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Spooks
Spooksim
Format Drama
Network BBC
Created by David Wolstencroft
run 13 May 2002 –
23 October 2011
Broadcast Infomation
No. of Series 10
Episode # 86
Status Ended
Related shows Spooks: Code 9

Spooks (aired under the title of MI-5 in America and France and, formerly, Canada) is an multi award-winning British television spy drama series broadcast by the BBC.

The series follows the work of an ever-changing group of MI5 Intelligence Officers, based at the service's Thames House Headquarters; in a highly secure suite of offices known as "The Grid". The title itself derives from the popular colloquialism for spies.

Production[]

The series is produced by the independent production company "Kudos"; for BBC One. The programme was created by writer David Wolstencroft. The programme regularly attracts popular guest actors (e.g. Hugh Laurie, Tim McInnerny, Ian McDiarmid, Jimi Mistry, Andy Serkis, Andrew Tiernan, Anton Lesser, Alexander Siddig, Anthony Head etc.)

So far, it has run for seven series, first airing on 13th May 2002, and is still in production after 64 episodes (each running at 60 minutes). An eight series is due in 2009.

Program History[]

Episodes by series[]

Cast[]

The following is a list of the main characters over the course of the series.

Current[]

  • Sir Harry Pearce KBE (Peter Firth; 2002-Present) - Status Unknown:
  • Ros Myers (Hermione Norris; 2006-2007, 2008-Present).
  • John Bateman alias Lucas North (Richard Armitage; 2008-2010) Deceased: Jumped off a building.
  • Jo Portman (Miranda Raison; 2005-Present).
  • Malcolm Wynn-Jones (Hugh Simon; 2002-Present).

Former[]

  • Tom Quinn (Matthew Macfadyen; 2002-2004) - Decommissioned: Dismissed from MI5 for jeopardizing a key mission.
  • Adam Carter (Rupert Penry-Jones; 2004-2008) - Deceased: Killed by an Al Qaeda car bomb.
  • Tessa Phillips (Jenny Agutter; 2002–2003) - Decommissioned: Dismissed for running "ghost" agents.
  • Fiona Carter (Olga Sosnovska; 2004–2005) - Deceased: Shot dead by Farook Sukkareigh.
  • Zoe Reynolds (Keeley Hawes; 2002–2004) - Decommissioned: Sent into hiding after being caught making a mistake on an undercover mission.
  • Danny Hunter (David Oyelowo; 2002–2004) - Deceased: Shot dead by a terrorist.
  • Helen Flynn (Lisa Faulkner; 2002) - Deceased: Tortured & Shot dead by an urban terrorist.
  • Zafar Younis (Raza Jaffrey; 2004–2007) - Deceased: Tortured to death by terrorists.
  • Ben Kaplan (Alex Lanipekun; 2007–2008) - Deceased: Killed by Connie James.
  • Colin Wells (Rory MacGregor; 2002–2006) - Deceased: Killed by corrupt MI6 agents.
  • Ruth Evershed (Nicola Walker; 2003–2006) - Decommissioned: Sent into hiding after faking her death.
  • Sam Buxton (Shauna Macdonald; 2003–2005) - Decommissioned: Reassigned to GCHQ .
  • Jed Kelley (Graeme Mearns; 2002) - Decommissioned: Transferred to another MI5 department.
  • Connie James (Gemma Jones; 2007–2008) - Deceased: Exposed & Arrested as an FSB Mole: Killed while defusing a nuclear bomb.

Off-Shoots[]

The series has spawned a mini-book series, which support certain elements and details in the shows' timeline, as well as providing un-aired endings to specific plotlines. These include;

The series is also available on DVD.

A brief sister series; "Spooks: Code 9" was produced and ran, based on a possible future team investigating incidents following the nuclear destruction of London. The series ran for one series before cancellation, due to overwhelming negative reviews and beliefs the series was damaging the reputation of the main-stream series.

Awards[]

Winner

  • 2003 - BAFTA Awards - British Television Award for Best Drama Series.
  • 2003 - Royal Television Society Awards - Best Drama Series.
  • 2003 - Broadcast Awards - Best Drama Series.
  • 2003 - BBC Drama Awards - Best Drama.
  • 2003 - BBC Drama Awards - Best Drama Website.
  • 2008 - BAFTA Awards - British Academy Television Award for Interactivity.
  • 2008 - ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards - Best Actor - Rupert Penry Jones
  • 2008 - ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards - Best Actress - Hermione Norris

Nominations

  • 2003 - BAFTA Awards - Nomination for Best Original Television Music to Jennie Muskett.
  • 2003 - BAFTA Awards - Nomination for Best Editing in Entertainment.
  • 2008 - ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards - Best Crime Drama

Setting[]

Main[]

  • Thames House (headquarters of MI5)
  • Freemasons' Hall, London (headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England), playing entrance to Thames House and some internal filming locations
  • SIS Building (headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service or MI6)
  • Victoria Embankment from Lambeth to Westminster bridges
  • The London Underground and rail system

Many scenes are filmed in and around the Docklands, especially Canary Wharf, Rotherhithe and the London Bridge area as well as the new More London development.

International broadcasts and DVD sales[]

In the United States, the Series 1 - 4 were broadcast on cable channel A&E, under the title MI-5. Ratings were poor, and after a marathon showing of Series 4, the show was removed from the schedule. In 2007, BBC America began broadcasting MI-5, withdrawing the show from its schedule mid-Series 4, again a victim of ratings.

Due to the need to insert commercial advertising breaks, the episodes broadcast on commercial stations (A&E and BBC America) in the U.S. were edited for time, with each 59-minute instalment edited down to roughly 45 minutes, and were presented in full screen (1.33:1) format. The full-length episodes were broadcast on some cable "On Demand" services and are available on DVD. Series 5, which has not been shown in the U.S., was released on DVD on 8 January 2008. In January 2009, the commercial-free and viewer-supported Public Broadcasting System (PBS) will begin airing MI-5 from the beginning unedited and in widescreen (1.78:1) format.

In Canada, the series was also screened uncut and unedited on BBC Canada, a speciality 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 episodes as well (albeit in the same almost-abandoned manner as in the United States). However, BBC Canada has resumed showing the series and began showing Series 5 to Canadian viewers on 26 August 2007. 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. It is also syndicated on the Foxtel Pay-TV channel UKTV.
  • In Sweden it airs as Spooks on SVT1, in France the programme is called MI-5 and broadcast on Canal Plus and France 2.
  • In Denmark several series have been aired on the DR2 public channel, under its original name, Spooks.
  • In Finland the show is called Erikoisjoukkue and it was first aired on YLE TV1 (Series 1 and 2) and then MTV3 started airing the programme from Series 1.
  • In Belgium Spooks was broadcast on the Flemish public channel Canvas and on the French Belgian channel RTBF.
  • In the Czech Republic, it is called MI5 and is aired 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.
  • In Southeast Asia Spooks is aired through the Hallmark Channel.
  • In the Netherlands, Spooks is aired on the channel Nederland 3.
  • It currently airs in Croatia on HRT 2 as Obavještajci, (Intelligence Agents). It is broadcast in English with Croatian subtitles as opposed to being dubbed. As of present in September 2007, the 3rd series is being screened. BBC Entertainment airs in India as well as Spooks.
  • 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 (also Double Identity).
  • In Iceland the series is shown on RUV (The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service) on Tuesdays at 22:25 as Spooks.
  • Spooks is shown in Hungary under Titkosszolgálat - MI5 (Secret Service - MI5) on Hungarian Television (channel: M1).

External links[]

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