Spooks: Series 2

Starring: Keeley Hawes, Matthew Macfadyen Director: Andy Wilson, Bharat Nalluri, Justin Chadwick, Rob Bailey, Sam Miller Original UK Premiere: 2002 Dvd Release: 20th September, 2004 Number Of Discs: 5 Format: PAL, Region 2 Encoding

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Spooks is a British television drama series, produced by the independent production company Kudos for the BBC One network. The title derives from a popular slang term for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 agents. The programme was created & is chiefly written by David Wolstencroft. It is known as MI-5 in North America. Starring Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Jenny Agutter & Peter Firth, the initial series of six one-hour episodes was screened in the spring of 2002. The series was a critical & popular success, combining glossy high production values with fast-paced action/adventure & spy intrigue storylines. The second episode was remarkable for the violent killing-off of a character who had been presented to the audience as a regular in the first two episodes, surprising viewers who would thus have expected her to have been rescued. It did however anger many viewers, who had BBC phone switchboards jammed with complaints.

Revelling in its reputation for pulling no punches, the second series of the BBCs slick spy drama Spooks maintains the quality of its award-winning first year, serving up enough nail-biting moments of genuine tension to outweigh any concern that occasionally it courts controversy for no better reason than to cock a snook at the notoriously timid Auntie Beeb.

The Islamic terrorist episode unsurprisingly received a great deal of negative publicity, but a show that prides itself on its contemporary edge could hardly ignore such an issue. Other episodes tackle computer hackers, Eastern European terrorists, Columbian drug cartels, inter-service territorial disputes with the CIA & even a mutiny in the army. One of the strongest episodes, set entirely within the sealed-off MI5 Section B department, tracks the teams individual reactions to what might be a drill, or a real & devastating VX gas attack. Throughout, this year focuses a great deal on the teams personal problems, notably Tom Quinns chaotic love life, which ultimately brings his loyalty to the service into question.

Cast changes introduce some new faces, while some old ones pop up in unwelcome places . Pacy direction & snappy editing, generous use of slo-mo, split-screen & dramatic music all add to the tension inherent in scripts that bring a modern, youthful edge to the creaky old spy genre. Only the final episode resorts to some hackneyed plot contrivances in a rather strained bid to produce the now-obligatory cliffhanger.

Keeley Hawes is a British actress best known for her role as Zoe Reynolds in the BBC One drama series Spooks. She has also appeared in a number of other television dramas, including Dennis Potter s Karaoke, Othello & Tipping the Velvet. Hawes has also appeared in films such as The Avengers & Complicity. She married cartoonist Spencer McCallum in December 2001, but they have since separated. They have a son, Myles. She has since been seeing her Spooks co-star Matthew MacFadyen & they are expecting their first child later in 2004. Page on the official Spooks site at BBC .co .uk, including an interview  .

Editors Choice: Tipping The Velvet, Spooks, Our Mutual Friend, View DVDology

Matthew Macfadyen is a British theatre & film actor, best known for his role as MI5 agent Tom Quinn in the BBC television drama series Spooks. After having studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts from 1992 to 1995, Macfadyen quickly became a well-known actor on the British stage, due primarily to his work with the stage company Cheek by Jowl, for whom he played Antonio in The Duchess of Malfi, Charles Surface in The School for Scandal & Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. His Benedick was particularly memorable, played as an officer-class buffoon with a moustache & a braying laugh. In 2005, he played to further great acclaim the part of Prince Hal in Henry IV, Parts One & Two at the Royal National Theatre, with Michael Gambon in the lead. Macfadyens major TV breakthrough came when he co-starred in a television adaptation of Emily Brontë s novel Wuthering Heights, screened on the ITV network in 1998. Further television drama work followed, including starring roles in the dramas Warriors & The Way We Live Now, both for the BBC. Posters Of Matthew Macfadyen

Editors Choice: Spooks, Pride And Prejudice, Maybe Baby, In My Fathers Den, View DVDology

Bharat Nalluri is a British television director, best known for his work with the independent production company Kudos Film & Television in the early-to-mid 2000s. For Kudos, he has directed episodes of Spooks, Life on Mars & Hustle — the latter of which he also helped to conceive — all for transmission on BBC One. He directed the first episodes of all three programmes, playing a major role in establishing the house style for each series. Salvation in 2000. He also served as second unit director on the films Resident Evil & Alien vs. Predator, on both occasions working with the director Paul W S Anderson. Bharat Nalluri at the Internet Movie Database. Posters Of The Crow

Editors Choice: Spooks, The Crow, Downtime, View DVDology

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