The very first episode of Spooks..

Go!

And so it begins...

I thought it was a very solid and entertaining episode to kick off Spooks. They succeeded in establishing the main traits of our beloved characters very quickly:
Tom as the very efficient spy but already troubled by the double-life his profession is forcing him to lead;
Danny as the flashy young officer having trouble with his finances, and very skilled in surveillance;
Zoe as the chameleon who can play any role needed from her;
Harry as the somewhat mysterious but hard-nosed leader, who already in the first episode showed a willingness to buck the rules to achieve his objectives. Oh, and who already had some very funny one-liners.

They also established right off the bat that this wouldn't be a show where right and wrong would be portrayed clearly, but where everything had shades of grey. One could identify with the baddies' objectives, though not their methods, and Tom double-crossing Mary Kane at the end showed that our heroes would never be pure and white in their goodness.

Great start all in all!

A gripping first episode. It would certainly make you tune in next week for more, especially as it started with a car being blown up which you dont really get with the usual BBC drama. Loved the way they lost the cat and then having to get the hairdryer out. A great combination of serious drama and comedy. I also liked the way they started the series with this storyline and not a middle east terrorist related one which must have been a temptation at this particular time. It made it look like a serious programme with wider ideas for both plot and character development.

As for the characters I liked Tessa. I got the impression that she doesnt really like anyone and they are all an annoyance to her. I feel she thinks she should be higher up the ladder by now rather than just watching ports. Loved her face when she was handed the extradition warrant back. Priceless.

Not sure about the Harry character though. Not sure he has many miles in him.

Yes, it was a great start for the show, I was bought in the very fist minutes. I enjoyed the following (this alpha one thing), and when they bugged the house, the lost cat was very amusing

They explained us simply how spies work, and they showed us their relationships, Zoe and Danny talk about their insecurities, Tom and Helen about having a relationship...

As for Harry, at first he was meant to be a secondary character so, we couldn't see much of him, may be some hints...

I hated Massie for the very beginning

I also liked the scene between Tom and Mary Kane, the moral issue, the shades of grey (as Silktie said), they tell us what they're going to deal with, not the normal goodie-baddie plot.

To sum up, it was a good introduction to the show

Oh thank goodness I wasn't the only one who hated that kid! It was creepy the way she was always sneaking up on people, and coming into rooms while Tom was still dressing.

Ellie wasn't too bad, though. I thought her reactions to Tom blowing hot and cold and disappearing at all hours was quite believable.

I thought Zoe's quote "Have you ever made anyone pregnant?" was very odd...

(10-01-2010 01:13 PM)Nitrus Wrote:  I thought Zoe's quote "Have you ever made anyone pregnant?" was very odd...

Yes it didnt seem to fit I agree. As if you would admit to it in the middle of the office. I dont know if you watched any of the deleted scenes Nitrus but there is one between Zoe and Danny on the roof where he admits that he did, at college.

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(10-01-2010 01:07 PM)Beatriz Wrote:  I hated Massie for the very beginning

Yes I didnt like her either. If my kid called someone a liar like that I would discipline them not laugh.

Not got that far yet! lol.

Music is very good in this episode.. very mysterious and ambient.

I forgot how much "Jed" featured in this episode.. I wonder why he was phased out?

I got the impression that Danny was quite new to the grid in the first episode, as there were references to him being too inexperienced to run the surveillance during the last sequence, and him being concerned that he got his boss out of bed for no reason at the beginning. So maybe the question about knocking girls up was Zoe's way to get more personal information on Danny. It is a very personal questoin to ask someone, though, I agree.

Yes it was possibly Zoe's way of trying to get closer to Danny in a funny way. Also Danny made a reference as to why he thought he got the job which I took to be because of his skin colour. I think Zoe felt a bit sorry for him and wanted to bring him in from the cold.