Spooks is certainly one of the best shows ever made for TV. One of the reasons is the basic principle that nothing is clear cut black and white but that every single character really is very ambivalent. So on the one hand there are "heroes" (otherwise it would be boring) but on the other hand the role of the security services is not glorified. That intelligent outlook makes is good watching. Apart from that the story lines are on the one hand believable (I wouldn't go as far as to say realistic as the show keeps the number of people involved in any given case to an unrealistically low number and the cases happen one after the other) but also original. The standard of writing is very high and the authors stay clear of spy story stereotypes. There really are no flat characters in this show which makes it really delightful and no character is safe which adds to the suspense. In season three basically all three main characters which did carry the show over a number of years disappear. It is done again in a believable way and the three new characters give the show a new (although not necessarily better or worse) dimension by their MI 6 past in the middle east and the addition of a husband/ wife team. And again, the Thin Man stereotype is avoided. Personally I preferred the McFadyen character because he was less of a stereotype (essentially he was really uncool) as Penry-Jones's who acts against his posterboy image. He is a great actor but his looks really are in the way of being taken seriously. But you can't blame him for that. Generally speaking I find it amazing that they manage to tell an exciting, multi layered and ultimately satisfying story in the 60 minutes format. Spooks is also one of the few TV shows that's visually innovative.
Review of MI-5
