Episode 6 Discussion [rewatch]

[Tea Lady]

Watch and discuss.

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I really liked this episode even though it was hardly action packed. I think I liked it as we got to spend time with all the characters, apart from Harry that is, who just seemed to spend all his time in the meeting room looking exasperated!

I liked the inclusion of Mirander to mix things up a little although why she started doing her evaluations in the middle of night, I am not sure.

Zoe, Danny, and Ruth all acted like school children in this episodes with the gossiping, rumours etc and I loved that.

I was surprised that Buckingham Palace had so many staff working at 3am ! What dedication.

I loved Malcolm in this episode in the way he took the tea stained files in his stride and just limped off to the photocopier for 10hrs to sort the mess out without complaint. Also when Christine turned up he just froze and didnt know what to say.

Hated the way Christine treated the Brits in this episode. Do you think they really do that? I think Harry just thought, this is just for 24 hours, so let them have their little funny ways, and then they will be gone from us.

Tom is definitely getting some in this series. Leaving the Libyan file out to test Tom was a little pathetic though I thought.

Oh yes, also cant post without commenting on Harry in his Tux..."bom chicka wah wah" is all I can say.

[YourFutureMuse]

I thought this episode had lots of good funny moments Like the QE2 comments and Christine's comments about the Queen and lady in waiting lol. I like christine's character. Although I would like to see Harry stand up to the American's a bit more.

I liked the subplot of the psychologist, it was a good way to develop on the Danny and Zoe's relationship with eachother and Sam was also hilarious with her long list of complaints lol. I love how Tom dealt with the psychologist at the end haha go him It was also when Tom definitely started to slip though IMO like when he yelled after Zoe and Danny asked him about getting fired.

As for Vicky, she definitely didn't know what she was getting into with Christine, athough it was a hilarious way of getting revenge lol. Poor Sam having to go and retrieve all those cards

Thats all I can think of to say for now I will probs return in a bit

[Silktie]

There are a number of things in this episode that annoy me. First of all, the fact that the Americans traipse through the Grid as though the place belongs to them, and is then granted access to MI5's files to boot. No matter how "special" the relationship between countries, their Secret Services remain secret. No-one that is not working for MI5 will be allowed to walk through Thames House unescorted, let alone view their files. Also, they will never be allowed to order the British Air Force to shoot down someone, like they were about to do with the microlight.

Secondly, I find Christine Dale extremely irritating, and a lot of that is due to the fact that I find the acting terrible. That scene where she is supposedly threatening Vicky is painful to watch for me. To add to this, Tom is a real coward in this episode for not dealing with Vicky himself, but allowing the CIA to bully and intimidate her. I'm glad Harry reprimanded him for that. And to top it all off, Tom then immediately jumps into bed with Christine. Argh!

That said, there are things I really enjoy in this episode:
- The looks between Harry and Tom in that first briefing with the CIA where Christine begins to throw her weight around is really funny.
- The whole sub-plot with the tea spilt in the diplomatic crate is also hilarious, and allows Malcolm some fine moments.
- Danny and Zoe quibbling like twelve year old siblings makes for great entertainment. Also, the way the rumour about someone getting the sack is started and then grows out of all proportion is true to life, and how these things usually happen in an office environment. That part was well done in the episode.
- Loved Harry trying to warn Tom that Christine was behind him whilst Tom was bad-mouthing her. It's one of the funniest Harry moments in the whole show.
- Also loved the look between Harry and Ruth when she spots the psychologist coming for her.
- Oh, and Harry's little alliterative speech about her - calling her a "pointless personnel person". Hee!
- Sam's list of complaints when interviewed was great - the water-cooler is too warm and the pods open too slowly. Priceless.
- Loved the fact that Harry gets one over on the Americans re the Libyan issue. He played them beautifully.

[Nitrus]

Damn, knew there was something I needed to do today.. thanks Tea Lady .

I liked this episode, but not as much as the last. The best bit was the whole UK vs US / MI5 vs CIA thing. Loved all the little jibes from both sides. It clearly annoyed the team that the CIA were trying to take over everything and they got some of the CIA stereotypes spot on (FLOTUS, POTUS, LZ etc etc).

I loved the tea incident, only in Britain could someone in customs spill tea into a diplomatic crate.

[Tea Lady]

I agree with your points Silktie. The Americans would certainly not have the authorisation to order the shooting down of a plane on British soil. I doubt even MI5 could do that in reality.

Tom did seem to lose it a few times this episode and didnt help the situation when they all thought they were getting the sack. Harry needed to have a word with Tom. Even though Vicky was incredibly annoying, it was not a situation that should have been dealt with by a foreign agency. MI5 dealt with Ellies ex-partner the other week, why couldnt they do it with Vicky.

Tom's private life is getting very messy.

[Silktie]

(21-02-2010 03:22 PM)Tea Lady Wrote:  Oh yes, also cant post without commenting on Harry in his Tux..."bom chicka wah wah" is all I can say.

Seconded, he looked very distinguished. But awww, why did poor Malcolm and Ruth not get to dress up and go to the embassy party?

(21-02-2010 04:20 PM)Nitrus Wrote:  It clearly annoyed the team that the CIA were trying to take over everything and they got some of the CIA stereotypes spot on (FLOTUS, POTUS, LZ etc etc).

I loved the tea incident, only in Britain could someone in customs spill tea into a diplomatic crate.

Hee! Too true, very nice touch that. Agree with you on the many many abbreviations. It is typically American, isn't it?

(21-02-2010 04:46 PM)Tea Lady Wrote:  Even though Vicky was incredibly annoying, it was not a situation that should have been dealt with by a foreign agency. MI5 dealt with Ellies ex-partner the other week, why couldnt they do it with Vicky.

Tom's private life is getting very messy.

Exactly. This is the episode where I feel Tom's personal life became too big a storyline in the overall show. It tainted my view of Tom in the end.

[Nia M]

I really love the 'QE2' bit with Christine and Zoe

[Aria]

I agree with Tea Lady and Silktie that Tom and his personal life are becoming too prominent. I find it unbelievable after just managing to stop Vicky from destroying his career, Tom starts another relationship straightaway.

[lwhite53]

All in all, I found this ep wanting -- the whole set up seemed too forced and the threat didn't seem real (even though I imagine a foreign head of state visiting another country is probably a security nightmare). I just didn't buy into the plot at all! The only thing the ep really accomplished, imo, was the start of the Tom/Christine relationship.

That said, I loved Malcolm in this ep. The whole "tea in the diplomatic crate" scenario was riotous and Malcolm's understatement when he discovers the Libyan file, "Oh my!" is just genius. Ruth's starting the rumor that someone is "getting the sack"

Spoiler: show

will become interestingly ironic in the future when the office rumors are about her

but here she shows that she is not immune from the practice. I also loved Sam's scene with Miranda -- it's like she had kept a list of all the petty complaints she had and just whipped it out when given license to vent.

The treatment of MI5 (and the British, in general) by the CIA added some interesting tension. We've gotten hints thus far of how MI5 feels about Americans, but now we see the relationship in action and it's not pretty. I find it hard to believe that CIA personnel gained access to MI5 files or that they terrorized a British citizen (Dr. Vicky), but I'm thinking this was really more "state of mind" characterizations than anything real -- the Americans believing that they had the absolute right and authority to do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. Big Brother run amok in the person of Christine Dale.

Last things -- Ruth with yet another mention of a "dirty bomb" and Christine had one nice flat!

[Nia M]

Oh I'd forgotten that this is the episode with Miranda - LOVE IT!!