Spooks, season 4

[selenak]

Something else you do when sick during the holidays: you watch your presents. In my case, the fourth season of Spooks provided by kathyh. Which I liked very much, with some nitpicks as usual.



The high turnover rate on this show works surprisingly well for me. By now, Harry is the only character left from the season 1 set-up, and yet I don't have any "I want X back!" or "when Y was still on the show, it was better" feelings. I can't think of a comparable example where that was the case. I mean, obviously, some of my favourite shows like B5 or BTVS lost or changed characters, but not at this rapid speed. Mind you, it must give the actors a somewhat disquieting "here, really nobody is expendable" feeling...

Zaf was quickly introduced last season; this season, he's a full-fledged regular, but of all the newbies, he's the who still comes across as much of a cypher. It doesn't jar, because the way this show is written, you don't know all about everyone at once, but it's still noticable. The most we saw of him as a person was probably in the episode with the unjustly suspected Algerian not-terrorist - which btw was a great episode - and in the scene where he couldn't bring himself to shoot the guy despite Harry's order, with the last second reprieve, the raw emotion was really palpable, but otherwise, not so much.

(Difference in narrative styles: most other shows would have written the episode using the obvious angle of making Zaf confront being a non-white in a society where by now that automatically makes him a bit suspicious in the current paranoia, aka "it could have been me" that was locked up for two years based on a identity mistake. Can't decide whether in advantage or disadvantage Spooks ignored the possibility completely.)

On the other had, this year's two new characters, both female, worked really well. Having just said I don't miss anyone I must retract and admit that Juliet filled the Tessa-shaped hole in my heart, i.e. ever since they made Tessa evil and wrote her out at the end of s1, I've been missing Harry having to deal with a female equal/superior his own age and match in wits and ruthlessness. Even better, Juliet (so far?) is not evil. I thoroughly approve, and am glad of her presence. On the other end of the scale in age and experience, Jo is very likeable, with a believable mixture of pluck and inexperience, and the writers used her well, remembering, for example, that there is no reason why she should automatically show trust and faith in Harry when she hardly knows him, and letting her question group decisions like letting Angela go. Though given everything that happens after she joins the team, I wouldn't be surprised if she quits next season! Talk about baptism through fire.

The big death this season was Fiona Carter's, with a question mark about Adam's fate at the end. Fiona's death, or rather not the death but the way it came about is one of my few complaints. During the last minutes of that episode, I felt like a jojo:

- they're letting her kill herself? So a woman can't escape her trauma but through death? Gee, thanks, writers.
- Sorry, writers, I apologize! That was clever! Go, Fiona! I love it! Okay, risking all to kill the bastard herself is perfect! I'm even okay with her dying, because she brought down her enemy by her own hands!
- WHY THE HELL DID YOU HAVE THE GUY SURVIVE TO SHOOT HER SO ADAM CAN SHOOT HIM? Okay, forget I asked, I know why. So Adam can kill his wife's killer, and you have a dramatic shootout at the end, as opposed to Adam finding Faroukh dead and Fiona dying/dead. In other words, you sacrificed the perfect ending for your female character so your male character gets SOMETHING to do.

Seriously. If you kill off a character, and you have already the ending that means it's HER ending, something active for her own story, don't change it in a way that makes her just a victim providing angst fodder for your male character. I was displeased.

(I was also afraid that Fiona got killed off so Adam could get what Tom Quinn put us through the first two seasons, i.e. a very annoying love life, but thankfully, so far that did not happen.)

My other nitpick of the season was not so much a nitpick as an observation. After the very strong last but one episode, the last episode felt, well, not up to the rest of the season. Not that the idea of a former superb agent turning against MI5 wasn't good, but I'm sorry, combining that with a Diana plot just didn't work for me. For starters, it asked me to believe that most of the main characters reach a point at which they believe, even briefly, Diana got assassinated. For another, it made me listen to the phrase "the people's princess" without any irony. I can't believe someone who is supposedly a tough old broad like Angela would use it with a straight face. (Even if she was playing a long-term mind game, but presumably her original motivation was supposed to be genuine.) I kept having flashbacks to The Queen and Alistair Campbell mouthing this very phrase which he coined to Blair, adding, "you owe me, mate!", and wondering whether Spooks had to pay royalties, no pun intended...

Ah well. The parts that worked best about that episode were Angela being sadistic towards Jo and Angela playing with Adam. But the Diana stuff meant I couldn't even appreciate the ongoing Ruth/Harry subtext turning text without being distracted.

Speaking of Ruth and Harry, though: that was a nicely down subplot through the season, and I do love them both. Also, Ruth's solo outing at the start of the season was fab, though I have to point out Les Mis wasn't written by Andrew Llyod Webber. Never mind, she was still maintaining cover when she said that.

Favourite episodes: the last but one ep, the one with the Algerian, and, minus the shootout, Fiona's big episode.

Comments

[andraste]

Agreed that the Diana thing was stupid, but I still managed to squee a lot when the subtext finally became text. I was starting to think that they were never going to move past Significant Looks.

Also agree on the Fiona thing, but at least she got to kick arse up until the last second. I just wish they'd followed that through all the way to the end.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I just wish they'd followed that through all the way to the end.

I just have the this vision of someone coming into the studio at the last moment with the script in hand and saying "wait, Adam is the closest thing we have to a young male lead, and he just shows up after everything is over? He needs to DO something!" And it makes me go grrr, argh.

[kathyh]

By now, Harry is the only character left from the season 1 set-up

Good Lord, so he is! The body count on Spooks almost defines the programme now.

I agree with you about the death of Fiona and was rather disappointed that they did kill her as the reality of a husband and wife team of spies might have been interesting to explore in more detail. I really can't say much more about anything without spoiling you for the next two series.

Glad you enjoyed it *g*. Hope you are feeling better and there will be an email from me, but at this rate some time in the New Year!

[selenak.livejournal.com]

At the risk of appearing stupid, who is that on your icon?

Husband and wife: possibly on the the influence of Joe Quesada currently being busy over in the Marvelverse to retcon the Peter Parker/MJ Watson marriage out of existence, I must cynically speculate that most producers just don't want to deal with two characters bound to each other on a long term basis?

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

I must cynically speculate that most producers just don't want to deal with two characters bound to each other on a long term basis?

You probably know me well enough by now to insert your own version of my rant on the subject so I'll spare you. (Also, now you can see this icon I've been sporting for a year or so with better appreciation of the context :)).

I also totally agree on the Diana episode, and Fiona's ending. I wish they had kept Fiona around, period, but I did like how the aftermath was handled in subsequent episodes -- particularly Adam showing up at his (apparently unneeded) therapy retreat with a copy of 'Mansfield Park.' I quit watching early in season 5, precisely because I was too attached to Fiona/Adam and was afraid they'd go the annoying love life route with him. (I'm mostly unspoiled for 5 and 6, so I don't know whether they did or not, and quicknow assures me I should watch when the DVDs are available, but I haven't gotten to it)

And I take it you've been following the Spider-Man mess? JMS apparently wanted to take his name off the last several issues, he was so upset about the direction editorial forced him to go. (He also said in the same interview that he wanted Gwen's long lost kids to be Peter's, but the editors steered him another direction; because apparently it's okay to imply that your deceased, sainted heroine had an affair of dubious consent with a supervillain, but not that your hero had sex/children out of wedlock).

[selenak.livejournal.com]

(Also, now you can see this icon I've been sporting for a year or so with better appreciation of the context :)).

"Daddy is more of a cat man." I must say, I was a tad distracted trying to figure out whether the kid's name was "Wes" or "West", but the dog race meeting was indeed very cute.

particularly Adam showing up at his (apparently unneeded) therapy retreat with a copy of 'Mansfield Park'

You gotta love a man who loves Austen. Bet "Mansfield Park" was the one he never got around to when being happy.

Spider-Man mess: yes, I've heard that. And now I'm really afraid Ellis has a mandate to split up Scott and Emma as soon as Joss is done with AXM. Not that I want Scott and Emma to stay together for the rest of Marvel eternity, but right now they work as a couple, and can we not do the breaking up of couples for a while, please?

Back to Spidey: you do remember that I said when reading the Spider-man "Civil War" stuff that it struck me, when contrasting the Peter depiction there with JMS' early writing of him in the first four or so trade volumes directly after he had taken over, that Peter is now made to look younger and the adult aspects get taken away more and more. (I.e. instead of being depicted in his civilian job as a high school teacher, where he takes over the mentor role, you have him in a protegé/young student position with first Tony and then Steve, he's suddenly way more naive than he used to be, etc.) Of course, marriage (and fatherhood) are the ultimate "adult" attributes, so you could say the writing was on the wall...

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

I recently heard an interview with Marvel's PR flak, who I assume was largely parroting Quesada's line. He commented that, other than Reed and Sue, it's impossible for a married couple to stay together and continue to be interesting. He specifically cited Scott/Jean and mentioned "that's why Scott and Emma didn't get married." So, while this comment sent me into several million kinds of rage, it might mean that your kids are safe for the present.

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

Also, I knew you'd love Juliet!

[selenak.livejournal.com]

*g* I do have a type...

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

And Juliet is wonderful, which doesn't hurt --

On the subject of types, I recently commented to resolute that I hadn't bothered to see the "Golden Compass" movie because the only Dark Materials character I really liked was Will. Her reaction was, basically, "The resourceful dark-haired boy with an overdeveloped sense of responsibility and enormous Daddy issues? YOU'RE KIDDING."

[selenak.livejournal.com]

LOL. The only two HDM characters I was somewhat interested in were Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel, which is just as predictable for me. As for The Golden Compass, it has the same problem the first two HP movies had - i.e. when watching, you get the sense that there is a check list somewhere, "highlights of the novel", but there is no cinematic life of its own, which not just the Lord of the Ring films but the first Narnia movie did have.

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

Asriel and Coulter -- but of course.

Most of the reviews I've heard of the film have been similar, and as I'm not attached enough to the series to want to see it no matter what, I'll probably wait on the video. (Though I'm sure I'll see "The Subtle Knife" when it opens, unless I hear terrible things).

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

Assuming, obviously, that they make a sequel.

[kathyh]

who is that on your icon?

My one and only Spooks icon is a rather early shot of Tom. He did at least make it out alive!

[shezan.livejournal.com]

By now, Harry is the only character left from the season 1 set-up

You're forgetting Malcolm! Malcolm rocks!

Your extremely shrewd nitpicks won't be very much allayed by season 5, I fear (is that cryptic enough for you?) I loved the Algerian episode, and even more seeing Julian Bashir, sorry, Alexander Siddig in it - isn't he a terrific actor?... er, um, I mistook this for "Nest of Angels" and have forgotten the S4 Algerian episode. Have to watch again, obviously.

I don't think Rupert Penry-Jones is a terribly good actor (although priceless eye candy) except in "Road Trip" in this season, where he has the diffident body language of an immigrant until he reveals himself - and then his whole stance changes; that was excellent physical acting.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Malcolm rocks indeed, but was he there in season 1? I thought I first spotted him at the start of season 2?

Another episode I loved which I forgot to single out in my review was the one with the Russian tycoon wherein Harry teams up with the just released Communist spy to save the British National Health Service. When it started and Hugo (the old spy) got out of prison with his wife/girlfriend/comrade/whoever she was sang the Internationale for him, I immediately recognized it and idly reflected that people younger then self who didn't hear it on East German tv (which we could watch, being close enough to the border, back then) probably won't.

Rupert P-J: Hm, but what about his introductory episode in s3 where he talks a woman into committing suicide? He had to sell simultanously the cold ruthlessness that enabled his character to do that and the fake sympathy to the woman, and I thought he pulled it off.

[shezan.livejournal.com]

The Carmen Joyce suicide scene was utterly BRILLIANT, but also the basis for my later disaffection with the Adam character, because he never afterwards fulfilled the promise of being the dangerous loose cannon he was introduced as in that.

And I LOVED The Russian because 1. Ben Daniels! and 2. the Cold War nostalgia, natch. (But really, do you think young people nowadays don't even know what the Internationale is???? That's... scary.)

Here, have at least 30 MP3 versions, including a samba Internationale from Cuba (http://www.hymn.ru/internationale/index-en.html)!

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I haven't met anyone my age in the US who knew what the Internationale is, and I met a lot of people, so I have not much hope for the kids who can't even remember the time before the wall fell...

(Ironically enough, the only West German I know who knew the Internationale by heart, all verses, was the most right-wing person at my school, who knew it because of an enemy thing. I only know the refrain by heart, but I do recognize the melody at once.)

A samba version! That's amazing!

[shezan.livejournal.com]

This is when I feel unmeasurably old. Also, you wonder what kind of an education these kids get. (And who would understand a movie as complex - and as relatively recent - as Warren Beatty's Reds, one of my all-time favourites.)

[shezan.livejournal.com]

... which leads me to ask, have you yet seen The State Within?

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Is that the one with Jason Isaacs? No, not yet.

[shezan.livejournal.com]

Mucho mucho mucho recommended. Isaacs is of course excellent, but Ben Daniels is BRILLIANT in it. So's Sharon Gless, in a part about as different from QaF's Debbie as possible since she's the hawkish SecDef.

I first became aware of Ben Daniels in Conspiracy, the excellent TV movie based on the Wannsee Conference, with Kenneth Branagh, Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth. I'm aware there was a German made-for-TV movie based on it too, but that was truly first-rate. Daniels was Dr. Joseph Bühler.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I've seen Conspiracy as well as the German tv movie, and they're both very good (as well as different, which is interesting, as they're based on the same protocols, of course). Mind you, I only saw each once, because it's not the kind of thing you can stomach every day. But great acting all around.

[thesecondevil]

I had a similar sort of reaction to Fiona's death. At the time it also irritated me because it looked like it was done in order to return the field team to the previous status quo of one senior agent with two junior agents, one male and one female. Anyway, it turns out that Olga Sosnovska (Fiona) fell pregnant during filming of Series Four and she decided to leave the programme at which point the writer's decided to kill Fiona off. Probably because it fitted with Spooks track record of surprise deaths.

On a cross-fandom note Olga Sosnovska is married to Sendhil Ramamurthy.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Oh, thanks for that background info! (And trivia.) (Small world, huh?) (Actorly world, that is.) Now Fiona would have been the one character who could have gotten pregnant without contortions in the writing, but tv acting is pretty time consuming work with the schedule, so I can understand the actress.

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

Hmm... do I actually need another show to watch? *ponders*

[selenak.livejournal.com]

It's a very British spy show, i.e. Le Carré to Alias' more James Bondian flavour. Every now and then I toy with the idea of a crossover because I want to see Harry Pearce (the MI 5 boss), Jack Bristow and Arvin Sloane bitching at each other. And trying to outscheme each other. Anyway, I think you'd enjoy Spooks, but be warned, there is really no one safe and each season offers work for the Reaper.

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

I confess that I've never read Le Carré, nor do I know if I would actually like it. I'm a pretty unabashed Bond/Mission Impossible/Solo for UNCLE/Avengers fan - I probably just need the whimsy. And yes, I do have myriads of issues with Bond films and its portrayal of race and gender, but if you learn one thing doing Anglistik it's that really bad issues oftentimes go hand in hand with enjoyable stuff (see also: Every single 19th century writer I ever read. Or, even more bluntly: Shakespeare).

Anyway, I think you'd enjoy Spooks, but be warned, there is really no one safe and each season offers work for the Reaper.

Well, it is a British show. And I already heard about that one spectacular "All Bets are off" death in the first season, so I'm not going in unprepared. (In addition, I can always stop watching if a death sucks out my enjoyment. I do that pretty routinely.)

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm as game for Bondian whimsy as the next person myself. (Except the Brosnan era. I saw the first Brosnan Bond and disliked it so much I never saw another. I did see all of the Connerys and Moores, and poor old underestimated Lazenby, and Timothy Dalton.) And I enjoy that element in Alias - Sydney and her derring-do during missions, Marshall's gadgets, etc - but Spooks simply feeds from another tradition of British spy lore, that's all I wanted to say.

(Also: yet another way you can tell it's a British spy story as opposed to an American one - sooner or later, a character based on the Cambridge Spies is going to show up (as opposed to a beautiful Russian (female) agent, I mean). They're still not over that. Results in good stories, too.)

Le Carré, btw: of widely varying readability, but if you want to combine two media, both the film version of The Spy Who Came In From the Cold (Richard Burton in the lead) and of course the tv version of Tinker, Tailor, Spy with Alec Guinness as Smiley are classics in their own right.

Fun triva for Germans: I'll never forget Le Carré's description of Bonn as "half the size of the central cemetary of Chicago and twice as dead"...

[shezan.livejournal.com]

"half the size of the central cemetary of Chicago and twice as dead"...

... and he knew what he was talking about; he'd lived there a couple of years when working for MI6 at the British Embassy...

An old friend, now dead, who was a Sunday Times journalist but had been SIS during and after the war (had been hired by Ian Fleming, who hired all his old agents, at the ST), told me that when he lived in Bonn, Le Carré, who still went under "David Cornwell", and lived in that same island suburb as the Small Town In Germany protagonist, said to him he thought up his plots on that famous ferry ride - the plots for A Murder Of Quality and Call For The Dead, etc.

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

I saw the first Brosnan Bond and disliked it so much I never saw another.

The first one is hilariously bad, but I like the others, for various reasons (none of which include Pierce Brosnan, who never fails to rub me the wrong way no matter what role he is in). Well, Die Another Day is really a lot more stupid than it needed to be, and has some not so charmingly anachronistic racist elements that must have slipped through when they tried to recapture the "old" Bond atmosphere. (Besides, realistic looking torture, in a Bond movie? Uncomfortable.) But I love the new M, the Brosnan era definitely gets points for introducing her. Of course, Casino Royale developed her a lot better, so I'm looking forward to what they're going to do with her now.

They're still not over that. Results in good stories, too.

I've seen only Another Country, but I thought it made a compelling case for Burgess deciding how he decided. Nice portrayal of friendship between the Apostles and homosexuality at that point in time, too. And of course young Rupert Everett and Colin Firth.

Bonn as "half the size of the central cemetary of Chicago and twice as dead"...

I've been there only once, but it matches my impression.