1.5 DVD commentary

[lwhite53]

Info from 1.5 DVD commentary:

-Character of Hampton Wilder based on politician Jeffrey Archer -- totally bonkers, incapable of telling the truth, long game revenge plot, a born-again, religious whack job!
-Matthew M. and Peter F. -- both terrible gigglers; can't do a scene together without losing it. The more serious the scene, the worse they are.
-Actors in Tessa/Maynard almost sex scene -- he was petrified at the thought (blushed bright red when discussing), she was all gung-ho.
-Tessa/Maynard scene in park (22.55) -- shot in the Orangerie in Holland Park, in front of a famous mural of British politicians.
-Lermov character brought in so they could touch on Cold War and "old time" spy stuff -- dead drops, etc.
-Tessa/Zoe: behind Tessa's smile -- real intimidation; Zoe -- layers and layers of confusion.
-Jools Siviter -- real weight in every scene and absolute disdain for sister service. Director kept trying to get Hugh Laurie to dial back his performance, but Laurie thought he was being too dull in his portrayal.
-Question of the ep -- do MI5 work for the party in power, or the govt. at large? Exploration of the ambiguity of their role.
-Tessa a mere "sideshow" in Maynard's career path -- she's taken in by him and manipulated without catching on -- interesting given her manipulation of others.
-They needed to make Maynard have shades of gray to match all the other characters -- if he was too innocent, he wouldn't have been believable in this environment.