September 11, 2011

Critic Ian Wylie Provides Closure for Lucas North Character + History Buff Trivia *ahem* for MsG:) + Thx to richardarmitageonline for Best Looking Bloke Report(see link) + Symbolic Gems





[Thanks to richarcharmitageonline website for the following heads up]

Spoiler Alert..Although there's really nothing shocking in the details..
EXCERPT from Ian Wylie's blog post on the final series of Spooks..he was provided by Peter Firth with writers plans for Lucas North's demise, and the reason the final scene was altered.

"Secrets from Harry’s past emerge in the opening episode which begins a couple of months after we last saw him on top of a skyscraper, with Lucas North (Richard Armitage) having jumped to his death.

Some fans hoped Lucas might have somehow lived, as his leap was off screen.[Ricrar note: ahhh, it's sweet that they noticed:] But brief added re-cap footage to episode one and a conversation between Harry and Ruth make clear he won’t be coming back.

“The last series stands out for me, series nine, as being the best we’ve done,” insists Peter. “Although it didn’t quite work, the end of it, with Lucas North’s departure. We ran out of money basically.

“We were in the last couple of days of shooting and what we planned for him, we couldn’t film. It was much more spectacular – involving the very tall skyscraper and a helicopter. But we couldn’t afford the helicopter.

“Lucas was always going to die. It was just how he was going to die. There was a version where Harry shot him on top of the skyscraper. And that involved a long falling man picture.”

The backdrop to the farewell series is Britain’s attempt to cultivate a “special relationship” with Russia, rather than America.[Ricrar: Good luck with that..watch your back at all times:] True Blood star Lara Pulver joins the cast as Erin Watts, who has taken temporary charge in Harry’s absence. While Geoffrey Streatfeild as Calum Reed is another new arrival.

Action man Dimitri (Max Brown) and Tariq (Shazad Latif) are still there but Beth Bailey has left following actress Sophia Myles decision to live in the USA with her American partner."
http://lifeofwylie.com/2011/09/13/spooks-this-is-the-end/



RA NEWS:


             

Today, the soon to be new bride in our family was selecting her 'something old' to wear on her wedding day.  She chose the lovely ruby ring her great aunt had given her when she was only about 17 yrs old.  The aunt was given the ring by her parents upon a school graduation.  As her 'something blue' our lovely niece will wear a birthstone ring of mine.  One of her bridesmaids - another family member - will wear a beautiful amethyst ring that belonged to her grandmother.  All this focus on the few pieces of family jewelry passed from former generations to the present, prompted my search for similar items on the internet.   Let me make that last thought clearer - curiosity prompted me to hunt for an approximate value of the aforementioned family treasures.


Birthstone and anniversary information can be found on following website(see below link). See also the gorgeous peridot/diamond necklace. That green jewel is the birthstone for those born under the zodiac’s Leo..hmmm, and who might that be;)

http://www.friarhouse.com/
p.s. the solitaire diamond is the same type stone & setting as my betrothal ring (although mine is not an antique..however, it's every bit as irreplaceable in my heart)  About one yr ago, after attending another family wedding, my ring was missing and my heart broken. For months I thought my symbolically preciousss:) ring was gone forever, when one day I reached into the outside pocket of a travel bag and Voila! My preciousss (The Hobbit readers get it:) engagement ring was again in my hand. Will guard it with my life from now on. The memory of dh and I choosing it together is even more precious to me)



Anyone who has been reading this blog for more than a few days, probably realizes I'm somewhat of a history buff and have been commenting for quite awhile on the excellent series TheTudors.
With that in mind, those who have also read the most recent comments in the post below, will get the connection between the following pic and one of the Autumn images below. 
Someone I follow on twitter recently made a trip to The Tower of London and snapped many pix.  Here's the relevant one to comments below, which is accompanied by her remarks about HenryVIII's armor...
Quote:
"And no surprises here...but I couldn't stop looking at the crotch! Lol! Henry VIII's armour" :)))

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Great photos by the way! I have had that happen to me as well, finding something in my travel bag that I thought was gone forever. We should probably think of that first next time;) Glad you found your Preciouss!

Ricrar said...

Hi Mommy...that didn't sound right:)..maybe 'LaDy' would be more appropriate.

Re checking our luggage when something is missing - I thought I'd gone over all of it with a fine tooth comb searching for my preciousss:) but apparently had skipped the outside pocket of one of those compartmentalized bags designed to conveniently hang in the bathroom holding all personal items.

I was resigned that the ring was lost, and was debating whether I wanted to mention it to hubby, because I knew he'd immediately replace it - to tell you the truth I wear only a few pieces of jewelry that have been passed down from past generations. If he insisted the original was going to be replaced(and he would), I'd decided I'd much prefer a sapphire or emerald rather than a diamond. Despite the much
ballyhooed "diamonds are a girls best friend"..not this gal:)
I'm actually not very fond of that stone. Mine has more sentimental value for me than anything else.

Anyway, I had not yet mentioned the loss to dh when it magically reappeared. It was similar to the strong surge of serendipty I'd felt when our daughter was born, and I realized her older brother now had a little sister to share the excitement of Christmas morning,etc.

MsG said...

Wow yes that armour is impressive! No wonder he had 6 wives! ;)

MsG said...

And can I just say, on a serious note, re.9/11. What a fantastic memorial garden has been constructed on that scar of the twin towers...the waterfalls on the footprints of the buildings are just magnificent, a fitting tribute, and hopefully a place of peace in a busy city, for those families that have lost loved ones. You sure know how to honour your dead.
Better than our Diana memorial :S

Ricrar said...

MsG, your lovely description of the memorial makes it sound like a fitting tribute to the victims. I've not seen it myself..avoid trips to NYC as much as possible. It's not usually worth contending with the extremly heavy traffic.

Now, if Richard were to appear in a broadway play, that could indeed provide the necessary motivation to get me there:)

Sharp right turn to another topic - Isn't it great to finally have closure on Lucas North?

It was so sweet to read the creators of Spooks were aware some viewers never felt certain Lucas had indeed jumped from that building. They took pains to make it clear in the beginning of S10.

Amazing how today's news made it feel like closure for even a fictitious character.

Sue said...

RiCrAr,

I watched the 9/11 Memorial services for both NY and the one at the American Embassy in London, which was attended by Prince Charles and the PM etc. They were both very moving. I especially liked the memorial garden in Ground Zero.

On a lighter note I was interested to read the reasons behind the short but sweet exit of our dear Lucus (or whoever he was) from Spooks 9. So they run out of money, typical cheapskates!

So now I know there will be no chance of a further glimpse of LN in Spooks 10. My own fault for reading spoilers, can't resist.

There's a new series starting on the BBC over here in England tonight. It's called "Body Farm", which is about forensic science. It's a type of spin off from a series that ended over here last year called "Waking the Dead". Keith Allen of the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham fame will be playing a major part in it. It looks good. I like these kind of shows for some reason, more the puzzling of who did what to who and when type of thing than the grisly bits. Watch out for it over there I predict that it's going to be a hit.

Musa said...

About Lucas North (Spoilers)

I don't think the writers were being sweet to us by providing closure to Lucas, I think they were doing it in self defense! Peter Firth should be happy one of the endings planned did not come about :) It doesn't change my opinion of what the writers did to the character of Lucas North, for me it's not the fact that he "ended", since other lead characters in Spooks have, but the way they shredded the heroic character they had established in Season 7 and 8. After all, Ros, who was not the most loyal of MI-5 operatives during her time on the Grid, was a hero at the end, as was Adam. Why couldn't they do the same for Lucas.

Maybe it was an interesting excersize for the writers and the actors for Lucas to really be John Bateman, but at least for me, not just as a fan of RA's, but as a longtime fan of Spooks, I really feel it was a bit of a betrayal. Even if they had made LN a double agent for the Russians, that was certainly a more plausible story than the one they presented us with.

Ricrar said...

Well,(a deep subject:) MsG & Sue, you've both seen more of the memorial garden at ground zero than I have. I deliberately did not watch any of the 9/11 observances because deep inside I can't shake the feeling it only gives the insane jihadists satisfaction each time almost every moment of that day is replayed. I expressed the same sentiment to hubby and he replied "we lived through it and would rather not be reminded yet again, but it's important to keep the memory alive so the next generation is made aware of the innocent lives deliberately snuffed out, simply because extremeists didn't agree with their victims lifestyle."

Sue, would it have been any easier to see Lucas die in a fiery helicopter crash than walking to the edge of that roof--I'm rather happy we didn't have to watch him take that lonnnng fall...splat!

Yes, Musa, I agree it was ashame the writers totally destroyed the hero they had created in S7&8. Even more so when we consider the world needs to keep all the heroes possible.

It seems when Richard told them to do whatever they pleased with his character, they just couldn't resist taking him to a bitter, ugly end. Remember how he fought to make sure Guy of Gisborne was given a few threads of redemption in RH3. LN's end was the exact opposite - obviously we'll never truly believe that luscious Lucas would've ended as written - It was all a bad dream:)

Sue said...

RiCrAr,

I understand your feelings about the 9/11 memorial service. My parents both lived through the 2nd World War and neither of them marked the 11th of November,(Armistice Day) when England wears red poppies. My dad was in the RAF and fought in the middle east and mum worked in a factory that made sten guns. It was time of good times and sadness and something they would rather forget (or at least try to).

As for Lucas North's demise, actually the fact that one minute he was there on the roof with Harry and the next he was gone made it appear all the more dramatic in a way, certainly different to the normal exits of MI5 spies. As for the storyline the scriptwriters really made a pig's ear of it, not good at all. They should have got some of RA's fans to write his ending.

MsG said...

Re.9/11
I too agree with both Sue and you Ricrar, that the constant coverage of the actual incident does kind of smack of a victory for the fanatics and what a magnificent success the whole thing was.
Which we don't wish to encourage.
But to cover the opening of the memorial garden on the news, 10 years on, I feel was a positive step forward. And a construction to be proud of.

I often feel that much of our coverage of current affairs encourages both copycat incidents and the fanatical narcissists of the world to think "I could do that!"
But sadly, media has it's downsides as well as it's ups! (RA no less....and blogs for us to have a good ol' natter on)