An excellent review from The Guardian (which is very influential here):
As usual, it was a cracking, well-paced, brilliantly written adventure, with top action spook Lucas – along with new recruit Beth (Sophia Myles) – thwarting an al-Qaida plot to send a couple of submersibles up the Thames loaded with explosives.
Just have to share this because it's such a great indicator of the kind of character Beth is - and it's not spoilery. She's just failed to charm information out of a witness/possible suspect. Her conclusion, "I suspect he's secretly gay."
Fan-TAS-tic episode. Wherever you are in the world I hope you get to see this soon. Not only is Sophia fabulous as Beth but she brings some genuine spark and flaws and humanity and humour and style to a team that can otherwise seem a little dour.
The official ratings are out for the premiere (20th September) and they are awesome. (We do have the equivalent of fast overnights but they aren't widely available - it's just a different landscape here.)
Total viewers - 6.75m.
Compare that to the Monday 9pm slot in the US on the same day, which was also mostly season premieres:
Dancing with the stars - 21.87m
Two and a half men - 14.5m
The Event - 11.2m
Lonestar - 4.06m
Gossip Girl - 1.87m
Then compare the relative population sizes (US: 310m, UK: 62m) and this would equate to a US viewing audience of 33.75m. I know that's statistically unsound as there are lots of factors to take into consideration, but still, I hope that gives you some idea of what a HUGE show this is here.
You thought the medical jargon on Three Rivers was hard to articulate? This is a line of dialogue from last night's Spooks, delivered by the wonderful tech-geek Tariq:
"When the French intel came in I ran a probability algorithm predicting possible locations of Aibek. I'm re-sectioning the live facial recog."
Sophia is "phenomenal" in this show, truly. I'm lucky and blessed to have friends overseas that make it possible for me to see this program. I've been watching it for years now. It really is a superb show, no doubt about that. I was so glad she was chosen as a new counter terrorist operative for the show. She's added ambiance and a rare talent to the program and has given it a new "vibe" that others are find refreshing.
You're a wealth of information redwinter and I'm so happy to be able to read what you've gathered on Sophia and the program. I've been told Spooks has been renewed for Season 10 according to some sources I've spoken to. It has not been officially announced yet, however, the sources that I've spoken to I find highly reliable. Be looking for it to come to light at any time now. I'm truly hoping that it does renew.
