![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sharplittleteethFranz Ferdinand tickets purchased. Bank account sore.
And it still has to stretch to cover Diamanda Galas.
Just finished watching Spooks season 3.
I was really hesitant to watch this season. I'd read a lot of bad reviews, mostly from fans who were disgruntled because several of the main characters leave throughout the season.
And now that I've watched it? They're whinging fanboys. Season 3 is great.
Not perfect though. Tom Quinn (Matthew Macfadyen) was an excellent character. His replacement, Adam Carter (Rupert Penry-Jones) starts out so suave and brilliant and wonderful that he comes across as a Mary Sue. It's only towards the end of the season that we see the sort of cracks and flaws that made Tom Quinn so compelling.
The other flaw with the season is apparently commonplace on BBC serials: A major character leaves. The next episode they are mourned. And the episode after that, they are never mentioned again.
It seems to me that writers passed up a golden opportunity here. Season 1 and 2 had season-long story arcs, mostly about Tom's love life. With this season, they could have written a really interesting story about how these departures were effecting the team. You could have had Adam Carter blow in, all brilliance and designer stubble, but have the other characters going "who does this tosser think he is?", and then slowly rebuild the team over the ten episodes. Instead, they just ignore it.
We do get to see a lot more of the lonely, geeky analyst Ruth (Nicola Walker), who is one of my favourite characters. And I wished we saw more of Sam (Shauna Macdonald), but then I wish we saw more gorgeous women with Scottish accents in general.
True, there's a naff episode where MI5 try to recover the kidnapped baby of a famous rockstar. But there are some excellent ones too - like Episode 5 where Danny wrestles with his conscience after being ordered to assassinate a scientist selling bioweapons to North Korea. And the season finale is a heart ripper.
So... again, this is one of those reviews where I say "I thought I'd hate it. I was wrong."
And it still has to stretch to cover Diamanda Galas.
Just finished watching Spooks season 3.
I was really hesitant to watch this season. I'd read a lot of bad reviews, mostly from fans who were disgruntled because several of the main characters leave throughout the season.
And now that I've watched it? They're whinging fanboys. Season 3 is great.
Not perfect though. Tom Quinn (Matthew Macfadyen) was an excellent character. His replacement, Adam Carter (Rupert Penry-Jones) starts out so suave and brilliant and wonderful that he comes across as a Mary Sue. It's only towards the end of the season that we see the sort of cracks and flaws that made Tom Quinn so compelling.
The other flaw with the season is apparently commonplace on BBC serials: A major character leaves. The next episode they are mourned. And the episode after that, they are never mentioned again.
It seems to me that writers passed up a golden opportunity here. Season 1 and 2 had season-long story arcs, mostly about Tom's love life. With this season, they could have written a really interesting story about how these departures were effecting the team. You could have had Adam Carter blow in, all brilliance and designer stubble, but have the other characters going "who does this tosser think he is?", and then slowly rebuild the team over the ten episodes. Instead, they just ignore it.
We do get to see a lot more of the lonely, geeky analyst Ruth (Nicola Walker), who is one of my favourite characters. And I wished we saw more of Sam (Shauna Macdonald), but then I wish we saw more gorgeous women with Scottish accents in general.
True, there's a naff episode where MI5 try to recover the kidnapped baby of a famous rockstar. But there are some excellent ones too - like Episode 5 where Danny wrestles with his conscience after being ordered to assassinate a scientist selling bioweapons to North Korea. And the season finale is a heart ripper.
So... again, this is one of those reviews where I say "I thought I'd hate it. I was wrong."
no subject
Date: 2005-10-01 11:54 pm (UTC)Keep in mind in the UK producers have less control over the contracts of their actors, so when their three main characters left, the writers had to compensate. Adam is great, and he and his wife come out more and more as Tom, Zoe and Danny transition out. If it was anyone's series, it was Danny's.
I hope this series sticks around for some time to come. After watching the latest series of 24, here I'm bored, Spooks is still exciting and fresh! Changing characters can do that too, keep it fresh.
By the way David, Sam doesn't make it back into Series 4. However Anne Chancellor who was in Hitch Hikers does!
David Conyers
no subject
Date: 2005-10-01 11:56 pm (UTC)David Conyers