Poll: Did you like Season 8?

**Sirena** · 22-01-2010, 02:19 PM

(24-12-2009 01:57 AM)bertowud Wrote:
(23-12-2009 06:24 PM)almh Wrote: Camera work as well actually, that drove me up the wall. HOLD IT STILL PLEASE!

I hate the shakycam effect. It's one of the things I dislike about The Shield, even though it's one of my all time favorite shows.

Another thing was one of the captions on one of the locations on episode 5 (now I'm starting to sound like a Trekkie) had a typeo. As Nitrus knows, typeo's drive me crazy.

Caption typo and shakycam effect also noted! Different Director perhaps? Wasn't up to its usual standard which I found a bit disappointing :-(

allanah · 24-01-2010, 12:13 AM

Overall, IMO series 8 was no where near Spooks at its best.

Series 8 Spooks was too much like 24 - too much action, not enough plausibility. I would like to see more undercover, politically driven intrigue and less bombs and action fights. Thats more like what the real MI5 do.

I suppose in hindsight I didn't like Series 8 as out of all the characters I like Lucas, Jo, Malcolm and Tariq the best. Not really into Harry/ Ruth or Ros - so for me I there wasn't really a lot in series 8 character wise because Malcolm and Jo were gone early on, and I couldn't stand what they did with Lucas' character (horrible relationship with SC). Tariq is sweet but didn't feature much and his arriving didn't really make up for Malcolm and Jo departing.

Also plot wise Series 8 wasn't as fresh or plausible as previous series - I esp noticed this in ep 3 which was like a repeat of previous hostage eps in previous series. Also the Lucas/ Sarah relationship was not original.

Also I think all the action and plot related scenes have left virtually no time for character interaction so consequently I find myself caring less and less about the characters and my motivation to watch series 9 is flagging - what happening to the focus on officers personal lives in seasons 1 -4? - its virtually disappeared and now they are only there as action heroes - so Hollywood and so BORING.

HellsBells · 24-01-2010, 06:19 PM

Yes, I agree with you that one for the good things about Spooks is the focus on the characters which I personally don't think there was enough of in the recent series. A lot was left to 'significant looks', which I'm not very good at picking up on....I want it spelt out to me Smile

Wonzbrawl · 18-02-2010, 10:05 PM

I liked series 8 very much. Agree with allanah though. Any flaws the show will have don't matter. It's still a great experince. I think that for me Spooks is such a great show for one reason: Harry Pearce. The show revolves around his steadfast loyalty and skill in running his section. In other words he's a hero. Despite some shadier traits, but those don't really matter. We need a hero (or heroes) to look up to. I like the idea, that there would be good people working in government(s)!
Looking forward to series 9! Yahoo

**JHyde** · 18-02-2010, 10:23 PM

Great first post, Wonzbrawl - welcome!

You know, the further I get from season 8 the more I think I really liked it.....

Tea Lady · (This post was last modified: 19-02-2010 05:21 PM by Tea Lady.)

Great, another Harry fan. There's always room for them. Smile

I agree with what you are saying JHyde and I think I made a similar point a few months back when a couple of people were being a little harsh (in my opinion) at the end of series 8. I said that we were too close and needed to step back and I bet people's opinions would change as time went on.

I found a great You Tube video the other day for series 8. It's by angel6881. Its called something like, Series 8 : O Fortuna

It makes series 8 look seriously good and may even tempt me back to watching 8.3 again !! My teddy is still on the floor next to the pram from me watching that episode the first time.

TL

**JHyde** · 19-02-2010, 04:44 PM

LOL TEA LADY!!!!

The main reason I've been thinking it is that I reckon the good moments were really great and have stayed with me really well. Mainly Ros moments, and also HR. I honestly think 8.1 and 8.7 are canonical episodes amongst the best the show has produced so it's already ahead of a couple of other seasons in producing episodes I think about a lot over time.

phoenix · 23-02-2010, 09:22 PM

I really enjoyed series 8. The things that are seen as the series flaws [shakeycam, too much action, etc] I see as a point that's trying to be made. It must be about the first time that they're up against an enemy they know absolutely nothing about. It's frightening, which seems to be visually expressed with they choppiness of the scenes or the camera work. I love when cinematography or music is used to drive these themes home. My favorite example of this is the set of Lucas' flat [different than that used previously], the exposed pipes and wiring, the bars on the windows, the concrete floors, etc are all reminiscent of a prison cell. Fascinating, I think, that this character's character is explained by everything but himself, as if he's not conscious of it.

I have to say, this series was the first in which I actually liked Ros' character. In the previous series, she annoyed me to no end and I really can't pinpoint why. I absolutely DESPISE Sarah Caulfield. She was just HORRIBLE. Not to mention her acting certainly left something to be desired. [it's the accent, really, one can't go from a Southern American accent to a sad, sad attempt at a Bostonian accent within a few episodes and expect the viewer not to notice.] Her admission of "love" rather freaked me out, to be quite honest.

And, as always, Spooks has to be the master of cliffhangers. The ending of the series was so abrupt, left no time to digest what happened. I loved it! :]

**Nia M** · 23-02-2010, 10:27 PM

The Good:
Ruth came back!!! Big Grin

Plus - 'Do you want to get a drink?' SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!
'What is that?' - Ros back at her most scathing Tongue

The Bad:
Lucas being an idiot when it comes to relationships.
Revelations about Ruth and George - a sad moment for H/R fans all over Sad

Jo's death. I really liked her.
The cliffhanger of the last episode - she'd BETTER be alive....

The Ugly:
That accent. Just generally, her.
And please someone just use a steadycam for a change!!!

jimmy1234567 · 23-02-2010, 10:37 PM

Season 8 is the first season I ever watched of Spooks, then got so entranced I ordered all the other series and watched them in a few days, and my initial thought was that the prior series were much better than 8, but thats probably because when watching them in order, you get to appreciate more the relationships developed between the different characters, and also a better understanding of the history of thames house etc.

I think at times series 8 was dumbed down a little more than the prior series, for example when we saw characters become others for weeks on end to crack a case, or use infitrative electronics to work a case, little things like that seemed to be lacking a lot more in S8 than in the earlier ones. It seemed to be less about personal interaction/relationships between opposing sides of the various wars being waged, and more about a flashy crash/bang/wallop chain of events...

I still really enjoyed S8, but nowhere near as much as the prior ones.

I also really dislike Lucas, lol