30 Days of Telly Meme - Day 02

[thisbluespirit]

Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching: Spooks

I think I'm supposed to pick something relatively unknown, but the amount of people who aren't watching Spooks when it's on seems to be shocking. Not non-UK people, obviously, but Brits when it's on TV every autumn. I mean, if you like your TV relatively fluffy, fair enough, but otherwise why not?

(Of course, this is totally hypocritical, given the things I miss through laziness, forgetfulness, addiction to writing fanfic, and scheduling that's too late for a morning person like me.)

But the meme did ask.


Days of Telly Meme:
Day 01 - A show that should never have been cancelled: Blake's 7
Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching: Spooks
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season):
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series: BBC North & South
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death

Comments

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Well now there's a surprise choice... (NOT!)

[thisbluespirit]

Looking at the list, I think there are some questions I may not even need to bother answering... :lol:

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

*grins*

[thisbluespirit]

I mean, go on, guess day 4.

*rolls eyes*

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Oooh, let's see... Castle? :P

[thisbluespirit]

How did you guess?

:lol:

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

I R Geniuz! :D

[boro-girl.livejournal.com]

How do people actually choose not to watch Spooks? Seriously. I mean, Harry/Ruth alone is AWESOME.

[pedanther]

Harry/Ruth may have come too late for some people - there's like three or four seasons of no Harry/Ruth at the beginning, which is plenty of time for people decide not to keep watching.

For instance, I bailed out partway through the third season, when I realised that this was not a show that did happy endings, and that if I kept watching I would eventually see all the characters I loved horribly mangled and probably killed. Harry/Ruth notwithstanding, nothing I have heard about the subsequent progress of the series has persuaded me that I was wrong.

[thisbluespirit]

Aw. Well, despite my tendency to recommend things right, left and centre, I have every respect for people's own taste and choices - I don't see much point if watching a show feels more like self-imposed punishment or something.

Although I should point out that Harry/Ruth is there from the first moment she walks through the door in 2.2 (despite her crush on Tom) and becomes noticeable to even the dimmer viewer like me by the end of S3, and S4 is where we get proper Harry/Ruth. So that's two seasons without it. ;-) (Just to be correct here.)

And S3 was the most depressing, I have to say. Personally, I think S4 is a reason to keep on watching in itself - it and S2 are my clear favourites. And there are other incentives, although I do still prefer S1-4 rather than 5-8. But it's my second favourite show, so I'm just a tad biased here. I know what you mean about the unhappy endings (!), but I do also like the flip side of that - all bets are off, and no one's safety is guaranteed...

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

Okay, I've obviously known for some time that you like "Spooks" (subtle you are not *g*), but I've always assumed the show wasn't available over here because I'd never heard of it. But this entry of yours prompted me to try googling it just to learn a little more about it, and guess what? It is available over here, just under a different name! It's called "MI-5" -- which I have vaguely heard of, although I've never seen it -- and what's more, I've discovered that volumes 1-6 are available to rent through my Netflix service.

So, I'm in! Where would you suggest I start? At the beginning?

[thisbluespirit]

Well, at the beginning of a season, anyway! Yes, it's MI5 abroad (apparently Spooks has unfortunate other meanings in the US), but the one thing to watch out for is that the US MI5 is usually edited (it's a BBC show here, so that's 1 hr solid, with no breaks, whereas it gets edited down to 45 mins for the US), so it still works, but you may find people talking about lighter character moments you never saw... :lol:

The beginning is very old now (2002!), but why not? Of course, I only said this to answer the meme, and I don't expect people who have to jump through hoops to watch things to necessarily do so. I like it, as you can tell. It was groundbreaking in the UK in 2002 but everything else has caught up these days. And it can get bleak, and there's no happy endings guaranteed. But there is lots of sarcasm, and in the early series, lots of day to day, how it is to be a secret agent and keep your life in boxes, and that operations may involve hairdrying the cat among othre things. :-)

Are you really saying I'm not subtle? *sulks*

:lol:

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

Usually shows are only cut for broadcast, so since this is a rental service I should hopefully be okay. And hmmm, I don't tend to like bleak shows, but the rest does sound interesting. I'll give it a try, at least.

2002 is old? What does it say about me that that doesn't sound old to me at all? Of course, some of my favorite shows are from the '60s . . .

Are you really saying I'm not subtle?

Sorry, my bad, I really have no idea what TV shows you like. And I'm sure you have no idea what shows I like, either. ; )

[thisbluespirit]

Well, it's not 'Ooh, look, aren't I clever for being Bleak' type stuff. It just won't play by the rules of TV, and bad things will happen to good people. But, yes, if you prefer your TV a bit lighter, it can go very dark from time to time. Because of the whole fighting terrorist things, in terms of both actually do that, the ethical dilemmas involved and the effect on the characters who aren't James Bond types.

Well, it doesn't sound old, but given how contemporary it is, it has to be borne in mind. One of the things I like best (or get very scared by) is that it has always been Show Most Likely to Predict The News. It was being put into production before 9/11 (and they had to alter the scripts) - because the creators has argued that counter-terrorism was about to become more relevant and that the show would work... And then there was the London bombing coincidence. So while some stuff is far-fetched, there have been eerie moments watching the news and going "Hang on...". But you can't do that backwards. ;-)

Aw, I was only teasing. Even online with a secret identity I'm about as transparent as they come... *rolls eyes*

No, I have no idea what shows you like... Are you going to do the meme, and then I will? ;-D

PS. I should mention that S1 has Hugh Laurie guesting. Then you Americans stole him from us and he was too busy to return. He's Harry's equivalent from MI6 (MI5 don't much like MI6 in this!)

[stellastars]

I suspect that if I read your entries for this meme, I am going to end up watching a lot of new television. ;-)

(Also: I might have to do this meme myself.)

So... Spooks! Tell me more! How many seasons are there? Are there episodes that are critical to understanding the show? What is the single best reason why people should watch it?

♥

[thisbluespirit]

Heh, well it does depend. It can getquite dark in places, and stuff. It's known as MI5 generally abroad, but Spooks here, and it's about MI5's counter terrorism section. There are 8 series so far with a ninth in production currently. (There are 10 eps per season, except for S7 and 8 which have been cut down to 8).

It likes to begin each season as a kind of reboot, even though much continues. Significant episodes? Well, 1.01, 1.02 and 2.5 are probably the ones I'd go for, but there are plenty of people who've never seen the early seasons. I think I posted a Spooks-love post with non-spoilerish posts a while back, so I will see if I can find it.

Plus, the whole weirdness & wonder that is Harry Pearce/Ruth Evershed is definitely a selling point. In fact, both Harry Pearce and Ruth Evershed are selling points... :-)

[stellastars]

That's interesting, that each season reboots the series a bit. 70 some episodes, hmm... Well, maybe I'll have to look for a few of them.

Thanks for the link to the Spooks Love Post! It was very helpful!

[thisbluespirit]

Spooks love post here. Much sarcasm is involved.

[zulu-ottawa.livejournal.com]

Haha, yesssss!

So agreed. Saving the world gets a little old, but for the complexity of characters alone I love it. And the nostalgia I have for early seasons.......

[thisbluespirit]

Yes, those early seasons when they just saved one tiny bit of the world at time and moaned about the inconvenience of doing it in between. :lol:

Yes - I love it still and it never fails to pull out a few surprises, but I loves me the original team, the grid interaction and those days when we still had Howard Brenton writing scripts.

[zulu-ottawa.livejournal.com]

The nostalgia is setting in..... lol.

I still love it, series 7 killed me (Connie! Lucas! Neil Cross!), but you are right - I miss Tom, and the fantastically sardonic Jools, plus 2.5 was the best episode in the show's history ever, and they never set foot outside the pods. :D

[thisbluespirit]

Oh, yes. S7 was very cool. And I like our current team. Someone should just lock them on the grid again and, preferably get a famous playwright like... ooh, say Howard Brenton to write it again. :-D

(Do you think if I write into Kudos and ask nicely?)

[zulu-ottawa.livejournal.com]

The S7 team was hardcore, for lack of a better term. The finale was amazing (Gemma Jones, wow). But now they have Ruth back....

Yes! Another lockdown! Except this time Harry wouldn't be quarantined and they would have no qualms over unlocking the gun cabinet. Remember how big a deal that was then? *sigh*........

If you write very nicely, I'm sure... :)

I love the Tom icon, by the way. Now, if he were to come back, my head would surely explode. Seeing Lucas again? Agh.

[thisbluespirit]

Heh, well, maybe we'd better not risk having your head explode. :lol:

[belantana.livejournal.com]

Looks like you've made a few converts! *cheers*

I have been re-listening to S2 while I work (I've just discovered how great this is - usally I have a hard time re-watching something because I get bored even if I love it, so re-listening I can enjoy everything, be visually occupied with something else, and Get Shit Done! Anyway) and S2 has to be one of the best seasons ever. A whole episode about having a fight with the Americans and no actual lives being threatened at all! Infiltrating trade unions to find out about industrial action! The thing is, bad stuff does happen in these plotlines and it is often just as end-of-the-world dramatic as the later series, but it's so different.

[thisbluespirit]

That's impressive to me - I can work with music on (in fact, better usually) but I can't do anything else when the TV's on.

I know! And I didn't even mean to this time. It's only clocketpatch I'm trying to bully into Spooks and she's safely away.