Spooks intro and Season One, Episode One

Just after 24 aired and began "ground-breakingly" bumping off major characters a small UK series was getting its premiere and taking serious flak from the security services for its "laughable" and "unrealistic" portrayal of MI5. This was the new series from Kudos supremo Jane Featherstone, although credit for its creation is given to David Wolstencroft, its main writer, and it dealt with the hazards faced by a team of MI5 (British Secret Service) agents as they raced to foil plans, stop bombs going off and thwart (or in some cases, engineer) regime changes, all before breakfast.

While the world portrayed in Spooks may be far removed from the reality of working for the most secret organisation in the UK - or may not; they're just that secret you would not know, and if you did, they'd probably have to kill you! - the dangers they face, the situations they find themselves in and the dramas they go through each week are all too believable. Certainly, there are too many young, sexy, hip people in the organisation, but then, who wants to see a bunch of old spies run around? You have to have a certain suspension of disbelief to enjoy the show, as indeed was necessary with anything from the aforementioned 24 to the new (or old) Hawaii Five-0, but that's TV drama for you. It rarely accurately reflects reality: when it does, it's called a documentary.

But one of the things that stood Spooks apart from the vast slew of other drama programmes on TV at the time was their willingness to kill of major characters. With an almost gleeful sense of abandon, nobody was safe. 24 may have sprung the odd surprise during its run by allowing some major leads to die, but I don't believe any show before or since has knocked off its main characters so regularly, so much so that it almost became expected. Every few seasons there would be almost an entirely new cast, and while you would think that would grate on viewers, getting used to a whole new bunch of faces, somehow it worked, and we took to the new guys easily, almost but not quite forgetting the older hands.

Even the top man wasn't safe, so much so that when at the end of season seven Harry Pearce, the boss, is kidnapped and a video shown in season eight of his death, you're just not sure. Most series would lead you to think, "Oh, he's the star! They couldn't kill him off! He'll be all right." But with Spooks, you just never knew, and that added an extra element of tension and unease into the programme. When you know the star can't possibly be shot, stabbed, run over, pushed off a bridge or anything else that might lead to his or her death, you get a little inured to the sequences where it looks like he or she has been killed. You know they're going to survive. But not with Spooks.

Anyone was fair game, and you didn't even have to be a big star either. When one of the "back room boys", whom we'd all come to like, meet his end in one of the earlier seasons it's so much a shock it's almost a hammerblow. Even with Spooks' reputation at this point, you think no, there's no way they'd let him die! The guys will come to rescue him. But they don't, and Spooks scores another hit in the disbelief scale. We come to see that anyone - anyone - can be bumped off if the story calls for it, and as a result we really worry when one of the guys or girls is in a tight spot and look like they might not make it out, which in most cases they do but there's always the possibility that this time they won't. To add suspense, some of the seasons end on cliffhangers that hinge on the question of whether someone lives or dies, and you have to wait till next year to find out.

Although the stories seem fanciful, they had an unsettling way of coming true. Without implying that terrorists were watching the show for ideas, there were a lot of parallels in how the stories went and how history turned out soon afterwards. Coincidence of course, but chilling nonetheless. And without the great staple of the spy thriller, the Russians, to take the role of the bad guy in their stories, Spooks found a whole rock-underside full of demagogues, despots, terrorists, oligarchs and corrupt officials, arms dealers, state heads and more to take the part. There is, sadly, no shortage of evil people in the world.

And so to the cast. As I mentioned, this is fluid to say the least, so each season (or episode) I'll mention any changes. When the series begins we have, working from left to right:

Zoe Reynolds, played by Keeley Hawes. Keeley would of course later find fame in Ashes to Ashes, another Kudos production and spinoff from Life on Mars, both of which we will be featuring here later. Maybe. Zoe is the youngest recruit to MI5, and desperate to prove herself both as an agent and as something other than the "token girl".

Tom Quinn, played by Matthew McFayden. Tom is the senior agent, the man in charge of the day-to-day operations and the man who takes command "in the field". He comes across as a little cold, as perhaps life in MI5 has made him, having seen so much death and horror.

Tessa Philips, played by Jenny Agutter (yes, the show attracted some major stars, both of TV and film). She is the senior case officer for Section K, the division the Spooks work for.

Sir Harry Pearce, played by Peter Firth. Head of counter-terrorism and the overall boss here. Pearce is the only one who would last through all ten seasons (sorry if I gave anything away there!)

Danny Hunter, played by David Oyelowo. Another junior officer, who joins about the same time as Zoe Reynolds. The two find themselves supporting one another emotionally as Tom has little time or patience to ease anyone into a life as a spy.

Helen Flynn, played by Lisa Faulkner. Helen is a junior administration officer, but her role will only last up to the second episode, resulting in a shock scene that flooded the BBC switchboard with complaints when it was first aired, and was the first time Spooks sent a broadside across television viewers' bows, showing they were not going to be just another show.

There are other characters, some who go in and out of the series in various roles, some who become integral to it as support characters, but we will introduce and talk about them as they arrive. For now, the is the main cast that took to the air with the first ever episode of a show that was to pretty much take British (and later American) TV by storm.

1.1 "Thou shalt not kill"

The Grid is the official name for the operations centre in Thames House, the headquarters of MI5, the British Secret Service. It is here that Sir Harry Pearce directs and observes his highly-trained team of spies, or "spooks", as they go from day to day foiling terrorist plots, stopping bombs going off and generally practicing what is colloquially known in Britain as "defence of the realm". We see from the start that this is not a job for everyone. As a spook, you can let no-one in, be close to no-one, have no relationship with anyone. The other half of your relationship must know you as a completely different person --- different name, different job, different history. Every agent of MI5 is in a highly sensitive position and were their true identities to be known, not only would they and their loved ones be at risk, but the organisation woudl be compromised, and thus the nation's security.

So agents live double lives, like the superheroes in comics but without the tights or the superpowers. We see this first in the case of Tom, who is living with a woman and her daughter, who both know him as Matthew (rather interesting choice of name, as Tom is played by Matthew McFayden!) and think he works as an IT support specialist.

A bomb explodes outside a house in Liverpool, and word soon comes to MI5 that it's one of twenty (twenty!) that have been smuggled from Ireland to the UK, destination and use unknown. A major terrorist offensive looks to be underway. Tom visits the hospital where one of the victims, a Doctor Helen Lynott has died, while her daughter Sarah lies in critical condition. He speaks to Mike Lynott, also a doctor, and learns that the two ran a family planning clinic. This begins to look like the work of an anti-abortionist movement. Doctor Lynott confirms that he and his wife had been receiving hate mail for a few weeks, but he had hidden the letters, not wanting to upset her.

While Harry and his team try to work out who would have the connections and the financial resources to pull off smuggling twenty bombs into the country, the scene switches and we see a kindly old motherly figure baking cakes in her country house. In a twist that would become a hallmark of the series, it turns out she is the mastermind behind the bombs, and she talks to the others in her group, who have already pulled off the first killing and plan more. Some of them - the other woman in the group, in particular - seem more than a little reluctant, but the woman, who is American and whose name is Mary Kane, convinces her with smiles and soundbites, and the plan will continue. What's really scary about this scene is that there are kids playing in Mary Kane's house, and she dotes on them; she doesn't seem like a monster at all. But then, as someone once said, it's easy to spot the devil when he's wearing horns and a tail...

Meanwhile Mary Kane's name has come up as the agents watch a broadcast of US news declaring that she has been convicted in absentia for bombing a family planning clinic in Florida, and that her husband is to die in the electric chair for shooting a doctor. That's to happen in a few days, and the agents have worked out that she's planning to use the occasion to mark her husband's passing by detonating one or more of the bombs. In the meantime it's come to light that their original intelligence was somewhat faulty: there are only (!) four pipebombs, the rest is in Semtex. This is not good.

MI5 send a team to the cottage to which Mary Kane has been tracked, to bug the place and listen in on her plans. But the CIA find out about their operation and, given that Kane is wanted in the US, demand that the Brits turn her over to them for extradition. Tom is not pleased, telling Harry that she is their only link to finding out where the rest of the explosives are, and where they are intended to be used. They decide to step up their operation; they can't refuse the order, which comes from the Home Office (have to keep our American cousins happy!) but they can continue their efforts while the paperwork is drawn up and authorised. Maybe they can get the task finished before they have to hand the woman over.

Posing as a woman who is pro-life, Zoe meets Rachel, the younger woman who was at Mary Kane's cottage, the one who seemed not so sure that what they were doing was right, seemed not totally committed to the cause. She uses a ruse to get her to take to the hospital where Sarah, the critically injured daughter of Dr. Lynott is, and she and Tom try to show her what going along with Kane's campaign of terror really looks like. "It's shocking, isn't it?" Tom asks her. "Close up." She leaves, her crying son in tow, and panics, calling her husband on the phone and giving MI5 (who have of course installed a listening device in it) a name, Sullivan. Checking on any doctors named Sullivan they come up with only one practicing one and send a team over to protect her.

Harry delays the extradition papers all he can, but the CIA are getting impatient and send one of their operatives, Christine Dale, to see Tom to warn him not to stand in their way. Saturday is the "big day" for Paul Kane, and as she says, it will be a bonus for America if his wife is there right beside him when he fries. This "request" is then given added impact when the Foreign Office send a representative to advise that if the US are not allowed have their way they will block a substantial and lucrative licencing order needed by a big UK pharmaceutical company. As ever, money talks. Meanwhile the sad news comes through that Sarah Lynott has passed away.

Desperate to catch Kane despite the Foreign Office directive, and the fact that the extradition papers have now been reluctantly signed by Harry (he's done all he can to delay but has run out of options) Tom decides to have Zoe pose as Dr. Sullivan, who has been moved to a safe location, in order to try to draw the terrorist out. It's Zoe's first major operation and she's understandably nervous, though she tries not to show it. They know Kane has Sullivan's daily schedule and so they keep to it, hoping she'll track Zoe. As Zoe enters the foodmarket, Kane's car pulls out in front of her and they have contact! They follow her into the car park, noting and worried that she possesses a holdall and a mobile. It's pretty obvious what's in the bag and so they're unable to accost her in case she sets the thing off. They wait until she leaves the bag in the shopping centre and exits, then as she tries to activate the bomb they jam the phone's signal, and pick her up.

Tom interrogates her, trying to find out where the rest of the bombs are. She won't crack until he tells her that he has a tape of her making love to Steven, another of the group, and that if she doesn't cooperate he'll make sure this act of infidelity is the last thing her husband hears before he dies. He also promises that if she plays ball he will make sure she's extradited not to Florida, but to some state without the death penalty. Seeing she has no choice and at the end fearful of dying despite her bravado and her willingness to kill, she folds and they are able to pick up the rest of the bombers.

They're driving her to her plane when they stop, get out of the car leaving her in it and two CIA people, one of which is Christine Dale, get in. Christine drops a brochure in her lap which shows the state of Florida, and asks her without humour if she is ready for Disneyworld? Kane knows she has been lied to and betrayed, but is powerless to do anything about it. She will die just like her husband, although the fact that she has been discovered to be pregnant may have some bearing on this sentence.

Spooks is not really the sort of show that provides great quotes, but some of the things said in the episodes are certainly noteworthy. These I'll be dividing and featuring in different relevant sections.

Before I get into that though, for those who wonder if MI5 are all about counter-terrorism, the following quote from the opening scene may set you straight:

"MI5’s major focus right now is counter-terrorism, but our brief also includes serious crime, illegal

arms and immigration, and the drugs trade."

The "Need to know"

Working as they do for the Secret Service, it is frequently necessary for the agents to prevent panic or even rumour by disseminating a false story to cover something much worse, were the truth to be known. When these happen in the episodes I'll feature them here, under this heading.

The story released to the press about the first bomb, the one that killed Doctor Karen Lynott and injured (and eventually took the life of) her daughter, is this, as order by Tom:

"Army bomb disposal teams have confirmed this was a previously unexploded World War II bomb. Repeat, this was not a terrorist incident. Make sure that’s the only message getting out. I want it across the board. WW-2."

Harry's World

As head of MI5 Sir Harry Pearce has seen more than most, and has a certain worldview that is often honest and refreshing, blunt and to the point, and occasionally shocking. I'll be recording any examples of Harry's wisdom here.

Zoe talks about pro-life groups "So far they’ve just never been a threat."

Harry replies, with typical deadpan mode: "Something we’ve learned in the last twelve months. Nothing ever is. Until it is."

Harry is wistful for the old days, when you knew who the bad guy was: "I signed up here because I knew who the enemy was and I wanted to fight them. These days they don’t even have a flag. I preferred it when the bad guys had a flag. Gave them something to put on the coffin."

The mind of a terrorist

A little catch-all, yes, as not every criminal MI5 deal with will be necessarily classifed as terrorists (though many will), but when they do, it's interesting to note the skewed mentality, morality and worldview these people espouse:

Mary Kane: "I was terrified. At the beginning. But then I met my husband. And Paul sat me down and asked me to imagine something. Imagine a man with a gun. You’d be scared. So would I. But what if you saw him walk into a playground and point that gun at a child, how scared would you be then? And if you saw him pull the trigger, shoot one child, then another? Would you still be scared? Or would you stop thinking about yourself and just try with every fibre of your being to stop him before he killed the whole school? Of course you would. I know your fear, Rachel. But always remember who we’re fighting for. And who we’re trying to stop."

Big Brother is watching!

It's amazing how at times almost every person onscreen in Spooks can turn out to be an agent, keeping tabs on a target. Here are a few examples from this episode:

ALPHA is a Pakistani man in a suit.

BRAVO is a builder in a top that says “Lets Get Plastered”.

CHARLIE is a middle-aged woman with a shopping bag.

As she gets closer and closer to Mary...a variety of customers, workers, pensioners, daytrippers--all sound off quietly... everyone in this place is a spook.

Rivalries

The biggest rivalry in Spooks is between the people of MI5 (or "Five") and MI6 ("Six"), but the representatives of the government often get short shrift too, seen as interfering, bureaucratic, self-serving toadies and puppets of the Americans. Which they are. An example, when Toby McInnes from the Foreign Office comes on to "The Grid":

Helen: "Creature of the night, two o’clock.

Danny: "Foreign Office. Get out the garlic."

The F.O man is even depicted as repugnant, an almost headmaster bearing, as he looks down his nose at the spooks and hardly even deigns to talk to anyone but Harry. He also pointedly runs his finger along surfaces, examining the dust on his finger, like a sergeant major at inspection time. He makes no secret of the fact that he considers these people beneath him and expects them to obey him without question. He tells them "They’re ("they" being the Americans) the big boy in the playground and right now if they asked to roger us over a barrel we’d thank them kindly and make them tea afterwards." He also refers to the Home Secretary as "His Imperial Highness", obviously seeing himself as one of the (more important) courtiers.