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Spooks is a British television drama series, produced by the independent production company Kudos for BBC One. The title derives from a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 agents. The programme was created by writer David Wolstencroft. In the United States the show is aired under the title MI-5.
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Background
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:Category:Spooks series 1 by episode|Series 1
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Starring Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Jenny Agutter and Peter Firth, the initial series of six one-hour episodes was screened in the spring of 2002.
The series was a critical and popular success, regularly drawing seven to eight million viewers, and combining glossy high production values with fast-paced action/adventure and spy intrigue storylines.*
The show quickly gained an unexpected edge with the violent killing of character Helen Flynn, played by Lisa Faulkner, in the second episode. 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, her superior, 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 9pm watershed. Nevertheless, the death of Faulkner's character set the precedent that, in Spooks, anyone can die at any time.
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:Category:Spooks series 2 by episode|Series 2
With the success of the first series, a second longer series of ten episodes was commissioned and subsequently aired in 2003. It again drew praise, particularly for the dramatic cliffhanger ending of the series finale.*
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:Category:Spooks series 3 by episode|Series 3
A third series, again of ten episodes, was transmitted on BBC One in the autumn of 2004, concluding on 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 would later take over Tom's position as Senior Case Officer, as over the course of the series, all three of the original leading trio, MacFadyen, Hawes and Oyelowo, left the programme. Their departures staggered over the second, sixth and tenth episodes respectively.*
In episode six, Zoe was taken to court for misconduct during an operation, and forced to leave MI5 and assume a new identity in Chile, she was replaced by Adam's wife Fiona (Olga Sosnovska).
Although fan response to the changes of leading cast was generally negative and the season garnered varied critical reactions, viewing figures remained steady and a fourth season was commissioned.
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:Category:Spooks series 4 by episode|Series 4
The fourth series of Spooks began transmission on Monday 12 September 2005 on BBC One at 9pm with the first of a two-part story. The next day (13 September) the second episode was shown. The following week Spooks assumed a 9pm Thursday slot, a break from the Monday 9pm slot the previous series had traditionally occupied. Once again the series ran for 10 episodes. *
The opening two-parter provided the series with two new regulars in Zafar Younis (Raza Jaffrey, whose character had actually debuted in the final episode of series three) and Juliet Shaw (Anna Chancellor). However, it was also a controversial storyline, as it featured terrorists (albeit animal rights extremists rather than al-Qa'ida) 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 BBC1 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 was abducted and in a bid for captivity from her abductors, cut her wrists to make it appear to her deranged ex-husband that she had taken her life. By creating this diversion she hoped to be able to escape. However her attempt was short lived when she was shot dead by the ex-husband she had thought had been hanged several years previously. 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.
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:Category:Spooks series 5 by episode|Series 5
Spooks returned for its fifth (10 part) series on 17 September 2006 with the first part of a two-part story. The second part followed the next day (18 September), marking Spooks' return to BBC One's Monday night schedule.*.
Its storylines will include a home-grown Al Qaeda cell planning an attack on London (episode 3); the British government selling nuclear technology to Gulf states (episode 6); environmental terrorists staging an attack on London to demonstrate the danger of Global Warming (episode 10); and the US administration selling arms to African dictators (episode 4). It is also the first series to feature a "cliffhanger" ending to an episode mid-series (episode 6), marking a slight change from the individual 1 hour episodes, season finale cliffhangers and more recently, two-part season openers shown on consecutive evenings.
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Series 6
A sixth series was commissioned by Jane Tranter, Head of Drama Commissioning at the BBC, by the time series 5 was announced.*
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Cast
The main recurring characters include (principals shown in bold):
Carlo Franceschini (Enzo Cilenti) (2003) - Zoe Reynolds' boyfriend.
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Guest stars
The programme regularly attracts popular actors, with performers such as Hugh Laurie, Andy Serkis, Anton Lesser, Alexander Siddig and Anthony Stewart Head having appeared in episodes of the first three seasons.
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Episode list
Individual episodes have no official titles, though there are internal working titles. The U.S. version airs with official titles that sometimes, but not always, match the working titles. When different, American titles are in brackets.
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Series 1
Thou Shalt Not Kill: A car bomb explodes in Liverpool and Zoe is sent undercover to investigate. Tom's life gets complicated when he falls in love with a woman he met while working undercover. — Written by David Wolstencroft, directed by Bharat Nalluri.
Looking After Our Own: The team uncover connections between racist ring-leaders, politicians and mass killings of immigrants. The gang have sophisticated equipment to protect themselves from electronic infiltration. Tom is forced undercover, and recent recruit Helen pretends to be his wife ... — Written by David Wolstencroft, directed by Bharat Nalluri.
One Last Dance: Zoe finds herself in the Turkish embassy just as it's taken siege by Kurdish rebels. Meanwhile, Tessa proves herself to have some dark secrets in her past. — Written by Simon Mirren, directed by Rob Bailey.
Traitor's Gate: Ellie starts to doubt whether she can cope with dating a spy. Tom's mentor is working undercover, but his methods start to appear dangerously unconventional. Meanwhile Zoe discovers Tessa is up to something. — Written by Howard Brenton, directed by Rob Bailey.
The Rose Bed Memoirs: An ex-MP is released from prison, proposing to publish his memoirs. Plenty of people are interested, and when a double agent is murdered, the plot thickens. — Written by Howard Brenton, directed by Andy Wilson.
Mean, Dirty, Nasty (Lesser Of Two Evils): Tom is confronted by an Irish terrorist who seems to be trying to help MI5, but nothing is as simple as it seems. Ellie and Maisie move into Tom's house, just as he's tricked into bringing a bomb home in a laptop... — Written by David Wolstencroft & Howard Brenton, directed by Andy Wilson.
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Series 2
Legitimate Targets: Government sources say a Serbian terrorist ring has been smashed, averting the risk of major terror attacks across the country. — Written by David Wolstencroft, directed by Bharat Nalluri.
Nest of Angels: Police have uncovered a large scale fraud at a mosque in Birmingham. Mohammed Rachid, one of the leaders of the mosque, was believed to be redirecting charitable funds into bank accounts for his own use, and is due to be deported later this month. — Written by Howard Brenton, directed by Bharat Nalluri.
Spiders (Hackers): Leaked documents report how MI5 narrowly averted disaster when their computers fell foul of an organised hacking campaign, leaving agents stranded in danger zones across the world. — Written by Matthew Graham, directed by Rob Bailey.
Blood & Money: A mole in the treasury suggests that the £13 billion that the government recently earmarked for improvements in the health service, has actually arrived in government coffers thanks to the Russian mafia. — Written by Howard Brenton, directed by Rob Bailey.
I Spy Apocalypse: MI5 report that they are happy with levels of preparation for a code A emergency. A recent EERIE exercise pin-pointed areas that needed improvement, but all its staff performed excellently. — Written by Howard Brenton, directed by Justin Chadwick.
Without Incident (President's Visit): A whistle stop visit by the President of the United States has passed off without incident, government sources report today. — Written by David Wolstencroft, directed by Justin Chadwick.
Clean Skin: A leading French scientist has been found dead after what police believe was a bungled burglary. The scientist was known to be working on developing new types of weapons, and the thieves may have been trying to get hold of his research. — Written by Simon Mirren, directed by Ciaran Donnelly.
Strike Force (Military Strikes): There are rumours that the true circumstances of the death of a celebrated soldier in a car accident are being deliberately concealed from the public. Did Major Curtis know too much? — Written by Steve Bailie, directed by Ciaran Donnelly.
The Seventh Division (A Very Corporate Coup): It is reported that Customs and Excise have managed to foil a plot by Columbian terrorists to bring a huge cache of weapons into Britain. — Written by Ben Richards, directed by Sam Miller.
Smoke and Mirrors (Pit of Secrets): Shockwaves are running through the heart of government today as a renegade MI5 officer goes on the run today after assassinating the head of the armed forces. — Written by Howard Brenton, directed by Sam Miller.
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Series 3
Project Friendly Fire: MI5 is in crisis. Agent Tom Quinn has disappeared, having shot his superior Harry Pearce. Tom also stands accused of assassinating the Chief of The Defence Staff. Could this be the perfect opportunity for conspirators in the darker corners of Government to overhaul the organisation? Or is there still time for Tom to be proved innocent? — Written by Howard Brenton, directed by Jonny Campbell.
The Sleeper: Harry Pearce reawakens a 'sleeper': Fred Roberts, renowned chemical engineer, Nobel Prize winner and happy family man. Fred sold his soul to MI5 over twenty years ago in return for a helping hand on the career ladder. Over the years this pact has become nothing more than a faded memory, but the time has come for Fred to repay his debt. — Written by Howard Brenton, directed by Jonny Campbell, guest starring Ian McDiarmid, filmed at University College London.
Who Guards The Guards?: Danny, on Close Quarter Protection, is shaken when his charge is shot at. The charge: Zuli, a controversial writer living in Britain under a fatwa. Zuli survives but immediately sacks MI5, appalled at how they - especially Danny - could have allowed this to happen. — Written by Rupert Walters & Howard Brenton, directed by Cilla Ware & Jonny Campbell.
A Prayer For My Daughter: The latest round of Middle East peace talks are abruptly halted when Patricia Norton, the UN Chief Negotiator, disappears, derailing the peace process. She has been abducted in her car by an unknown man. — Written by Ben Richards, directed by Cilla Ware, guest-starring Corin Redgrave and Anton Lesser, named after the Yeats poem "A Prayer for my Daughter".
Love and Death: Saturday morning. Danny and Colin practice their firing technique on MI5's gun range. Zoe and fiancé Will are still madly in love. Ruth watches old movies at home whilst longing for real-life romance. — Written by David Wolstencroft, directed by Justin Chadwick.
Persephone: Zoe is in the firing line when an operation goes badly wrong. An undercover police officer - posing as a gang member in a gun-running scam - is shot dead, leaving a grieving widow and a lot of unanswered questions. — Written by Ben Richards, directed by Justin Chadwick.
Outsiders: The team are thrown into emergency mode when chaos starts to envelop the country. Benign medicines have been laced with lethal acid. Bank balances are being wiped out. Automated traffic systems malfunction at will. Hackers have infiltrated highly sensitive systems to cause mayhem, but who are they and what do they want? — Written by Raymon Khoury, directed by Bill Anderson.
Celebrity: The baby son of rock star and popular icon Riff is kidnapped during a party. Oliver Mace, chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, insists MI5 are drawn into a high-profile investigation - the Government feels the child's recovery is vital to national security. — Written by Howard Brenton, directed by Bill Anderson.
Frequently Asked Questions: MI5's suspicions are aroused when Robert Morgan, a known mercenary, is seen visiting a top secret disused Soviet arms dump whilst under routine surveillance. — Written by Rupert Walters, directed by Alrick Riley.
The Suffering of Strangers: Unbeknown to Adam and Fiona, their house is being bugged and they are being watched. It appears that they have been targeted - but by who and why? — Written by Ben Richards, directed by Alrick Riley.
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Series 4
Campaign of Terror (Divided They Fall) — Written by Ben Richards, directed by Alrick Riley.
Infiltration of a New Threat (Road Trip) — Written by Howard Brenton, directed by Alrick Riley.
A Journalist, a Minister and a Conservative Group (The Book) — Written by Raymond Khoury, directed by Jeremy Lovering.
Beyond the Cell (The Innocent) — Written by David Farr, directed by Jeremy Lovering.
Where Trouble Lies (Syria) — Written by Raymond Khoury, directed by Omar Madha.
Traitor in a Friend (The Russian) — Written by Howard Brenton, directed by Omar Madha.
Diana — Written by Howard Brenton, directed by Julian Simpson.
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Series 5
Episode 1 (Episode 1 Part I) — Written by Ben Richards, directed by Omar Madha.
Episode 2 (Episode 1 Part II) — Written by Ben Richards, directed by Omar Madha.
Episode 3 — Written by Ben Richards, directed by Julian Simpson.
Episode 4 — Written by David Farr, directed by Kenny Glenaan.
Episode 5 — Written by Zinnie Harris, directed by Kenny Glenaan.
Episode 6 (Episode 6 Part I) — Written by Raymond Khoury, directed by Andy Hay.
Episode 7 (Episode 6 Part II) — Written by Raymond Khoury, directed by Andy Hay.
Episode 8 — Written and directed by Julian Simpson.
Episode 9 — Written by Neil Cross, directed by Julian Simpson.
Episode 10 — Written by David Farr, directed by Julian Simpson
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Spooks on DVD
Series One was released 13 June 2003. It features extras including Deleted Scenes, A Guide To Spooks Terminology, Character Biographies, Image Galleries, Interviews and Commentaries With the Cast And Crew.
Series Two was released 20 September 2004. Its extras include Outtakes, Cast Interviews and Commentaries, and Featurettes.
Series Three was released 5 September 2005. It includes Audio Commentaries, Behind The Scenes Featurettes, Deleted Scenes and DVDROM content, including scripts, wallpapers and image gallery.
Series Four was released 4 September 2006 and will be released in North America January 9th, 2007. It includes Audio Commentaries, a Behind The Scenes Documentary and Interviews with the Series Producer and the Director of Episodes 9 and 10.
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Foreign sales
In the United States, the series is screened on A&E, a specialty cable channel, under the title MI-5. This is partly due to the fact that the word "spook" is an old (American) racist slang term for African Americans, and the network did not wish to risk the possibility of causing offence, and partly because in the US, "spook" is more generally associated with the CIA. Series 3 began in the U.S. immediately after the UK run ended and wrapped up with Episode 10 on March 12 2005. The first two series were shown on A&E as a single 16-episode season. Due to the need to insert commercial advertising breaks, the episodes shown on A&E are heavily edited versions, with each 59-minute installment being edited down to roughly 45 minutes for U.S. showings, often causing some narrative problems for American viewers. The full versions are, however, available on DVD in that country.
Unlike Series 3, Series 4 did not air immediately on A&E after it ended in the UK. It appeared that they were abandoning the show, but Series 4 began airing in the US after an 18-month absence on Fridays at 11pm on September 15, 2006. A&E stopped showing new episodes on September 29, 2006, replacing it with reruns of CSI: Miami, though Series 4 will be available on DVD for US viewers on January 9, 2007. To placate either viewer protest on their own message boards or Kudos, the British production company of the show (for whom at the end of US broadcasts the credits say jointly produces with A&E), they will show the remaining 8 episodes of Series 4 in one showing from 11am-7pm on October 21, 2006 *.
In Canada, the series was also screened uncut and unedited on BBC Canada, a specialty 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 episdoes as well (albeit in the same almost-abandoned manner as in the United States). BBC also 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. In Sweden it airs as Spooks on SVT1, in France the programme is called MI-5 and broadcast on Canal Plus and Canal Jimmy and in Finland the show is called Erikoisjoukkue on YLE TV1, although the continuation of the show to Series 3 is not certain. In Belgium Spooks was broadcast on the Flemish public channel Canvas and on the French Belgian channel RTBF. In the Czech Republic as MI5 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. It is aired in Southeast Asia through the Hallmark Channel.
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 (Double Identity as well).
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Trivia
The series initially aired with no credits, to maintain an atmosphere of the anonymity of real-life spies, although episodes aired on BBC3, one week ahead of their BBC1 showing, have a brief credit sequence (which is then removed for the BBC1 version). Full credit sequences are available online for every episode to date.
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