User:Matthew R Dunn/Sandbox

The place where I do planned future editing, whether the job is too big to do on the page, or if I just do certain stages at a time.

Works I have done thanks to the sandbox:
 * Created The Daedalus Variations
 * Trimmed Ancient technology in Stargate
 * Trimmed List of Prison Break minor characters
 * Restored Be All My Sins Remember'd
 * Created Enemy at the Gate (Stargate Atlantis)
 * Gave List of awards and nominations received by Coldplay a good cleanup/expansion/sourcing
 * Created List of awards and nominations received by Stargate Atlantis
 * Restore Adrift (Stargate Atlantis)
 * Restore Lifeline (Stargate Atlantis)
 * Restore First Strike (Stargate Atlantis)
 * Cleaned up List of Sanctuary characters
 * Created Matthew Scott (Stargate)

Spooks is a BAFTA award-winning British television drama series produced by the independent production company Kudos for BBC One. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 Officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a highly secure suite of offices known as The Grid. In the United States and France, the show is broadcast under the title MI-5. In Canada, the programme originally aired as MI5 but now airs on BBC Canada as Spooks.

The programme was created by writer David Wolstencroft and has attracted popular guest actors including Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy, Tim McInnerny, Bruce Payne, Reece Dinsdale, Ian McDiarmid, Ewen Bremner, Jimi Mistry, Andy Serkis, Andrew Tiernan, Anton Lesser, Anupam Kher, Alexander Siddig, Martine McCutcheon and Anthony Head.

Series overview
Since its premiere on 13 May 2002, Spooks aired a total of 72 hour-long episodes spanning eight series. The series follows the actions of a group of MI5 officers who work in "the Grid" a series of office in Section D, a counter-terrorism division in Thames House, London. The team, headlined by Sir Harry Pearce (Peter Firth), generally deal with cases that threaten national security; those can include terrorist and assassination plots, hostage situations, political corruption and Government conspiracies, and corporate scandals. In numerous episodes, some of the main characters take part in undercover operations to infiltrate the cells to gather enough intelligence in order to stop them. In some other cases, the main characters handle members of the public, other officers, or cell members who wish to stop them.

Cast and characters
Just starting off as a list of main cast;
 * Jenny Agutter as Tessa Phillips (series 1–2)
 * Richard Armitage as Lucas North (series 7–present)
 * Max Brown as Dmitri Levendis (series 9–present)
 * Anna Chancellor as Juliet Shaw (series 4–6)
 * Megan Dodds as Christine Dale (series 1–3)
 * Lisa Faulkner as Helen Flynn (series 1)
 * Peter Firth as Harry Pearce (series 1–present)
 * Esther Hall as Ellie Simm (series 1–2)
 * Keeley Hawes as Zoe Reynolds (series 1–3)
 * Raza Jaffrey as Zafar Younis (series 3–6)
 * Gemma Jones as Connie James (series 6–7)
 * Alex Lanipekun as Ben Kaplan (series 6–7)
 * Shazad Latif as Tariq Masood (series 8–present)
 * Shauna Macdonald as Sam Buxton (series 2–3)
 * Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Quinn (series 1–3)
 * Rory MacGregor as Colin Wells (series 1–5)
 * Matthew Marsh as Bob Hogan (series 6)
 * Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Jenny (series 5)
 * Graeme Mearns as Jed Kelley (series 1)
 * Sophia Myles as Beth Bailey (series 9–present)
 * Hermione Norris as Ros Myers (series 5–8)
 * David Oyelowo as Danny Hunter (series 1–3)
 * Rupert Penry-Jones as Adam Carter (series 3–7)
 * Miranda Raison as Jo Portman (series 4–8)
 * Hugh Simon as Malcolm Wynn-Jones (series 1–8)
 * Olga Sosnovska as Fiona Carter (series 3–4)
 * Nicola Walker as Ruth Evershed (series 2–5, 8–present)

Concept and creation
The idea behind Spooks first came following the release of Channel 4 series Psychos in 1999. Stephen Garrett, the Executive Chairman for Kudos Film and Television, at the encouragement of Channel wished to create a new series that saw beyond the ordinary types of precinct-based dramas (police and hospital) that weren't often explored on television. Bereft of ideas, Garrett looked into novelists to see if any genres weren't often explored on television. He came across novels written by John le Carré at a Waterstone's bookstore, and thought about a series concerning spies. Garrett's thoughts about running a spy drama were stronger after realising that MI5 and MI6 would deal with the world differently compared to the police. Garrett also hoped a spy series could accomplish richer drama than a police or hospital show, since the police are often depicted to take their work home with them, but spies have an added dimension of not telling either their friends and loved ones about what they do. Garrett thought the idea would be compelling because everybody lies. Kudos hired a researcher in order to learn more about the world of MI5.

Meanwhile, following his work on Psychos, David Wolstencroft, somewhat inspired by the 1985 BBC Two serial Edge of Darkness, thought about writing a film about spies. His original conception of the film would follow "real spies" working in a "shitty job" as opposed to James Bond. When Kudos approached Wolstencroft, they both decided to turn the original film idea to a television series, which Wolstencroft thought was a better action to take. Originally developed as a "sex, drugs and Rock n' Roll spies" for Channel 4, the channel ultimately turned it down. Kudos pitched the series to other broadcasters, but neither were as excited as Kudos were, primarily because they thought nobody would care for a post-Cold War spy drama, which Kudos found frustrating. However, Kudos re-invented the premise and sent the idea back to Channel 4, as well as BBC One. Both channels were then keen to take on the idea. After receiving briefs from both channels, Kudos thought BBC One's brief was closer to what they wanted the show to become. BBC One controller Lorraine Heggessey was looking to include more brave, dynamic and fast-paced dramas to reach out to a broader, younger audience. Commissioning editor Gareth Neame suggested they give the series a more intelligent and action-orientated. The series was commissioned in 2001.

Writing
After the series was commissioned, Kudos put together two additional writers to work alongside Wolstencroft, Simon Mirren and Howard Brenton. Together, they put together a storyline into the first series. Brenton was chosen because of his intriguing and "off-the-wall" ideas, and was considered a "radical, provocative" playwrite before Spooks. The pilot episode, written by David Wolstencroft, went through 30 rewrites and four seperate storylines before the BBC were satisfied with the pilot. Brenton adopted his writing style based on early Taggart episodes, where more would be added to the story halfway through. Wolstencroft did not intend the series to be political; he merely wanted to tell some exciting stories about spies to the audience. The first few episodes in the first series were already written before the September 11 terrorist attacks. After the attacks took place, the producers decided to use those events in order to acknowledge the fact that the series is about fighting terrorism.

Development
The series adopts a split screen format in a similar style to the American television drama 24. The idea behind it however, was not inspired by the series, since it did not premiere in the UK yet; director Bharat Nalluri came up with the split screen idea in a pub the night after filming the first episode wrapped up.

Filming
Each episode takes approximately two weeks to film, though they rarely follow the order of the script. The series is shot primarily in London. The exterior, and parts of the interior of the Freemasons' Hall serves as a surrogate filming location for Thames House, the headquarters for MI5; the hall was chosen due to the producers believing both buildings were similar in architecture. As for the Grid set, those offices are filmed in a different location. In the first series, the filming crew used series of rooms and offices in an old Kensington medical school. Ever since the second series, the Grid set was filmed in Pinewood Studios.

Since several scenes are filmed in public places, including streets and train stations, the filming crew take steps to shoot the scenes as inconspicuous as possible, such as working with long lenses, which gives the cast enough room for a few takes without getting noticed by the crowd. Assistant directors would also use hand signals instead of calling out the conventional "action" and "cut." However, filming crews are required to warn the public if they are to film action shots, including fight scenes, chases and arrests.

Spin-off media
Following the success of Torchwood (the BBC Three Doctor Who spin-off series) the controller of BBC Three, Julian Bellamy, announced in December 2006 a Spooks spin-off entitled Spooks: Code 9 (working titles: Rogue Spooks and Spooks: Liberty). The show started filming in Bradford in 2008 and the first and second episodes were broadcast on 10 August 2008. It was not well-received by critics, who said "the script is poor and the acting little better" (The Sunday Times) and the production "utterly uninspired and stale" (Digital Spy), "daft and unconvincing" (The Telegraph), "an utterly cynical venture" that "given its patronising awfulness... actually damages the Spooks brand" (The Guardian).

In August 2010, the American television network ABC announced their plans to adapt an American version of the series. The pilot episode will be written and executive prodiced by Michael Seitzman.

Viewer reaction
After the broadcast of the first episode, "Thou Shalt Not Kill", Spooks attracted an overnight viewing figure of 9.2 million viewers, with an audience share of 41%, winning its timeslot againt ITV1. The following episode was viewed by 7.8 million with a 35% audience share, a loss of over a million from the first episode. The series one finale was viewed by just under 7 million, a loss of two million from the premiere, but still winning its timeslot against ITV. Ratings remained high throughout the second series; the first episode attracted 7.8 million viewers. However, ratings lowered during the third series, with the first episode attracting 6 million viewers, while the penultimate episode lowered to 4.5 million. The eighth series started with 6 million viewers and a 25% audience share. However, the following episode dropped to 4.5 million against Collision. Following the fifth episode, Spooks drew its lowest audience in history, with 3.9 million viewers. By the finale, Spooks retained its audience to 5.5 million.

The table below shows the average viewing figures per series according to the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board, based on the number of episodes, and the final ratings each episode achieved;

Despite the drop in ratings after each year, viewer reaction of the series were generally positive. Episodes of Spooks often achieve an Appreciation Index score 90 out of 100, compared to the BBC drama average of 82. The series is often listed in the top ten Best Dramas according to the "Best of" viewer polls between 2002 and 2006. After the first series broadcasted in 2002, viewers rated Spooks the third best drama. In 2003, the second series was voted the best in 2003, and would since be voted number two in 2004, number three in 2005, and number six in 2006.

Awards and nominations
In total, Spooks won six awards out of a total of 25 nominations, and won six times. 15 of the nominations came from the British Academy Television Awards (BAFTA), for which two were won. The series won Best Drama Series in 2003, beating Clocking Off, Cutting It and Teachers. The series would be nominated for the same category a further four times, but no wins, in 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2010, losing to Shameless, Doctor Who, Wallander and Misfits respectively. The series' sound team was nominated for for Best Sound in Fiction and Entertainment four times, in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010. The series was also twice nominated for Best Editing in Fiction and Entertainment twice, first with Colin Green in 2003, and second with Paul Knight and Barney Pilling in 2004. Jennie Muskett and Paul Leonard-Morgan were each nominated for Original Television Music in 2003, and 2009. In 2008, Damian Bromley was nominated for Photography & Lighting in Fiction and Entertainment. In the same year, Spooks Interactive won the Interactive Innovation.

In 2008 and 2009, the series was nominated a total of five Crime Thriller Awards, and won two of those. In 2008, as Adam Carter, Rupert Penry-Jones won the award for Best Actor. As Ros Myers, Hermione Norris won the award for Best Actress. Norris would be nominated in the same category in 2009. The series itself was nominated for TV Crime Drama of the Years in 2008, but lost to Criminal Justice. In 2009, the series was nominated for The TV Dagger.

In the United States, the series DVD sets were nominated twice for the Saturn Awards, but none resulted in a win. In the 33rd Saturn Awards, Volume 4 was nominated for Best Television Series Release on DVD. In the following 34th Saturn Awards, Volumes 4 and 5 were together nominated for Best Television Series on DVD. Also in 2009, the series was nomintated for Best Drama Series in the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (International Emmy).

The series also won two subsequent awards from other ceremonies. The series won Best Drama Series during the 2003 Broadcast Awards. In the same year the series won a Royal Television Society Award, again for Best Drama Series.

Controversy
Despite its success, the series drew a considerable amount of controversy during its run. Following the broadcast of the second episode, the scene in which Helen Flynn, played by Lisa Faulkner, was killed after having her head forced into a deep fryer, drew a record 154 complaints in 2002 according to the Broadcasting Standards Commission. According to a spokesman for the BBC, the majority of the complaints were directed towards the speed with killing off a major character, as well as the manner of her death.

Spooks became the subject of controversy again in 2003, regarding an episode where a cleric is recruiting suicide bombers from a mosque. Following the broadcast on BBC Three, the Muslim Council of Britain claimed the episode incited Islamophobia. A Muslim student was reportedly assaulted by two people, allegedly due to the episode's broadcast. The Birmingham Central Mosque was defaced, with graffiti stating "suicide bombers inside - kill the bombers." The BBC claimed that they did not receive any information the proved the incident was related to the episode broadcast. The BBC received 800 complaints following the BBC Three broadcast, and an additional 150 following the BBC One broadcast. The BBC however, defended the episode by stating the episode centred on a Muslim working to stop the attacks. Inayat Bunglawala, the Muslim Council of Britain's Media Secretary, wrote a letter to then BBC One controller Lorraine Heggessey, appealing to prevent the programme, stating the episode "is a distortion of reality and can only serve to further demonise the mainstream Muslim community" and "only serves to reinforce many negative stereotypes of British Muslims." Heggessey responded by rejecting the complaints, claiming the episode offered "a balanced view of a difficult subject" and denied suggesting that mosques "are breeding ground for terrorists."

In February 2006, the series attracted more controversy, regarding an upcoming episode between Islamic and Christian extremism. After the episode was filmed, actor Shaun Dingwall, who portrayed a Christian extremist, worried he would become a target for fanatic groups should the episode be aired. Since then, the BBC denied they would cancel the episode.