Do you like the show 24?  If you do, you might want to watch Spooks too (or MI-5 as the show is known as the USA).  It's the very best show on TV right now.  It’s part James Bond-style spy thriller and part soap opera.  It makes your heart drop.  It makes you stare open-mouthed at the TV screen when it's over.  Unlike the cartoon characters on 24, we care deeply about the people on Spooks, which makes it all the more shocking to see an MI-5 agent killed by submerging her face in a deep fryer or see yet another agent's personal life destroyed by the job that they love so dearly.  Spooks is a BBC production, which means that they don't have nearly the budget of an American show like 24, so they don't have the money to blow stuff up or what have you.  But that very fact is also the thing that makes it good.  We've all seen way too many movies where the studio spared no expense on special effects but spent only pennies on the script and character development.  Spooks represents the best of both worlds.  We get the occasional "gee whiz" special effect or high tech gizmo and in between that we get well written scripts that show MI-5 agents as people just like you and me.  And that's why Spooks is the best show on TV.

American viewers can catch the show on A&E.  At this moment (10/05/2005), the show is firmly into season 4 in the UK.  As yet, A&E have not released a date when series 4 will be broadcast here in the US, but there is a good chance that the network will start running older episodes prior to starting series 4 to rekindle interest sometime in the near future.  DVD sets of the first three series (seasons) are available from Amazon UK here, while series 1 & 2 are available from Amazon US here (WARNING: the Amazon UK versions are Region 2 PAL DVDs and might not be playable on American systems). Note that both the US and UK version of the DVDs have the complete, uncut shows - the A&E "broadcast version" is heavily edited from the original show to make room for commercials.  People that just can't wait until January should check out their favorite Bittorrent sites... season 3 is here and it's goooooooddddd!

Because the show uses a lot of jargon and has references to unfamiliar government agencies (well, unfamiliar to Americans anyway), I have put together the following information to help get you started:

MI-5 - Stands for "Military Intelligence, Department 5", its designation in WWII.  MI-5 is responsible for collecting information about threats to security and public order within the borders of the United Kingdom.  MI-5 is similar to America's FBI, but with a couple of important differences.  First of all, MI-5 has no "police powers".  To arrest or take down a target they must call on Scotland Yard or Special Services.  Secondly, MI-5 tends to view the world differently than the FBI does.  The FBI is all about getting a conviction in a courtroom and as such must also follow all the standard rules of evidence gathering.  MI-5 doesn't have this restriction, so it tends to have a more "open" worldview.  You can visit the official MI-5 website by clicking here.

MI-6 - Stands for "Military Intelligence, Department 6", its designation in WWII.  Officially known as "Secret Intelligence Service",  MI-6 is responsible for collecting information about threats to security and public order outside the borders of the United Kingdom.  MI-6 is similar to America's CIA.  Because the line between an "internal" and "external" threat is not necessarily cut and dry, MI-5 and MI-6 sometimes have the same "turf wars" over operations that American intelligence agencies do.  And yes, MI-6 is the agency that James Bond works for. MI-6 doesn't seem to have a website - which is strange seeing as they are headquartered in one of the most famous buildings in London - but they do have a page you can view at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office here.

GCHQ - Stands for "Government Communications Headquarters". GCHQ is concerned with gathering "signals intelligence" - intercepting faxes, emails, cellular and satellite communications, breaking computer encryption, hacking into "enemy" computers, etc.  Of all the UK intelligence agencies, GCHQ is closest in spirit and function to its American cousin - in this case the National Security Agency (NSA) - and has (by far) the warmest relationship with its American counterpart.  GCHQ's new headquarters in Cheltenham is nicknamed "The Doughnut", although I've never heard anyone refer to GCHQ's headquarters building on Spooks. You can visit the official GCHQ website by clicking here.

Scotland Yard - Strangely enough, "Scotland Yard" is the name of the piece of land that Metropolitan Police headquarters occupied in the 1880s.  Even when they moved - first in 1890 then in 1967 - the "Scotland Yard" name stuck, even though the new locations are properly known as "New Scotland Yard".  This might seem strange, but remember that the U.S. State Department is sometimes called "Foggy Bottom" due to its being located in the DC neighborhood of the same name.  In any case, London's Metropolitan Police do the same basic job that any big-city police force would do, however there is one major difference: although the Metropolitan Police is the central police authority in London, the actual police forces themselves are operated individually by each of the 32 boroughs that make up greater London.  In other words, it's as if New York City had "Manhattan Police", "Brooklyn Police", "Bronx Police", etc.  This is also why London police officers wear different uniforms - some wear the traditional "bobby" garb, while others wear the "checkerboard" hats similar to those worn by Chicago cops.  To make matters even more complicated, the police in the City of London - a single square mile in the heart of London - are not part of the Metropolitan Police. You can visit the Metropolitan Police's website by clicking here and the City of London Police's website by clicking here.

Special Air Service - When MI-5 needs to arrest someone, they call Scotland Yard.  When they need to take down someone military-style, they have the luxury of calling Special Air Services - the world's premier anti-terrorist\special forces unit.  Called "Special Services" on the show, SAS was formed by the British Army in 1941 to do special ops against the Nazis in North Africa.  Since then, SAS has been involved (covertly or not) in conflicts around the world - including in American uniforms in Vietnam.  I can't stress enough how bad ass these people are - America's Delta Force or Navy SEALs might be good, but SAS can run circles around them!  You can visit an unofficial SAS page by clicking here.

Prime Minster - The head of the government of the United Kingdom.  His or her official title is "Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".  The Prime Minister is not elected to that post directly, but rather is chosen by the Queen to head her government.  In practice, she has always picked the leader of the party that wins a general election - and thus has a majority in Parliament.  In rare instances where no clear choice for PM was available, she made her own decisions - such as with Sir Alec Douglas-Home in 1963.  Unlike US presidents, Prime Ministers that are unpopular with their own parties - such as Neville Chamberlain and Margaret Thatcher - can be forced to resign by the party at any time.  Additionally, the PM must resign upon the passage of a vote of no confidence or the loss of a vote of confidence, unless the defeated Prime Minister seeks a dissolution of parliament which the Queen may refuse (in theory) but never does (in practice).  Elections must be held every 5 years or until a confidence vote fails. Because the Prime Minister resides at No. 10 Downing Street, he or she is often referred to only as "Number 10" or "Downing Street" on Spooks - i.e. "What does Number 10 think about this news?"

The Shadow Government - Not, it's not some conspiracy theory thing.  In Britain's parliamentary system, the party that comes in second place in an election forms a "shadow government" whose members have the same areas of expertise as their elected counterparts.  For instance, the head of the opposition party - the person that party would want as PM if they won the election - becomes "Shadow Prime Minister" and stands ready to take the actual job of Prime Minster should the real PM's party lose an election.  The Shadow PM also appoints a "Shadow Cabinet", consisting of the same "Shadow Ministers" as the elected government.  It's interesting to note that the ministers and shadow ministers usually sit opposite each other during Prime Minister's Questions and other Parliament functions.  Because of their position in the government, members of the "shadow government" could be targets for terrorism as much as the actual government.  They are occasionally - but not often - mentioned in Spooks.  

Backbencher - A backbencher is a member of Parliament (MP) that neither holds an official position in the current government, nor holds an "office" in the shadow government. As you might guess, the name originated from the fact that only the "important" members of both the party in power and the opposition party sit in the first rows in the House of Commons.

Chancellor of the Exchequer - Pronounced "ex-checker", this person is sometimes called either "The Chancellor" or "The Exchequer". This ancient post is the equivalent of the Secretary of the Treasury or Minister of Finance in other countries. The Chancellor's main job is the formation of the British government's budget, however he or she is also Second Lord of the Treasury and a member of the Queen's Privy Council (and due to that last thing is entitled to use the "Right Honorable" honorific).  Because of this person's knowledge and involvement with the British financial system, they can be targets for terrorists and nutcases.

Bank of England - England's central bank, performing much of the same duties as like America's own Federal Reserve Bank.  I'm not sure how BoE's policies work throughout the United Kingdom, as I know that Scottish banks issues their own money.  You can visit the official Bank of England website by clicking here.

Solicitors, barristers and Queen's Council (QC) - There are two main types of lawyers in the United Kingdom: solicitors and barristers. Solicitors are roughly what one would think of as an "attorney" in the United States -  they typically meet with clients and handle most of the legal matters most people would deal with in their regular lives - wills, divorces, legal disputes between neighbors, misdemeanors, etc. Barristers are more like trial lawyers in the United States, in that they rarely (if ever) meet with the general public and usually appear in court on behalf of a solicitor (and, by extension, his client). Barristers specialize in appearing in court and also typically work at higher levels of the courts, since solicitors can handle most cases in the lower courts. The highest level any attorney can attain is to be a "Queen's Council" (or "King's Council", as the case may be); these folks - who append the title "QC" to their names - are "all-stars" of the British legal world, usually chosen for being senior member of their profession or for being brilliant in their youth. As their name implies, QCs were originally representatives of the crown; once the sovereign's legal needs surpassed that which the Queen's Attorney could handle, QCs were created. The vast majority of QCs are barristers; QCs are sometimes called "silks" for the fancy silk garments that they are entitled to wear in court.

HM - Stands for "Her Majesty" (or His Majesty, as the situation might dictate). This title is appended to many government agencies and offices that were originally run by the crown. For example, the British customs agency is called "Her Majesty's Customs and Excise", but is almost always referred to as "HM Customs and Excise" in print. Likewise, the prison service is referred to as "Her Majesty's Prison Service"  ("HM Prison Service" in print) and individual prisons are referred to as (for example) "Her Majesty's Prison, Leicester" (or HMP Leicester).

The Cast of Former Characters

Warning! This section contains "spoilers" - information about the fates of several of the characters and general plotlines from early in the show's history. If you haven't seen series 1-3 (but intend to), be advised that you might learn "too much" if you read the section below.

Tom was our original hero, the show's Jack Bauer.  He was very serious man and loved his job very much. However like many young professionals, he became a bit torn between his job and his ability to have a social life - especially when your job requires to to lie to loved ones and disappear at all hours of the night. He was framed for an assassination he did not commit, and although he was able to clear himself of the charges, he quit the spook life. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Sweet and incredibly smart, Zoe was one of those people that knew at a very early age where she wanted to work, and MI-5 was it for her. Unfortunately, she became "too involved" in one operation and was sent to prison. MI-5 arranged a "switch" with another prisoner and Zoe moved to Chile, where she is living in anonymity.

Danny was young and slick and was nominally Tom's "number 2 man".  Sometimes he tried too hard and sometimes he was tempted by the many liberties MI-5 agents have given to them to do their jobs.  Killed by terrorists at the end of series 3.

Christine was the shows' temptress.  She was the CIA station officer for London and had a relationship with Tom. In her job, she was totally hardcore and didn't care who she had to squash to get what she wants. Left the CIA at the beginning of series 3.

A traitor.  She's one of those people that have worked somewhere for so long that they've lost their perspective.  Disappeared without a trace after allegations of embezzling MI-5 funds.

She was the new kid on the block, having joined MI-5 from training and was wrong as much as she is right.  Still, she was really cute and perky and often came up with a textbook answer that the veterans missed. Left the service at the end of Series 3.

Vicki is the type of person that stays calm in any situation - not because she has nerves of steel, but because she's just not impressed by the whole thing.  She was "silenced" by MI-5 after her relationship with Tom Quinn ended.

I can't seem to figure out if it's because of bureaucratic inertia from the old days when England controlled Ireland *or* because of the continuing threat that England faces from the Irish Republican Army (IRA), but the real-life MI-5 also operates in the Republic of Ireland, which is a separate country.

You might have watched the show and not noticed it, but Spooks does not have any credits - except for the BBC logo that appears on the screen briefly at the beginning of the British version show (and of course the show's title sequence - which contains only the theme song, clips and the name of the show).  This is not an accident.  The show's writers wanted to credit the first episode to "Anonymous" to heighten the tension and add to the mood.  Whilst discussing this in a staff meeting, the producers and directors liked the idea and decided to extend it to the entire show, to keep viewers in the dark and also to make a statement about how security service people move around society anonymously.  So the show simply starts and ends, without credits.

UPDATE: The above paragraph is not entirely accurate. In past seasons, the show used to air on BBC One on Monday nights without the credits; the BBC considered this airing to be the "official broadcast" of Spooks. However, BBC Three used to show a "sneak preview" of the upcoming episode on the Saturday night before the show's "official airing" on Monday. The Saturday broadcast indeed has complete credits at the end of the show (but none at the beginning, other than the title sequence). The bottom line is this: if you download an episode that doesn't have credits, it was capped from BBC One; if it does have credits, it was capped from BBC Three. Also, note that the show moved from Mondays to Thursdays for series 4.