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Series 5
Series 5
Network BBC
Run 17 Sep – 13 Nov 2006
Episodes # 10
Series: 12345
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The fifth series of the BBC espionage television series Spooks began broadcasting on 17 September 2006 before ending on 13 November 2006. The series consists of ten episodes.

Plot[]

The fifth (10-part) series of Spooks aired its first episode in two parts, the first appearing on 17 September 2006. In it, elements within the British Government, MI6 and the UK press conspire in an attempt to overthrow the Parliament and the Prime Minister. These elements agree that for Britain to survive the threats posed by modern day terrorism, democracy had to be replaced with rule by committee. The second part followed the next day (18 September), marking Spooks' return to BBC One's Monday night schedule.[11] These episodes introduced Ros Meyers.

This series' storylines include a fake home-grown Al-Qaeda cell that plans an attack on London; the British government selling nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia; and the US administration selling arms to African dictators.

The ratings for this series remained consistent with those of the previous series, averaging 6 million viewers

Episodes[]

  1. Gas and Oil: Part 1
  2. Gas and Oil: Part 2
  3. The Cell
  4. World Trade
  5. The Message
  6. Hostage Takers: Part 1
  7. Hostage Takers: Part 2
  8. Agenda
  9. The Criminal
  10. Aftermath

Program history[]

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 storylines included a home-grown Al-Qaeda cell planning an attack on London; the British government selling nuclear technology to Gulf states; and the US administration selling arms to African dictators. It is also the first series to feature a "cliffhanger" ending to an episode mid-series, marking a slight change from the individual 1 hour episodes, series finale cliffhangers and more recently, two-part series openers shown on consecutive evenings.

It did not have the traditional end-of-series cliffhanger per se, for the potential drowning of Ros Myers and Adam Carter after environmental terrorists staged an attack on London to demonstrate the danger of global warming ended in a final black-and-white freeze-frame showing them surfacing alive, and the following episode did not carry on where this ending left off as was usually done in Spooks.

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.

Cast[]

Gallery[]

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