How did you feel about Season 9?

[Silktie]

I enjoyed it much more than I did season 8 which, for some reason, failed to truly draw me in emotionally. That said, I think the through story of Lucas' deconstruction was unearned by the writers. They went for shock and drama over believability, and while it allowed the actors to give fantastic performances, it left me feeling dissatisfied at the end of it all. The Lucas storyline lacked the subtlety and seamless integration into the overall theme of Spooks that Connie's betrayal in season 7 had, and for that I rate season 9 as weaker than season 7.

There are things which I absolutely loved about this season though:
- The development of Ruth as a character in her own right
- The insight into Harry and Ruth's relationship, or non-relationship, and their motivations.
- The frailty of Harry as a leader, which rang very true after everything he's been through.
- The new HS, and his interactions with Harry - more of that in season 10, please!

[kieran]

Didn`t really get into it to be honest,i read that there were new writers and it showed,i like beth and dimitry but the new character in the last episode gave it the air of a lame detective drama,the phrase "crime of passion" has already been used by said character,really hope they use their imagination more for series 10 and don`t go down that road.

The last season i really enjoyed was series 7,i think that was the best one ever,series 9 however was far from it.

[nothingisasitseems]

I actually enjoyed the individual episodes to a great degree but somehow the totality was lacking.

I think the new writers had some difficulty capturing the essence of the team and in the end while I admire RA, it is not the sole reason I watch and there was too much time spent on the one character.

After the way Lucas' character had been built up it was just too much the way they tore him apart and it would seem that the general public did not warm to the overall theme.

I was one of a minority who actually enjoyed S8 - I think it suffered because it had to follow the fantastic S7. I thought the show had a shelf-life of 8 Seasons so to get both a ninth and tenth is a real bonus. Perfectionists might not agree but I'd rather have any Spooks than none.

[loladom]

(09-11-2010 05:10 AM)NightOwl Wrote:  Harry, who has always been willing and able to sacrifice the life and happiness of the individual for the greater good, finally has to face the fact that this time the individual is someone he loves, and it's his happiness at stake. Wasn't it lucky that Albany was a failure and Harry knew it? No really tough decision for Harry to make. No need for the writers to address the selfishness and hypocrisy of Harry's action.The show does have amazing actors, and I'm glad I've gotten to know them. However, good acting isn't enough.

Not ready for all my thoughts yet, but I want to pick up on this point. IMO the writers have addressed this theme in the form of Ruth's reaction. She was angry with Harry for doing it and judged his decision as wrong. She herself questioned how her life was worth more than others he has sacrificed for the many. He lost her (potentially for good) at that moment and her opinion matters most to Harry. In doing this, the writers also allowed the viewers to understand why she didn't try to stop him from going to his probable death after saving her life. Neither did the writers allow Harry to tell Ruth he knew he file was fake. As usual, Ruth provided the moral compass and raised the questions viewers should be asking about Harry's decisions.

Plus, they have laid the foundations of exploring this very subject with the HS call and inevitable investigation. Harry's conscience must then be opened up.

Still reeling, and still love it and no matter what criticisms are raised, this show hooks people and causes reactions. And whole heartedly agree about the actors.

[HellsBells]

What I don't understand is that the Lucas character already had a somewhat dubious history - what exactly did happen in that Russian prison? Surely this would have made a more fitting backdrop to his betrayal than some half-baked idea of something that happened 15 years ago.
Okay I'm still angry that all the other main characters from other series got to go out as heroes but Lucas was completely disgraced.

[Katja]

I'm sure I'll be thinking this one over for a while.

Right now my reaction is decidedly mixed. It feels a lot like an alternate-universe sort of comic or maybe fanfic with a "but let's pretend ___ and ___ were actually ___ and ___" construct.

It was hauntingly beautiful and tragic in its own right, in the acting, in the filming, in many memorable lines.

The thing is it just didn't work with the prior seasons. To really enjoy it, it took a sort of "let's pretend instead of Lucas being... let's imagine he's really..." understanding.

I also got the feeling the writer(s) hit on this John thing early on and fell far too much in love with themselves over it. As was mentioned in many other posts above and on other threads, it was unnecessary, silly and didn't really work that well--it was probably helpful in working out some of the ideas, but after it ran its courses in the brainstorming stage, it really should have been dumped. I felt like whoever thought it up was too married to it to see its failings.

(and on a snarky sort of note, I see no reason at all why Lucas couldn't be actually alive and show up in a few seasons...once you get to the point where a major character known for loyalty and dedication and self sacrifice has actually been hidden Killer John all along, I don't think a scream and a car alarm can really be so very restricting )

[EagleEye]

It is interesting to read so many positive and negative views of S9. I agree a little with both sides.

We had some very convoluted storylines, it felt to me that we needed two or three more episodes to swell the story arcs out in this series.

Was it miserable and unbelievable - I would say definitely NOT, I certainly felt this was actually a step up from S8.

I felt that Beth Bailey is a good, solid character introduction to the team; alas it was a shame that her character didn't get a chance to shine through this series, let us see what S10 brings. Dimitri Levendis has promise and are we going to see Alec White taking up the reigns of Lucas/Adam/Tom??? I think that Vincent Regan can bring a lot to that character and this would be an interesting element providing that the writers can toughen him up!

It would be devastating to see Harry Pearce bow out, but I speculate that S10 will sadly be the final series and I surmise that we will see Harry at the helm through this next series and culminate either with the retirement of Harry and either the marriage of Harry and Ruth; or perhaps more in Spooks fashion, the demise of one of these characters, leaving the other a hollow-shell!

I felt that a character a strong as Lucas North and a performance as compelling as the one Richard Armitage brought to the screen deserved a more powerful exit. Despite some opinions, I rather liked the element of the "damaged" past which turned John Bateman into Lucas North. I liked the interesting notion of a life so wound tight in a web of lies, coupled with the deeply compartmentalized true character (which is revealed to Lucas/John by Vaughn Edwards), that Lucas was almost schizophrenic and became more and more fractured through the series.

What I strongly feel is that this element of the storyline simply did not have enough time to work through. I felt the finale did become a little absurd in places where there were too many loose ends to tie up that it lost itself; the actual suicide of Lucas North itself became simply lost as the writers attempted desperately to cram a quart into a pint pot!

I liked the notion of the Maya Lahan character being part of the catalyst that fractured Lucas' identity, although I agree that the character or perhaps the performance by Laila Rouass was lacking any outward sign of passion or emotion and that caused the entire element of the sub-plot to become rather diluted.

Overall, I enjoyed it and I am thrilled that BBC have commissioned series 10 and I hope that it is well written and neatly and concisely concludes this fantastic series. This is by far and above one of the very best pieces of television to come out of the UK.

[Kazters]

i know i keep saying this but i missed ros in s9. i really feel lucas wasnt strong enough of a charactor to be section chief. the new charactors were not charactors at all they were just there, not given much to say or do other than stand around. it was very much harry, ruth and lucas. but i really felt that there wasnt a strong charactor bar harry in this series and because of that i felt i missed ros alot more than i had expected to.

that said, i think that it did get better as it went along the final two eps were really great exsept the very rush ending! i liked how it showed classic spooks with the introduction of alex much the way adam was introduced to bring down a rouge agent.

i think it was weaker than s7 and s8 simply because of the charactorisation.

spooks needs someone with attitude which it hasnt got at the moment

[theeyeshaveit]

I wrote some of this under the Lucas character thread but I think it probably belongs here more.

Spooks is never fun and games but my overall feeling was that it was more of a downer series than usual with all facets contributing, Harry and Ruth having a hard time of it, sad and somewhat personal weekly stories and the destruction of Lucas all made me feel down a lot of the time.

I liked the weekly episodes very much this year, a bit more mystery and intrigue and less of it being all about a ticking bomb situation. There were some outstanding acting performances from the guests too.

Harry and Ruth seem like they can never be together until both of them leave the service to me. Either of them is vulnerable to a Lucas type blackmail situation while they work in that business.

I liked both the new team members, although they were largely on the periphery of most things. Beth is so different to Roz, there is no point comparing them and I think her uncertainty, vulnerability and less than pristine appearance makes her an approachable character.

As for the Lucas story. What disappoints so much is not what they did with Lucas in making him become a rogue agent, but the crazy, unbelievable why he did it and the disrespect it shows toward the character and the fans who had invested anything in him.

We could have had 90% of what we got with one of the possible reasons he had in his Mi5 time to become a rogue agent. Someone coming back on the scene to push his buttons, him doing everything he did, us coming up with the same theories like, is he undercover, is he reprogrammed, is he working for the Russians, and it could have played out pretty much the same. Why did they have to totally destroy and demean his character?

Although I didn't think it was ever even a remote possibility, I would have been upset and disappointed if they had demolished and demeaned Harry or Ruth in any way as well. I never for a minute thought Harry would give them the file for Ruth, I always thought it was not what it looked like. I certainly hope Harry is not going to be pulled down in S10 in any way like Lucas was. I have a feeling however that even if the powers that be might have a go at him, his real integrity and reputation will remain undiminished and obvious to the viewer.

Loved the new HS.

[KoiGal]

Totally agree with NightOwl and HellsBells.

Weak plot lines, great actors poorly used. Thank godness that s10 has been commissioned. I fear that Harry will have a rough ride, which will keep us all gripped because we all love Sir Harry and the fantastic Peter Firth. I hope that the writing team is strengthened.

Disappointing series overall. Didn't need the cake at all.