Hi,
Thanks for my first ever diamond and of course the continued rrc's. It's beginning to look a lo...
Hi,
Thanks for my first ever diamond and of course the continued rrc's. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! xx
Member since:08.02.2008
Reviews:278
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Spooks is one of those programmes that I just adore. Unfortunately however I can't say that I jumped on the Spooks bandwagon from the very start. To be perfectly honest though the reason for this was the fact that I was only 12 when the first series originally aired and therefore it just wasn't part of my viewing although my dad was watching it. I personally caught on during series 3 and then decided that the best thing for me to do would be to get the previous series' on DVD to ensure that I didn't miss out on anything.
Series 1 first aired on BBC in May 2002 and is all about a branch of the British Secret Service called MI5. It centres around not only the professional lives of the agents but also their personal lives too because as you can imagine when you throw yourself into a job as much as they do then it is often quite difficult to separate the two.
The first series DVD box set contains all 6 episodes from this initial series, with each episode focusing on a different issue or task but with long running storylines and threads running between them. This gives the audience the ability to grow accustomed to the shows main characters and to peer deeper into the lives that they live.
*The Characters*
The characters themselves are all very different to one another yet each in their own way is dedicated to the job that they have to do. The team themselves all work in the counter-terrorism department, which is headed by the
cool and collected Harry Pearce played by Peter Firth. Harry is not only a well-respected member of the team but also a well liked one who always has the welfare of his team at the forefront of his mind.
Head of the Spooks themselves is the dependable Tom Quinn played by Matthew McFayden. Tom is exceptionally dedicated to his job but currently struggling to balance his secretive work life with a new relationship.
Next is Danny Hunter who is played by David Ovelowo. Danny' life isn't currently going exactly the way he played, as after being caught fixing his credit rating on MI5 computers some of his credibility at work has been washed away.
The newcomer to the group is up and coming intelligence officer Zoë Reynolds played by Keeley Hawes. Zoë has everything going for her she is clever, charming and ultimately good at her job turning out to be more than a credible undercover agent.
The final member of the team is Tessa Phillips, played by Jenny Agutter, a well-established intelligence officer with over twenty-years experience. Despite her experience however Tessa isn't always the perfect person to trust as the time ultimately discovers.
*The Episodes*
The series gets off to a controversial start by tackling the issue of abortion. When twenty high-explosive bombs are smuggled into England and the first goes off killing a doctor and severely injuring her children the team must scramble to find and deport an American anti-abortion activist. With Zoë undercover to convince the suspect to give up the bombs location the actually locating and defusing of the bomb is left to Danny and Tom .
In Episode 2 links between politicians and racist ring-leaders are uncovered. Worse still both are found to have links to mass killings of immigrants . As racial hate rows across the country Tom and Helen must go undercover but as time begins to run short, personal loyalties will leave one team-member dead. DEFINITELY NOT FOR YOUNGER VIEWERS
Episode 3 sees the Turkish Embassy stormed by Kurdish rebels making demands for their family to be released. As luck would have it Zoë is already inside the Embassy but she winds up as a hostage. Meanwhile a disgruntled ex-Spook has kidnapped the daughter of a banker who works for the ministry of defence payroll and his using her kidnapping and severe use of terror to gain access to a secret bank account that not only contains one million pounds but also the identities of every undercover officer.
In Episode 4 Tom's mentor Peter Salter flees after Tom order him off an operation run jointly by MI5 and MI6. Things get worse when Harry tries to regain control by commanding Tessa to contact one of her covert agents. This attempt fails due to the fact that the agent doesn't exist and when Zoë discovers this Tessa pays her £10,000 to stay silent. With Salter still on the run however Zoë must question her own motives.
Episode 5 sees an ex MP released from prison after serving his time for his part in an arms-dealing scandal. Upon his release he proposes to publish a memoir that contains within it damaging accusations about the MOD being his successor in the arms trade. MI5 must do all they can to try and retrieve the memoirs but ultimately their best efforts cannot stop the memoir leaking into the press and the accused resigning from government. Everything however isn't quite what it seems.
The final episode in this series is an outstanding cliffhanger, which sees Zoë and Danny go behind Harry's back on an operation under Tom's orders after he meets with an Irish terrorist who claims that he wants to help MI5. Together the team manage to stop one bomb exploding but this isn't the end of their troubles as after Tom takes home a laptop containing secrets that have been entrusted to him he gets a panicked phone call informing him that the laptop contains a timed bomb. Rushing home Tom finds himself locked out of his house but inside with the ticking bomb are his girlfriend Ellie and her daughter Maisie. In a flurry against time Danny must give Ellie instructions on how to disarm the bomb and just hope that she understands or Tom will loose them both.
All of the episodes within this series are of an exceptionally high quality. The acting is superb throughout and the general filming of the episodes sublime. Furthermore the scripting of the series is exceptionally clever as it manages to convey with ease the difficulties of working in such a secretive organisation as well as the pressure that is placed upon them. In doing so however the series could have quite easily become to heavy and tremendously dry but some fantastic nuggets of humour have also been allowed to filter in and therefore the show is a real gem to watch.
Spooks is definitely something that I would recommend although it is exceptionally easy to become swept up in the whole atmosphere of the programme and I guarantee that once you have seen this series you'll want to see the rest.
Pictures of Spooks - Series 1 - Complete (Box Set) (DVD)
Danny, Tom and Zoe
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Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: K.C. Bascombe - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Jesse James, Rachel Skarsten, Charles Powell, Linda Purl, Kevin Zegars
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
funnily enough - as im reading through your reviews i have the new series of spooks playing in the background as we have started recording it!!!! I love it too!!! Em x
anonymili 23.10.2008 18:07
Just a bit too much plot info for me, especially on the last episode :)
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![Spooks : Complete BBC Series 1 [2002] [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78521877.jpg "Spooks : Complete BBC Series 1 [2002] [DVD]")
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