UK spy drama 'Spooks' (aka MI5) to finish after 10 years

edited August 2011 in General Movies & TV Posts: 886
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/3745215/Spooks-killed-off-after-10-years.html

SPY drama Spooks is to be killed off after a decade on screen, TV Biz can reveal.

Fans of the hit BBC1 show about MI5 agents will be devastated by the decision.

It attracts more than six million viewers but the BBC said it will bow out in autumn after ten series.

Bosses have promised a "high octane thrilling finale" for the show, which has had a string of controversial storylines.

These included the death of an agent whose head was dunked into a deep fat fryer and plots about child suicide bombers in London.

The final series will focus on the past of lead character Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) and his relationship with fellow agent Ruth Evershed (Nicola Walker). Former stars, who include Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes, could also return for the final six episodes.

Producers said it was their decision to finish the series, which launched shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Jane Featherstone, chief executive of production company Kudos - which also makes Hustle and The Hour - said: "People still love the show and we could have carried on for a few more series but we wanted to go out on a high.

"Now feels like the right time. We have always killed off characters at their peak and now we are doing it with the show."

She said the final series would wrap up a lot of issues, adding: "Harry Pearce has always been at the heart of the show and this series focuses on Harry's past, bringing his tumultuous relationship with Ruth to a head. As we near the completion of this year's show, it feels this series is a fitting end to a much-loved programme.

"It's very tempting to keep going and we have had ongoing conversations with the BBC about it.

"But the heart of the show has become those two characters and I feel they own it.

"We've followed the arc of their personal story and I think they have brought us to a natural end, which you will all see played out later this year. It feels like now is the time for Spooks to bow out and make way for new spy dramas which reflect the changing world around us."

She added: "There will be a brilliant ending with some remarkable people and surprises. Some blasts from the past might return. The ending will give the show a full stop."
BBC controller of drama commissioning Ben Stephenson said the series had "redefined drama on the channel for a new generation


- <i>it's about time TBH but will miss it..hope 'Tom Quinn' (MacFayden) returns for a few scenes and smacks everyone down for the way he was unceremoniously kicked out. b-( Pitiful to say, I never got over that. </i>

Comments

  • LudsLuds MIA
    Posts: 1,986
    I love spooks, and I'd love a few cameos from old characters like Tom Quinn. I found it to be very entertaining during the entire run, and quite thrilling with all the deaths of main characters.
  • They called this "MI5" here in the states, but only showed the first 2-3 seasons. A good spy show, wish I'd seen more of it.
  • LudsLuds MIA
    Posts: 1,986
    They called this "MI5" here in the states, but only showed the first 2-3 seasons. A good spy show, wish I'd seen more of it.
    It's worth picking up @SirHendy, I too followed the first 3 seasons on A&E in Canada, and once they stopped airing it I ordered the DVDs yearly from amazon.co.uk. It's basically 24, without the filler episodes, and without constantly relying on big budget action to keep the intensity. I really loved 24's run as well, but Spooks was something very fresh, something American action series don't often have, good storyline, intensity, and character development which can carry the show.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    I love the show, it will be missed but thank God for ebay.
  • It's available on Netflix for instant streaming - seasons 1-9.
  • Posts: 1,894
    Ten seasons is a very good run. And I like the way the producers have decided it was time to end the series, rather than pressing on and letting the quality degrade until the network finally pulled the plug due to low ratings.

    I never really had the opportunity to get into the show because episodes were broadcast sporadically (the one where Helen Flynn was killed never even got broadcast), but I think the show's biggest drawcard was the way it had the balls to kill characters off without warning.
  • Monsieur_AubergineMonsieur_Aubergine Top of the Eiffel Tower with a fly in my soup!
    edited August 2011 Posts: 642
    Sorry for the extra thread guys. Didn't see this one. :-)

    For me Spooks was the start of british TV realising they had to up there game. Gone were the days of cosy, low concept tv shows with minimal chance of getting out of the studio. Spooks (alongside 24) really came as a refreshment in the early naughties. Whether both outstayed their welcome, im not sure.

    Spooks featured intelligent scripts, full of british humour, bite and clever metaphorical speak that is so often very hard to recreate without it seeming contrived.

    Some may argue that Spooks was a bit too low key in it's execution...I think that was done purposefully to show a more realistic approach. The tech side would rear its head but only at times when it was absolutely necessary, ultimately this was about the people. Mi5 being the 'poor relation' of 6 was always good to explore, the underdog always trounced it's betters and showed a tad more wit as opposed to arrogance and bullish group thinking from Vauxhall Cross winning the day.

    So we now wave goodbye to the series that in many ways challenged convention, ran storylines that were actually quite propheitc and alongside 24 restored my faith in TV.

    In terms of returns - I would love to see Hugh Laurie come back as the 6 contact. When he is texting at the opera and gets told to shush by the lady sitting next to him " are you a Nazi Madame?...I myself bu::er skinheads, so please don't tell me what I can and cant do" great line. :))
  • JamesPageJamesPage Administrator, Moderator, Director
    Posts: 1,380
  • NicNacNicNac Administrator, Moderator
    Posts: 7,567
    Big Spooks fan, sorry to see it go.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,350
    The final series will air on Sunday's:

    Episode 1. 18th September
    Episode 2. 25th September
    Episode 3. 2nd October
    Episode 4. 9th October
    Episode 5. 16th October
    Episode 6. 23rd October
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    So it'll be airing on sundays now?
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,350
    So it'll be airing on sundays now?
    I hope this is a rhetorical question.
  • JamesPageJamesPage Administrator, Moderator, Director
    Posts: 1,380
    The tenth and final season of the MI5 spy-thriller series "Spooks" will be showcased on BBC during Sunday prime time. The swansong has been reduced to just six episodes from its usual ten, and will focus on the MI5 chief Harry Pearce (played by Peter Firth).

    Producers have promised a "high octane thrilling finale" for the show, which has had a string of controversial storylines.

    BBC1 will air the final season at 9pm opposite hit show "Downton Abbey" on rival station ITV1.

    A BBC spokesperson played down the clash, stating: "Downton and Spooks are very different shows and offer a real alternative for audiences. This is the last ever series of Spooks and we wanted to celebrate this and make it a special event for viewers in the Sunday 9pm slot. It is not unusual for drama to go up against drama."
  • JamesPageJamesPage Administrator, Moderator, Director
    Posts: 1,380
    8 second teaser trailer!

  • Posts: 1
    This program is top-drawer (have been watching under the name "MI-5" on KCET-TV in S. California). Just now we're viewing the two part episode ("Gas and Oil") in which a rogue group attempts a British gov't coup d' etat. Man, does this resonate with me...and the shenanigans of American Intelligence in 2001..and the great stupidity, corruption and shift toward fascism, under Bush-Cheney, and now Obama. Not sure we still have a republic anymore, with these lunatic wars, and the suspension of some constitutional rights. Clearly most of the terrorist hysteria is gov't created, designed as a pretext for seizure of power (and particularly after the "Military-Industrial-Intelligence" apparatus lost its Cold War). So much for democracy!!
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,730
    I think that Spooks actor Peter Firth would make a good future James Bond actor. Saw his picture in the print media with a Bondian bow-tie and black dinner jacket. He looked the part, I must say. I wouldn't be surprised if Eon contacted him after Daniel Craig's day, which I hope will run for a good while yet.
  • JamesPageJamesPage Administrator, Moderator, Director
    Posts: 1,380
    You know he's 60, right?
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,730
    JamesPage wrote:
    You know he's 60, right?

    Sorry. It was a guy in his 30s who helped out Nigella Lawson. Much have got the names mixed-up.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    I miss Spooks. Watched it from the very beginning to the very end. One of my favourites. Unpredictable espionage drama at its best.

    Peter Firth actually would have been a good Bond, 25 years ago.
  • Posts: 12,506
    I miss this show too! I still hold out for a special at some point? Who knows?
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,350
    A film Spooks: The Greater Good will be filmed and released next year. Peter Firth will be back with additional cast to be confirmed.

    Bharat Nalluri who directed the first and last episodes of the series will be directing and Jonathan Brackley and Sam Vincent have written the script.

    The film opens when terrorist Adam Qasim escapes from MI5 custody during a routine handover and head of counterterrorism, Harry Pearce, is blamed.

    When the disgraced Pearce disappears one night off a bridge into the Thames, his protégé Will Crombie is called in to help uncover what happened. With a devastating attack on London imminent, Will finds himself on the trail of a conspiracy that stretches from Vietnam to the Mediterranean.

    http://www.screendaily.com/5063143.article
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,730
    Sadly, I've never watched as much as one episode of it!
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,882
    I've only seen the first series. I will take this opportunity to pick up the following 9 series on DVD.
  • Suffice it to say, this one won't be making an appearance in the "Most Overrated" Thread! Great stuff, well worth seeking out!
  • Long overdue, if you ask me.
  • JamesPageJamesPage Administrator, Moderator, Director
    Posts: 1,380
    I hope Harry Pearce is integral to the plot, and isn't 'disappeared' in the pretitles sequence like the synopsis suggests.
  • Posts: 12,506
    Overwhelmingly happy about this! One of my favourite shows gets a big screen outing! I will assume going on how the series ended? It will continue from there. Really will be looking forward to this once released! :-bd
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