3.4 DVD Commentary

[lwhite53]

[Thanks to Silktie, discovered there are s3 dvd commentaries -- was just looking in the wrong place! I'll go back and check previous s3 eps anon.]

Info from 3.4 dvd commentary:
-3.3 and 3.4 important eps re intro of Adam and Fiona.
-Olga S: "Fiona really smarmy in first moments" -- didn't really know who the character was yet. Hadn't watched spooks before taking job and didn't know the show. Had just arrived from NYC -- had another job in NY that was still doing.
-Reputation of show helped to get some really great guest actors.
-Big reveal about Catherine being Harry's daughter -- no one on the team knows anything about Harry's past. Writers didn't know Harry had a daughter until they wrote this ep.
-London not just a backdrop or a location -- the city is another character in the series. In each ep, try to get symbolic London locations as throwaways in the background, especially the Thames.
-Meeting room scenes -- challenge for actors, given how many they've shot, is to keep the freshness, tension and excitement going each time. Pace is everything in meeting room scenes and Nicola Walker carries the brunt of getting the info across (info moves the story on). NW's brilliance as an actor -- could be reading "gobbeldygook" and would make sense of it. Scenes shot with 2 cameras to get a lot of footage -- helps in editing. Shooting ratio of 20 to 1 (shot footage to used footage).
-Ep looks at what "peace" means to the different sides of the Arab/Israeli issue.
-People's reactions to Harry's moods -- not always about the dialogue but the reactions and what's going on underneath and inside the characters.
-Harry looking at photos of Catherine -- the emotional is important; these are real human beings behind the jobs.
-Domestic scene with Zoe and Will (proposal) -- slows down the action and gives more info about the characters. Actors were worried about the scene because it was so intimate.
-Whole of ep is about internal emotions -- not a big external story.
-After intercept of Catherine's phone call to Swift -- rest of ep is purely personal for Harry and now purely personal for rest of team, too
-- all treading on egg shells.
-Catherine meeting Swift -- classic spooks sequence -- using reflections, mirrors, obs van, etc.
-Danny asking Catherine on a date -- very delicate and subtle acting by David.
-Tom's leaving gave Danny's character much more room to develop and David room to grow into the role.
-What looks like straight emotional scene (Zoe, Will, Will's brother) has additional purpose. Will's brother finding photo -- set up for, and has consequences for, later ep.
-Danny in underwear on phone with Ruth -- the "Calvin Klein" shot.
-Future relationship between Harry and Adam -- chemistry begins in this ep. They think alike about how op should progress - relationship comes to fruition in s4.
-Olga S: Fiona is an "unreal" woman. Plot difficult to follow. Most awkward acting experience of her life -- had to improvise flirting with Corin Redgrave -- would never repeat out loud what she was saying to him. He was so professional about the whole thing and she was just sort of giggly and nervous. Scene also establishes relationship between Adam and Fiona. Director of 2nd unit made Olga and Corin walk endlessly around the hotel corridors kissing and then didn't use footage.
-Harry/Catherine scene in park -- pouring rain. Everytime there was a slight break in the rain, they jumped into filming -- shot the whole scene that way.
-Harry emotionally exposed in the park scene -- very unusual for the character. There was a debate about whether H would cry in this situation -- decided he would. Harry is a much loved character because he has a huge heart hidden inside.
-Ashworth's boyfriend -- minor character until very end. Throughout ep, kept trying to re-establish character in the background but not call attantion to him. Scene at end reinforces both side of the Arab/Israeli issue again -- very human consequences and emotional scars on both sides.
-British security services (Zoe) -- no guns -- always at a disadvantage.
-Costume issue -- soles of RPJ's shoes on desk in Swift's office -- look like they've never been worn.
-Subtext at end (flowers for Zoe) -- how Danny feels about Zoe and Will -- he's torn about what to do about photos.
-Ep about relationships: Zoe and Danny, Zoe and Will, Danny and Catherine, Catherine and Harry, Adam and Fiona -- very unusual for spooks. Can't do this every ep but one or two per series is ok.
-Final shot of Harry -- alone on grid -- loneliness of being a spy.