltry 6? I can't stand cliffhangers

Mr E

I counted 10 episodes in the series...

holly_johnson

I stand corrected. I checked the BBC site and there were 10.

I suppose that shows the mark of a good series, that it went by so quickly!

Mr E

I agree... it'll be a long wait for season 5....

green_onions

Lat night's episode was very good I thought. Looks like Adam is gone, what with blood pouring out his mouth but will Harry make it??? The BBC seem to have a habit of cliffhangers ending a series. They did the same with Waking The Dead the other week as well. I just get really impatient waiting for a new series to be made. As for Jo, yeah she's hot and I definitely would

Quite a funny bit from last night I thought was where Malcolm and Colin are discussing how to explain the hole in the wall and Malcolm, I think, says mice. Quality stuff