Since 2002, spy drama Spooks has consistently ranked among the best the BBC has to offer, blending high-octane action with unnervingly topical storylines – but can it keep up the pace?
To keep things fresh, the writing team have tweaked the format slightly over the past decade, evolving from the story-of-the-week formula of the early years to telling one ten-part story in the 24-style Series 5, whereas subsequent series have mixed the two, having individual stories play out with various threats lurking in the background until the series finale. This theme continues with 2010’s Series 9, but there’s something a little different about it.
Without spoiling anything, this year it’s all about the characters – or rather, one particular character – and this is where the problem lies. While the action is as exhilarating as ever and the stories are both entertaining and incredibly relevant (with references to ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Israel and Palestine), when it comes to the character arcs, not all of them ring true.
As a show with an ever-changing cast, it’s in the very nature of Spooks to constantly explore their characters’ backgrounds and motivations. Sadly, however, Series 9 sees this gets taken too far, to the point of disregarding groundwork laid in previous series. In typical Spooks fashion, there’s a suitably emotional payoff in the end, but one can’t help but feel cheated a little by the fact it only took eight episodes to completely rewrite an entire lead character.
Conversely, the relationship between Harry and Ruth once again meanders along at a snail’s pace. The welcome reintroduction of Ruth in Series 8 suggested an interesting new dynamic between the pair, but it has quickly become tiresome. Even slow-burn storylines are supposed to be going somewhere. A couple of moments this year hint that they’re finally moving in the right direction, only to be shot down soon after.
Nevertheless, the cast’s performances are as strong as ever, with the ever-reliable Peter Firth proving yet again why he’s so vital to the show as boss Harry Pearce, alongside Richard Armitage on outstanding form as troubled agent Lucas North.
As for the new additions, despite strong introductions, both are criminally underused, with Max Brown’s Dimitri making little impact and Sophia Myles’ character Beth Bailey struggling to fill the void left by the recently-exploded Ros Myers. The new Home Secretary (played by stage stalwart Simon Russell Beale), however, adds some tremendous depth to the inevitable Harry-versus-the-government scenes, with Harry no longer able to get his way quite so easily.
Highlights of the series include a plot to blow up Parliament (Episode 1) and the attempted assassination of the American President (Episode 5), which somehow never come off as unrealistic, despite their scale.
Despite Series 9’s inconsistencies, the final episode is undeniably gripping television and it’ll be interesting to see where the show’s tenth series, rumoured to be the last, takes us this Autumn.
Extras: A slightly disappointing selection following previous years’ efforts, with just two episode commentaries and two featurettes. It’s also a shame too that there’s no commentary on Episode 8, as it would have been nice to have an insight into the game-changing finale. The featurettes – ‘The Cost Of Being A Spy’ and another which reveals too big a spoiler to name – are entertaining enough, but ultimately too short.
Released on DVD on Monday 28th February 2011 by Universal Playback.
Watch the Series 9 trailer…