Spooks Love

[thisbluespirit]

I keep talking to people about Spooks and realised that (other than linking to Anarchist Sprites) I haven't posted about Spooks here and I've waffled enough about every other TV show I like this much.

Knowing that about 2 (maybe 3) of my friends list watch Spooks and the rest politely / kindly may have read my DW crossovers, or disclaim all knowledge, I worked out a way to do this without spoilers (you know, in case I cause people to run off and watch it, because Spooks spoilers matter).

So, Spooks quotes garnered from the net to show off that dry wit and cynicism:

***

Harryisms (Harry Pearce, played by Peter Firth, by and large gets all the best lines.):


Tom: "You're concerned about my emotional state?"
Harry: "Couldn't care less about your emotional state — I care very much about whether you're able to do your job."
(S1 - Legitimate Targets)

Jools (Hugh Laurie): "Bug your own office do you Harry?"
Harry: "Only for special occasions."
(1.04)

Oliver Mace (Tim McInnerny): "This is no time for niceties."
Harry: "I like the niceties. They protect us from tyranny."
(3.01)

"How's Lord Young?"
"He's exactly what you'd expect for someone who's a cross between a politician and a lawyer."
(Adam and Harry, meeting the Attorney General, 3.06)

Harry: "Tell me something uplifting."
Colin: "It’s shaping up to be the driest autumn on record."
Harry: "Do you want to be taken out and shot?"
(3.7)

Tom: "When did you tell your wife you were a spook? When you met, when you married?"
Harry: "Just after we'd signed the register. Well I like to have things on paper, don't you?"
(1.01)

Harry (handing out an umbrella): "I can provide you with specially designed waterproofing equipment. Standard field officer issue. You press this button here...."
(?)

Harry: “Thanks to the excellence of my grammar school education, I am in fact able to tell the time myself."
(?)

Harry (missing Ruth): "Does anyone have any information that didn't come from typing Sons of Phineas into Google?"
(5.08)

Oliver Mace: "Ah, Harry, good of you to join us. Do you know Jason Belling?"
Harry: "Only from certain tape recordings."
(Oliver and Harry laugh. Belling goes white.)
Harry: "Forgive us Mr Belling. Spook humour."
(??)

Harry (on the CIA, at a briefing): "It seems we're going to have to grit our teeth and bear the presence of some cousins from Grosvenor Square, who will bring their usual arrogance and overbearing..." [the Americans walk in] "...willingness to share their expertise on this subject."
(4.01)

***

Then there's the original team of Tom (Matthew McFadyen), Zoe (Keeley Hawes) and Danny (David Oyelowo):


(Matthew McFadyen as Tom Quinn "Beautiful, beautiful man," says Nicola Walker on the S2 commentaries.  Heh.  "He can walk, too.")

"So what put you off exactly? His looks? His charm? His money? Too single was he?"
(Danny, after Zoe fends off an attractive admirer, "Legitimate Targets")

Tom (serious): "Wear a tight sweater tomorrow. He obviously fancies you."
Zoe (flippantly): "Oh, any particular one in mind?"
Tom and Danny (in unison): "The blue one."
("Spiders")

Tom loses himself: "You have to put your real self in a box. And only when you come home, do you open up the box and say 'Hello, real me.'"
(3.02)

Tom: "I had a sign hanging over me, too: End of the world, end of the world, end of the world."
(2.05)

***

Not to mention the grid's technical experts, Colin Wells and Malcolm Wynn-Jones:


(Hugh Simon as Malcolm.  Did RTD just name his latest boffin after him???)

(Malcolm, Colin and the Big Hole they made in the wall - how can they explain it away to the rest of MI5?)

Colin: "Mice?"
(4.10)

Colin: "Didn't we bug this suite when Bill Clinton used it?"
Malcolm: "We did."
Colin: "Happy Days!"

(Malcolm being a technical know-all: )
Malcolm: [On Major Curtis' Plan] "He can't detonate the tanks. "
Harry: "I'd like to believe that. "
Malcolm: "No, I mean, he physically can't: the container’s made of Titanium Steel; you could run an express train at it and the train would end up in the scrapyard. You need special tools to open it, you can't just pop the lid off with a screwdriver."
(2.9)

Malcolm (to the waitress): "Please feel free to select anything from this list which resembles a brown caffinated liquid in a cup with a dash of semi-skimmed milk and half a teaspoon of sugar"
(6.9?)

***

Ros Myers (Hermione Norris)seems out to rival Harry for the sarcasm (and she doesn't care if anybody likes her or not):

(Adam and Ros)

Ros (on having her house repossessed): “I was inconveniently dead at the time.”
(7.01)

(Her response to “You’re something of a legend”)
Ros: "I’m not Greek and I’m not dead."
(S7)

Ros: "I don’t want to die. There are books I want to read and I still hate my kitchen."
(S6)

Ros (on Harry): "He stands taller after a haircut."
(S7)

Ros (to Lucas): "You didn’t believe that happiness crap, did you?
(S7)

Home Secretary (to Ros, obviously noticing the line-stealing): "Which part of Harry did they use to clone you?"
(S7)

Ros: "Lovers leave, friends annoy us and families mess with your head."
(S7)

Russian: "MI5 safe houses, they have no character."
Ros: "Actually, this is my house."
(S5)

And, best of all, Ros on her colleagues to Zaf in 5.03, starting with Jo (Miranda Raison):
Ros: "Death by mascara. It was horrible to watch. Ruth's agonizing over the fact that there are no more horses in modern-day warfare and Adam's on a course learning how to lift his knuckles off the ground. So, you'll have to make do with me, I'm afraid."

***

Guest stars stealing the limelight. (Hugh Laurie as Jools Siviter of MI6 is a highlight of S1; Tim Mcinnerny doing a sinister turn as Oliver Mace in S3 and 5):

"These days most people's idea of a secret is something you only tell one person at a time."
(Oliver Mace, 3.03 )

"It's one thing to get rid of democracy. It's much harder to get rid of the monster you replace it with."
(Robert Glenister as the Home Secretary, 5.01)

Jools: "It’s nice to know someone’s running the country while the rest of us are at the opera." (And almost every line).
(1.04)

Oliver Mace (on Andy Serkis's rock star character): "He's done a lot for whales."
Harry: "He's Welsh?"
Oliver: "No, whales...
(S3)

***

And Ruth (after hitting a British Front type over the head with a tree branch): "Shall I hit him again, Adam?"
Adam: "Only if you want to."
(S4)


(Ruth: "I am my job!")

***

And I can't even find all my favourites. I clearly need to watch with a notebook next time.   You're probably relieved...









 

Comments

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Guess who I discovered is a guest star in the episode "The Russian"?

ONLY BEN "SEX-ON-LEGS" DANIELS!!!!!!!!!!

Bwah!

[thisbluespirit]

Yes, of course! I have a vague memory - knew I'd seen him in something before Lark Rise. I have no idea which episode that is; Spooks eps are all 1.03, 2.05 and they have no on screen titles or credits. (For some reason, I do remember some of the S4 - that must have been when I started using the BBC website). Of course, I should notice Ben, but it's very distracting when you've got people like Matthew or Raza Jaffrey hanging around, or lately Richard Armitage. :-D Um, Rupert is pretty, but...) Hee, that'll have done the trick. :-D

(You do also realise that Tony Head was in 1.04 as well?)

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

It's 4.08 that Ben Daniels is in...

And yes, you told me the other day that Tony Head was in one!

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

*grins*

Yup, that was Ben. I haven't actually memorised his IMDB bio (yet) but I did remember seeing Spooks on the list, so I went to check which ep...

[thisbluespirit]

As soon as I went to bed, I remembered the ep too - it must be 4.07 or 4.08 and he's the dodgy Russian millionaire.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

4.08

[thisbluespirit]

Yes, that was what I thought. And I'm not reading this thread properly. I'm going to make another post that you'll be interested in. :-D *looks mysterious*

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

*wonders at your mysteriousness*

[thisbluespirit]

Any old excuse. :lol: It's good ep, althought that ending - it scares me more than anything else before or after! And Zaf gets to do things.

(You'll have to tell me if you do watch it today - I was wondering, on thinking about it, if that was the episode where Ruth pretends to be the guy's wife on the telephone and Harry has this priceless look of alarm on his face. I always think that's S5, but in remembering this ep, I think it might be here. Sorry. Bit random! One of the brilliant but unquoteable moments that are why we so need Ruth.)

[belantana.livejournal.com]

5.04! (Encyclopedic knowledge, oh yes)

[thisbluespirit]

Heh. I'm all impressed. I did think it was S5. Her getting the info so easily and Harry's alarm - I loved that bit!!

[ravenskyewalker.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah! This is a great series -- or at least its first season was excellent. I wasn't too happy with later changes.

A few seasons were played in the USA under the title "MI-5," because "spooks" was (and maybe still is, in the American South) a rude slang term for blacks. Unfortunately, I've heard that every episode had at least ten or fifteen minutes hacked out to fit into the available timeslot -- arrggh! And then, it was apparently too intelligent or intellectual to be further played on the channel that had picked it up, so I think that my only access to later seasons will be the DVDs.

Alas, I haven't thought about this series in too long... I think I've seen Seasons 1-3. I think that Season 4 was the last one played here; I recorded it, but didn't watch, shame on me. I have some of the DVD sets, possibly up to 3... maybe even 4, but I'd have to check, and I'm too lazy right now. ;-)

[thisbluespirit]

S1 kind of stands alone as its own entity, but my favourites are S2 and S4. If you got the shortened version, you lost nearly all the lighter, character-based moments and everything with Harry and Ruth in corridors. You need the DVDs!! :-D

S5 wobbled and S6 didn't quite pull up its socks enough, but S7 valiantly came up trumps. It just needs some of that original humour and interaction back now.

[thisbluespirit]

I should add that it never stopped being clever, sarcastic and twisty and better than nearly everything else, though. :-)

And Connie (Gemma Jones) despite things I cannot say, is a good reason to watch S6 and 7. (Well, if the words Richard Armitage don't amke people run to S7 as it is...)

[safcooper.livejournal.com]

Spooks! I very much enjoy Spooks, though I've only seen each episode as it aired so I really don't recall most of the quotes, but it is a brilliant show. I'm replying to this comment specifically just to second that Connie is a fantastic reason to watch, her storyline in S7 had me on the edge of my seat.

[thisbluespirit]

It was... very Spooks. The traditional I-don't-believe-they-just-did-that. Also the episode with Lucas and the teenager for lots of reasons (including Lucas growing up in the wilds of Cumbria with his Methodist minister father!!)

I wanted to re-watch S2 (which I loved) and accidentally bought S1 by mistake and that was so good and S2 even better, that i ended up with S1-4 on DVD. (I haven't bought the last two out of protest for lack of extras. The moment they let Nicola Walker do another commentary, I'll be there. :lol:)

Yay, for another Spooks fan. :-)

[thisbluespirit]

I know. I was trying to explain it to a couple people and found myself getting so nostalgic I felt the need to indulge in this. And to start rewatching the whole thing. If S1 only had Ruth in it would be pretty much perfect.

Hmm, yes, postcards. I should, too. Maybe we should warn the innocent here that this show will eventually reduce watchers to exist in a state of denial about something? Heh.

[belantana.livejournal.com]

Oh memories! Those quotes from the earlier series make me sad for the lack of them these days - although there are still some good ones, just not quite as many.

I love Colin's comment on the weather. And pretty much everything Jools has ever said, ever, in his tiny window on the show. GRR HOUSE GRRR.

And another favourite has to be Ruth: "If that isn't illegal it's - very, very naughty." I hope you get some converts out of this!

[thisbluespirit]

Oh, Ruth!!!! How much I love Ruth! - I couldn't find or remember all my favourites. I shall have to watch 2.05 because most of them are in there. Of course, much of her pricelessness is down to Nicola Walker and therefore unquoteable. But how could I forget this:

Ruth: "I like to think there isn't an institution in the country that's safe from me."

Mind you, S7 was a vast improvement and Ros has been raising the sarcasm stakes considerably. :-) Sometimes I haven't liked her, but she does get some great lines.

[zulu-ottawa.livejournal.com]

One of my favourites has to be Harry, I don't remember which episode, but he said: "F*** you Derek, with bells on" It was so hilarious to hear Harry Pearce swear, and so unexpected. And also from 6.9, "Patience is just procrastination without the anxiety." Very smart, Harry. Well done.
And I also liked the entire scene in 3.10 when Zaf first meets Sam and Ruth and he makes fun of Sam by thinking she's Welsh. When she tells him to follow her into the briefing room and he says "Lead on, Blondewyn." I found it funny. The smirk he gave was good, too.
Pretty much any Ros line is fantastically cutting, and Ruth's endearing.
Oh, and Jools was a great, cantankerous bastard. The perfect slimy DG of MI6. And very witty, too. Go Hugh Laurie.

[thisbluespirit]

Spooks is full of great lines. I don't think I even scratched the surface.

I'm curious - I haven't posted anything Spooks-y since this and the other night I suddenly gained two Spooks friends! Where did you both find me? (And don't worry, I don't mind - I'm very happy to have nwe friends here).

(I must warn you I more usually waffle about writing Doctor Who fic!!!)

[zulu-ottawa.livejournal.com]

I don't really remember....maybe through another friend? Perhaps when I looked up fic you came up. I'm a bit absent minded about these things, sorry if I don't know exactly.

[thisbluespirit]

Heh. Don't worry. I was just being nosy, only because without posting anything in the least bit Spooks-y I suddenly had two new Spooks friends on the same day.

[zulu-ottawa.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I forgot to put this in the last comment. Agreed it is very, very, distracting to have so many good looking male leads. I never really liked Tom, but had a bit of a thing for Zaf, and Adam was ok, but I didn't really go for the blondness, and Lucas is a very welcome addition, I must say.

[thisbluespirit]

Well, I too didn't really go for the blondness and I do prefer Matthew in things like LIttle Dorrit and The Way We LIve Now. But still. Zaf and Lucas now... :-D The tendency for the show to do awful things to them, however...