Just accessed twitter for first time today and immediately noticed...
>@the_squeee: "dashing hero LN (RA, the current Spooks action man with about as much inner depth as the toy" http://is.gd/fmV9p #Spooks #RichardArmitage
19 minutes ago via TwitterBar<Started to smile, snigger, giggle within the first couple paragraphs and thought "amusing writing style..any RA follower would enjoy and relate..hope it doesn't contain any land mines like the last one".[UPDATE: it does contain one major opinion that I'd definitely beg to differ with (Lucas North lacks depth??? obviously she needs to observe him in deep cover;)..perhaps she's referring to Twitter-Lucas - but considering the accompanying laughs...it's still worth the read...]
>Published Date: 22 September 2010 - By Andrea Mullaney - Spooks, BBC 1
WELL, he had to notice eventually. After all Harry, the top spymaster of Spooks, has been losing cast members, er, agents for eight full series now at a rate of attrition only slightly under that of RAF pilots in 1940. With only a few going into exile, the vast majority have been blown up, shot, tortured, chip- fat fried and otherwise killed in action.
Sooner or later he had to wonder if saving the country from terrorists on a weekly basis, with a staff of only four people at any given time (and this is before the Government's cutbacks), was really worth it.
After all, what thanks do they get? "Ros gave everything for this country," he mused at the sparsely-attended funeral for the latest lost Spook, Hermione Norris' Ros Myers who expired heroically in the last series' finale and has been waiting to be buried ever since. "And just six people came to say goodbye to her." That's certainly one way of looking at it, Harry, as a reflection on how disposable his Spooks have become to an ungrateful nation.
But the other is remembering what an utter pain in the arse Ros Myers was, constantly sneering at everyone as if a bad smell lingered under her nose.
Frankly, heroine or not, I'm amazed as many as six turned up: perhaps, as Sam Goldwyn said about the funeral of Louis B Mayer, they wanted to make sure she was really dead. After all, she had already gone through a fake funeral, when having to go into hiding in a previous series – perhaps most of her acquaintance didn't realise this time was for real?
The point, anyway, was for the usually stalwart Harry to have a crisis of faith on realising that at the rate he's going through employees, he'll be able to retire without ever having to write anyone a reference, though at least fluctuations in the pension fund will never be a problem. As played by Peter Firth, Harry Pearce has become the linchpin of the series, finding a hundred different ways to grimace in resolution or anger. As with many aspects of Spooks, including, sometimes, its writers, Firth is actually a lot better than he needs to be and makes what can at times seem a ridiculous series, into something that grips you even as you're slightly mocking it.
Ros's death gave the team a focus for revenge as they uncovered yet another convoluted Al Qaeda plot: this time, a Guy Fawkes tribute aimed at blowing up the Houses of Parliament. But, having become as boringly predictable opponents for the Spooks as the Borg became in later series of Star Trek, they weren't just Al Qaeda, they were Somali pirates as well: two baddies for the price of one!
It made for an exciting sequence as dashing hero Lucas North (Richard Armitage, the current Spooks action man with about as much inner depth as the toy) fought them aboard a ship with only the aid of a prostitute.
But the implausibly-cast Sophia Myles was not just any old prostitute, she was an undercover mercenary who turned out to know Harry of old and fancied becoming the latest recruit to his stable of short-lived spies – start taking bets on her eventual means of demise now. I'm going for death by exploding horse while saving the Queen at Ascot from Al Qaeda terrorists who are also animal rights activists.
Updated: 21 September 2010 Source: The Scotsman, Edinburgh<
http://news.scotsman.com/features/TV-review-Spooks.6541358.jp
****
Spooks, BBC One, review - Catherine Gee reviews the return of Spooks, BBC One's all-action spy drama starring Richard Armitage and Sophia Myles.
Published: 6:40PM BST 20 Sep 2010
It was business as usual in the world of MI5. While we sat on our sofas, nursing cups of tea, anti-terrorism boss Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) was making a marriage proposal, murdering a politician, handing in his resignation and suffering from an existential crisis – all before the opening credits.
His weary “when will it stop?” mutterings were prompted by the swift tying up of last season’s cliff-hanger – as we saw frosty Agent Ros Myers’s (Hermione Norris) death-by-explosion at the hands of the mysterious “Nightingale” terrorists. The opening scene of the ninth series of Spooks (BBC One) was Myers’s sparsely attended funeral; yet another favourite character cast aside by the long-running drama’s ruthless writers.
Of course, this being Spooks, the remaining agents were given little time to grieve as Lucas North (Richard Armitage) was dispatched on a mission to board a ship in Tangier and assassinate an al-Qaeda terrorist.
As the plot twisted its way round a potential attack on Southampton, we were introduced to this season’s slew of new, and remarkably good-looking characters. Just as Rupert Penry-Jones was almost instantly replaced by the gruffer, less-refined North, Hermione Norris’s refreshingly stern Ros Myers has been replaced by the busty, smouldering Sophia Myles as Beth Bailey – a former independent contractor hankering for a job at MI5.
Like North, her cocky, self-assured demeanour screamed “mole” and we were merrily invited to distrust her from the start. Weary Harry Pearce, however, is clearly passed being suspicious of pretty ladies and handed her a contract without question – once he’d inevitably changed his mind about resigning, of course.
We were also introduced to new recruit Dimitri (Max Brown) who proved himself handy with the controls of a ship, fighting with his bare hands and doing that actorly thing of emoting frustration by tensing his jaw. The new Home Secretary (the last one exploded with Ros Myers) is now Simon Russell Beale and, in a welcoming development, old-timer Agent Ruth Evershed (Nicola Walker), who made a reappearance last series, seems to be permanently back “on the grid”.
Then, in the dying minutes we were introduced to Iain Glen as a mysterious stroke victim who dramatically provided the latest character twist by telling us that Lucas North (just as we were finally beginning to trust him) is not who we think.
It’s all fairly daft (well, as far as we know – MI5 may actually be dealing with these kinds of preposterous events every day), but happily Spooks remains as tight, gripping and exceptionally watchable as it was in series one.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/8014390/Spooks-BBC-One-review.html
7 comments:
I think the 'gruffer, less-refined North' comment is about his first appeareance on screen, RA looked rightly dishelved, gruff, in need of food and standing besides RPJ it made it more noticeable.
*shakes heads thinking any woman with blood running through her veins could think Mr. Armitage as less-refined'*
OML :)
Exactly, OML...have you noticed a tiny portion of the female population has a problem actually uttering the words "that man is hot, sexy, yummmm!"
Wouldn't the writer automatically take into consideration LN was returning after 8yrs in prison in Spooks7, ep 1? Did she expect him to return wearing a designer suit and Gucci loafers?:)
Then there's the majority of females, who know a male who combines a sharp intellect, charming ways, superb acting abilities, eloquence in conversation, appreciation for both the artistic and practical side of life... AND has above average physical attributes equals Smokin' HOT---which in no way translates to unrefined; instead it's the opposite IMO. I know she's not referring to the actor but rather to the character, and keeping that in mind, her assessment of Lucas North as gruffer is totally inaccurate. She must've mistaken that wibbly feeling while watching him as a negative reaction rather than positive;)
RicRrAr, that 's a very eloquent desciption of our favourite actor, covering all aspects of his acting ability and his general loveliness as a person. I think the people who denigrate Richard dismiss his acting talent because they automatically equate physical beauty with shallowness. They're so suspicious/envious that they can't see past it. It's a problem we beautiful people encounter all the time, lol! (Now I've got your attention. You're probably wondering just how gorgeous I am. I'm a later developer like Richard, skinny with glasses until I blossomed in late adolescence!Still blossoming now, but lately more outwards as tighter clothing will testify!)
Yes, enrich, I agree w/your assessment of those who seem to take kneejerk potshots at Richard, evidently without really knowing much about him. As you say, they seem to feel people who were blessed w/good looks must lack depth. Admittedly, the majority of eye pleasing entertainers eventually do fit the shallow stereotype--too often the undeniable negative effect of celebrity. So far, Richard seems to be personally fighting the spotlight demons.
In fact, the topic blends into a recent interview comment in the Daily Mail. The writer said "If Richard sometimes displays a slight diffidence when discussing his job, that's because he retains what he terms 'a certain ambivalence' about acting, thanks to an upbringing in no-nonsense Leicestershire..he still gives the impression of someone as much bemused as enthused by his trade."
Hope he can continue the down-to-earth attitude towards celebrity. There are very few entertainers who have managed to do so.
The few that have are precious gems indeed. Tom Hanks comes to mind - he keeps his nose to the acting grindstone, rarely utters a political opinion(thank you sir) and consistently maintains a sweet self-deprecating sense of humor - despite the fact he's been #1 at boxoffices for at least a decade.
Tight clothes, eh, enrich;) My jeans as well seem to have a snugger fit since falling under the spell of a certain actor. Noticed many of his fans become more diet & exercise conscious once smitten. Could they be preparing for the day when an RA clone might walk into their lives? hehe Wise idea to follow the Boy Scouts' motto(should be the Girls' as well) - "Always be Prepared!!" ;)
Yes, enrich, I agree w/your assessment of those who seem to take kneejerk potshots at Richard, evidently without really knowing much about him. As you say, they seem to feel people who were blessed w/good looks must lack depth. Admittedly, the majority of eye pleasing entertainers eventually do fit the shallow stereotype--too often the undeniable negative effect of celebrity. So far, Richard seems to be personally fighting the spotlight demons.
In fact, the topic blends into a recent interview comment in the Daily Mail. The writer said "If Richard sometimes displays a slight diffidence when discussing his job, that's because he retains what he terms 'a certain ambivalence' about acting, thanks to an upbringing in no-nonsense Leicestershire..he still gives the impression of someone as much bemused as enthused by his trade."
Hope he can continue the down-to-earth attitude towards celebrity. There are very few entertainers who have managed to do so.
The few that have are precious gems indeed. Tom Hanks comes to mind - he keeps his nose to the acting grindstone, rarely utters a political opinion(thank you sir) and consistently maintains a sweet self-deprecating sense of humor - despite the fact he's been #1 at boxoffices for at least a decade.
Tight clothes, eh, enrich;) My jeans as well seem to have a snugger fit since falling under the spell of a certain actor. Noticed many of his fans become more diet & exercise conscious once smitten. Could they be preparing for the day when an RA clone might walk into their lives? hehe Wise idea to follow the Boy Scouts' motto(should be the Girls' as well) - "Always be Prepared!!" ;)
LOL..the blogger gremlins must be seeing double today;)
p.s. Enrich,
Forgot to thank you for the kind words...merci beaucoup:)
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