Be Excellent To Each Other

Starts tonight.

I love a bit of Spooks, me. Sure the plots are ludicrous these days, but it's quality drama.

Judging by the unbelievably predictable way in which cast members are replaced in that series, I take it Adam's for the chop? (The trailers have a new, white, male lead, which doesn't bode well for Rupert Penry-Jones.)

Looking at the web site, the bloke who played Guy of Gisborne in (obviously) Robin Hood, is in this series.

Enjoyed the first 2 series of Spooks, mainly because of Matthew Macfadyen who brought a real intensity to his role, and gave the show a gritty feel as a result.

As soon as he left I stopped watching.

Have I been missing out on later series ? Are they as good as the first 2 series ?

I always thought Matthew Macfadyen was akin to a large plank of wood, and was the worst actor in the series. Personally, I think Spooks has—for its entire run—been much of a muchness: fun silliness spy jakes masquerading as 'serious' drama. It's pretty formulaic, though, and I think I've been surprised very few times (Helen Flynn's 'incident' excepted, obv.), and the way characters are replaced is absurd. "Oh, here's a new ethnic character!" (Cue: dead existing ethnic character.) "Oh, here's a new prominent female!" (Cue: dead/written out existing prominent female character.)

Tuned in for the last 20 minutes or so and look - CG had it completely right, such that an attempt at tension as he drove the bomb away was removed by the ghost of CG floating round my head, muttering "unbelievably predictable". Still, I'll probably tune in when I'm around for the rest of the series.