The third series of the British spy drama television series Spooks (known as MI-5 in the United States) began broadcasting on 11 October 2004 on BBC One, and ended on 13 December 2004. It consists of ten episodes which continue to follow the actions of Section D, a counter-terrorism division of the British Security Service (MI5). It also sees the departure of three principal characters: Tom Quinn (Matthew Macfadyen) is decommissioned in the second episode, Zoe Reynolds (Keeley Hawes) is exiled to Chile in the sixth episode, and Danny Hunter (David Oyelowo) is killed in the series finale. In addition to Macfadyen, Hawes and Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Rupert Penry-Jones, Nicola Walker, Hugh Simon, Shauna Macdonald and Rory MacGregor are listed as the main cast.
The producers knew that Macfayden was leaving, and were "99% sure" that he would not appear at all in Series 3. The first two episodes were therefore initially written without him, but the producers later heard he wanted to appear in them and he was written back in. Because of his departure, the producers created a new character, Adam Carter. The producers took information from advisors who were ex-MI5 officers during their detailed research, and many of the story lines are based on fact. The series was directed in five blocks of two episodes in each. Filming started in January 2004 and took place over six to seven months. Shooting took place almost entirely in London, England, with some scenes shot on a North Sea ferry in the fifth episode.
The third series was seen by an average of 5.77 million viewers, a decline in ratings from the second series with viewership dropping below five million at one point. However, the BBC had renewed Spooks for a fourth series before the third had begun broadcasting. Critical reaction was generally positive, though reviewers believed it did not perform as well as its preceding seasons. It was nominated for seven British Academy Television Awards (BAFTA), winning one. The third series was released on DVD on 23 May 2005 in Region 4, 5 September 2005 in Region 2, and 31 January 2006 in Region 1.
Episodes
Cast
The third series includes nine main cast members. Matthew Macfadyen returns as Tom Quinn in the first two episodes. Macfadyen intended to leave the series as he felt "your senses get dull doing a long-running TV show." As the producers were storylining the third series, they were "99 per cent sure" Macfadyen would not return until they heard he wanted to come back for two episodes because he did not want to leave the series so soon. Keeley Hawes also returns in the series as Zoe Reynolds. Hawes wanted to leave the series also after the first six episodes. David Oyelowo makes a return as Danny Hunter. After Tom's exit, it allowed Danny's character to develop further. Oyelowo also announced his intention to leave the series, after the finale episode. Peter Firth returns as superior Harry Pearce. After two seasons, Firth attempted to lighten Harry up "a little bit" after his mother suggested the character "smile more," despite the fact that Harry is a serious man. Nicola Walker returns as Ruth Evershed. First appearing in the second series, Walker felt more like the "new girl," but felt more experienced upon her return to the third. Shauna Macdonald also returns as Sam Buxton. The five-month filming gap between series two and three left Macdonald "a bit de-Spookified" as she was more focused on her film career. Hugh Simon and Rory MacGregor return as Malcolm Wynn-Jones and Colin Wells, respectively.
When the producers knew Macfadyen would leave, the producers decided to introduce new cast members, one of which was Rupert Penry-Jones as Adam Carter, the new protagonist. Early on in the creation of Adam, the producers had an interest in casting Penry-Jones for the role; however, it took the actor three auditions until the producers finally decided to cast him. Unlike Tom, Adam would have a different character dynamic; he has an MI6 background, and is married. A change from the girlfriend/boyfriend storyline for Tom and Ellie Simm in the first series, the producers noted it is common for secret service officers to be in a relationship with others in the same field of work. This led to the introduction of Fiona Carter, portrayed by Olga Sosnovska. Sosnovska was previously approached to appear in the second series, but was unavailable. She later auditioned for Fiona, and was later told she won the part when she was in New York City. The actress was only given a brief on her character—a ball breaker, ultimate professional, cold and calculated—which did not give her much to work with. Sosnovska initially found Fiona irritating in the fourth episode, but later opened up to the character after her return in the seventh.
The third series also sees a number of recurring characters and guest appearances. Megan Dodds returns as CIA liaison Christine Dale in the first episode. Tim McInnerny recurs as JIC chairman Oliver Mace. McInnerny was better known as a comedic actor, particularly for his role in Blackadder, but the producers felt that quality made Mace a more menacing character. Richard Harrington plays Will North, Zoe's boyfriend turned fiancé. Ian McDiarmid guest stars as Fred Roberts. The producers noted that McDiarmid played Roberts with the right amount of vulnerability, strength and stubbornness. Indian actor Anupam Kher appears as Harakat in "Who Guards the Guards?". Oyelowo stated that Kher had an "instant quality of likeness," which can make the audience sympathise with Danny after Harakat is killed in the episode.
"Love and Death" sees two guest stars who were personally involved with the cast and crew. Dermot Crowley, portrayer of Eric Newland, was the husband of one of the series' casting directors, though Crowley still had to earn his role. Barnaby Kay plays Ruth's potential love interest; Kay was Nicola Walker's real-life boyfriend, now her husband. Andy Serkis guest stars as Riff in "Celebrity". Created as an eccentric character, the producers believed it would fit in with Serkis' acting. Owen Teale appears as Robert Morgan in "Frequently Asked Questions". Producer Andrew Woodhead stated that Teale has a "strong physicality" that would make him a suitable equal for Adam. The series finale, "The Suffering of Strangers", saw the introduction of two new characters that would receive expanded roles in the fourth series. Raza Jaffrey portrays Zafar Younis. Jaffrey's first day of filming required him to perform a difficult speech he had to "launch into." In addition James Dicker portrays Wes Carter, Adam and Fiona's seven-year-old son. The producers held discussions whether to introduce Wes in the finale or in the fourth series; they eventually chose the former.
Production
Crew The third series of Spooks was produced by Kudos Film and Television for the BBC. Much of the production crew from the first two series returned. New crew members were brought in with the requirement that they were fans of the series and have ambition, so that they can understand Spooks. Andrew Woodhead was the series producer, with Jane Featherstone, Simon Crawford Collins and Gareth Neame as executive producers. Collins, who was the producer for the first two series, had to step back to executive producer, as he was overcommitted producing Kudos crime series Hustle. Woodhead replaced him as he was accustomed to the show, but also added more vitality to the show. Christopher Aird was the assistant producer. The third series included five writers. Howard Brenton wrote the first, second and eighth episodes. Rupert Walters wrote the third and ninth episodes. Ben Richards wrote the fourth, sixth and tenth episodes. Richards previously wrote the ninth episode of series two, and accepted the offer to return. His script in the second series was his first script for television; he found writing easier as time went by. Raymond Khoury wrote the seventh episode. Series creator David Wolstencroft wrote the fifth episode. Wolstencroft was poised to write the next episode, but found himself committed to other projects.
There were five directors, each directing two episodes; Jonny Campbell, Cilla Ware, Justin Chadwick, Bill Anderson, and Alrick Riley. Featherstone wanted Campbell to direct for Spooks after they worked together producing the television series Glasgow Kiss. He was drawn to directing the first two episodes because of Brenton's writing and the fact he would give Tom a send off. Faith Penhale was the series script executive. Simon Chaudoir, Jake Polonsky, Kieran McGuigan, Sue Gibson and Baz Irvine were the directors of photography. Barney Pilling and Paul Knight were the series editors. Stevie Herbert and Robert Foster were production designers. Jennie Muskett and Sheridan Tongue composed the original music. David Myers was the make-up designer, whilst Iain Macauley was the costume designer. Mark Doman designed the on-screen computer graphics, films surveillance shots and television footage from the series' point of view. On occasion, crew members appeared as extras. For instance, pictures of every crew member were used as students and faculty for a university database in "The Sleeper". In "Love and Death", the crew members present on the ferry appeared as extras in a bar scene. Collins also voiced a florist on a telephone message at the end of the same episode.
Writing
In producing the third series, the goal was to "raise the bar" higher to satisfy and surprise the audience. The second series finale, "Smoke and Mirrors", ended on a cliffhanger which left Tom's fate open. The producers were unsure whether Macfadyen would return at the time they began storylining. Brenton had already written the first two episodes as if he was not coming back. When Macfadyen announced his return for those episodes, they had to be rewritten. Brenton went through a "nightmare" rewriting the first episode as he "dug this enormous hole, and [he] had no idea how to get out of it." It became a long process of growing the story where Tom turns the tables against Joyce. To make a suitable send off to the character, Brenton did not want Tom to be disillusioned; instead he wanted him to "sort of [become] a human being," as there have been real life instances where spies are attracted to the idea that "the world's a stage to them all the time," but later on they start to unravel.