Series 10 Rumours & Speculation

[expat]

I hope to see the return of a very strong ensemble cast, with characters working together as a team and having occasional laughs. I'm thinking back to the days of Zoe/Danny sharing a flat and working together, and each being well fleshed-out characters. This as the background to the threat-du-jour. Can the rumours and speculation thread be for hopes and wishes, too?

[binkie]

(04-12-2010 09:47 PM)Nitrus Wrote:  Flashback montages are corny and overused. Spooks is a show that has always done things differently and I would hate for it to get a cliched ending.

I guess it depends how brave the show is feeling on the day. If the show-runners choose the most obvious viewers' reward option, we may well be taken down the road of the flashback / montage o'memories (or the road to Harry and Ruth sharing a sunset. Choose your poison).

I'd like to think there is a different kind of viewers' reward in store for a show like Spooks. This is, for the most part, an intelligent narrative, full of eliptical observations and double-edged significance for both storyline and character development. Editorially speaking, montages tend to have an unfortunate (?, sorry BravoNine, I can't think of a better word just now) effect of conferring stipulated meaning on an event or image because they are, more often than not, intended to illustrate the point of view or level of understanding of a particular character. Spooks is about more than any one particular character. The point of the show is the continuity, and necessity, of effort. That can't be about one character, even where the rhetorical purpose of that character is to embody continuity.

I live in hope that this show would prefer to signal its departure by making reference to the future, rather than the past. History helps in the planning, but not so much in the action. MI5 is a snake eating its own tail, because that is the nature of the world in which it operates. Harry would be dead now if he thought too much about people and things that are gone or destroyed. Spooks is pretty much required, by virtue of the tack it has taken, to finish on a note of KBO, rather than one of passive reflection. But what do I know? I thought Buffy should have ended after season 5 because I liked the fact the show was brave enough to kill her and leave her friends adrift. This is only one of many reasons I am not a creative writer!

[lermakeely]

I can't think of anyone to replace Lucas North. It took me awhile to get use to Adam being gone and I learned to love Lucas. This last series was full of action and I loved it. I think every year gets better and perhaps it's the change of characters but Lucas is the only one that didn't last long

[Silktie]

I wonder if they shouldn't go back to the format of earlier series, where they didn't have one overarching story that runs through all the episodes. In my opinion, this only really worked in season 7; the ones in seasons 6, 8 and 9 didn't really come off that well.

If your threat of the week stories are strong enough, you don't need another story that just takes time that could have been spent on character development or making your threat of the week even better.

[loladom]

I don't want Harry to die. That's a lazy cop out for maximum viewer shock with little work. Although Harry generally gets less screen time, he is central to this show. If he dies, so does Spooks. If they want to keep open the possibility of keeping the show going, recreating the show in a few years time or just keep viewers clinging on to the thread of that, then Harry needs to stay alive. There are other ways of moving Harry. I'm not expecting a happy ending or even a contented compromise - far too challenging when death and such shocks are more audience grabbing and salicious. But I dearly wish Kudos would consider other options besides the predictable, especially where Harry is concerned. And yes, I realise adding Ruth into that is just asking for too much! Are we saying a semi happy ending with a twist is only possible if it becomes mills and boon-esk? A good writer could really do something better than that!

[Annie]

Now I can't find the right thread for a quote, but someone suggested something along the lines of Harry's downfall not being because of the more questionable things he's done, but rather because he killed Katchimov. You know what would be even more ironic? If he got charged with tossing Lucas off of the roof. As opposed to apprehend him and bring him in for questioning, or something. Not only did Harry not do it, but it was actually a situation in which Harry would have been justified in killing him.

And let it me known that this is not me feeling vengeful about Lucas' death, because I don't see Harry as being responsible for that. I also hope Harry gets aquitted. But in the name of plot twists, it would be fun.

[Byatil]

I think if anything, I'd like quite an open ending. The idea of a nuclear war sparking between North and South Korea for example, could be a brilliant cliffhanger to end the show on. As for the characters and the more emotional side of things, I think it'd be interesting if Ruth decided to leave again, and Harry was left with nothing, being forced to suppress his emotions for the sake of the job. I'm thinking along the lines of Ruth leaving, and a couple of weeks later, a major conflict being announced. I think S10 will definitely focus on R+H's relationship, but hopefully not as much as S9 focused on Lucas!

[BravoNine]

(06-12-2010 01:37 AM)Byatil Wrote:  I think if anything, I'd like quite an open ending. The idea of a nuclear war sparking between North and South Korea for example, could be a brilliant cliffhanger to end the show on. As for the characters and the more emotional side of things, I think it'd be interesting if Ruth decided to leave again, and Harry was left with nothing, being forced to suppress his emotions for the sake of the job. I'm thinking along the lines of Ruth leaving, and a couple of weeks later, a major conflict being announced. I think S10 will definitely focus on R+H's relationship, but hopefully not as much as S9 focused on Lucas!

I like this idea, being open-ended could be great, giving us more possibilities. It's always a cool ending when the fans can be left to imagine what could happen, as frustrating as that may be.

I think Series 10 should focus on H/R's relationship, at least have a final decision on where they are, together or not.

And I agree with you Bytail, hopefully H/R will not be focused as much as Series 9 was overrun with Lucas. I do not need the writers dropping anvils at my head for the whole series.

[Forever Secret]

I really hate it when characters "Hyjack" the Series like Lucas did with Series 9, If his own story had been pushed back a little I wouldn't have minded it so much, but it was too Lucas central.
I hope as well that S10 isn't all about Harry and Ruth but their relationship should be one of the focuses running alongside the investigation into Harry's past and stories of the week... I'd like to see an old style Spooks, as in a different story each wweek rather than a through storyline like S8 and 9 had.
I'm not so sure about Ruth leaving again, if she left as part of the ending that would kind of make the ending depressing, and I don't think right now Ruth would leave unless she was forced to, poor Harry would been torn to shreds, but there should be an end to the will they/won't they thing. After so long, is it so bad they get some kind of happy ending?

[HellsBells]

I would like to see more old-style spooks as well. I would be great if there was more uncover work which allows us to see the characters in different situations. And I really hope they sort out Harry and Ruth, I don't think I can stand another series of will they/won't they.