Good show that has ruined itself in its third season!!!
Ever since Spooks hit the BBC back in 2002, it has been essential, innovative, superbly written and action packed drama. The first season of the show was exceptional, the show was so ground breaking in the stories and themes it tackled that it won many plaudits and won many prizes. But Seaon 3 of the show was rocked by the departure of its main stars and I will talk about that later, but first I will go over the show generally and the first two seasons particularly...Tom Quinn (Matthew Macfayden) was the linchpin of the show and rightly so. He was an amazing character and Matthew was absolutely superb as the main star of the show. Keeley Hawes and David Oyelowo were great as Danny and Zoe as the other main cast members of the show. Peter Firth(Harry Pearce) put in a superb performance as the Spooks boss.
The biggest assets the show had was its main three characters and because they were so likable, the viewer really warmed to the characters and the actors themselves.
Never shy to stow away from controversy Season 2 of the show was also very good. The problem then came in Season 3.....
All 3 of the main characters left and there were these replacements bought in that were so obviously replacements for the others, that the viewer could not help but notice it. The sense of the closeness of the show was gone, as the show stopped focusing on the "bad guys", but started focusing solely on the Spooks private life.
One of the great things about the show was that the show dealt with a wide range of terrorism issues affecting mainland UK but in series 3, the writers were clearly more concerned with the Spooks personal lives, than the actual welfare of the country!! Maybe they should have ended the show after the second season and let the show go out on a high. There are so any stand alone memorable episodes in these two series, that you will remember them for ages. The problem was that the loss of the three main characters the audience had loved for the two previous series, had left and this has had a dramatic effect.
As for the replacements, Rupert Penry-Jones is not a patch on Matthew Macfayden and he is quite wooden at times. Olga Sosnovska is so-so as Fiona, Adams wife. They are the main replacements to the cast, but even the quite well written characters cannot help fill the void of the ex-characters departures.
I used to be a massive fan of this show and I would rate this show as one of the best on the box, and essential viewing but season 3 really let the show down. In my opinion a big part of the show was over when the main three characters left and the new replacements have not done much to change my mind. This is a prime example of a show that simply cannot survive without its main cast, there is just too much history wiped away. If you want to see a top class drama show buy Series 1 and 2 box sets, stick clear of Series 3. Good show (season 1-3) 10/10, Season 3 (4/10)
score 10/10
jameslamont 10 March 2005
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1036814/14705
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