ow, that was a sad episode... Matthew MacFadyen did such an awesome job in spooks... kind of a shame that he isnt into it anymore! :( love him as an actor btw!
He was great in Pride and Prejudice with Judi Dench and Keira knightly, plus that TV series where he played the editor, can’t recall the name. A powerful actor. You can tell he does a lot of theater.
You know, it's ironic looking back on it all, his fellow teammates standing there, Adam, Zoe, and Danny, all three of them have met a dark fate. Tom waking up from this job ended up saving his life. I see Tom's point of view, it's a harsh and dangerous world that eats you away, but the fact remains the world isn't sunshine and rainbows, someone has to make the impossible decisions, it's simply how the world works. But anyways, Tom was able to walk away from a life that destroyed everyone else.
Not entirely, the series finale showed him freelancing as an assassin for hire. It's heavily implied Sir Harry hired him out to eliminate the Ultranationalist leadership in Russia as revenge for the events of the final season.
@BeastOfMetal1989 After such a brutal end to Ruth's life. I was so happy to see Tom getting revenge for her. They had a pretty good working relationship. Felt gutted for Harry, though. Nobody ever gets a happy ending or relationship on that show.
Just watched this episode on PBS. They've been showing the earlier seasons (titled MI5) on Thursdays. Been watching the current seasons of Spooks on BBC Canada and it's really a treat to get to see it from the beginning with Tom. When Lucas came back to MI5 he asked Harry where Tom was and Harry replied: "Early retirement". I'm glad I got to see this episode and now understand what Harry meant. Great great show. I really liked Tom, Adam is great too, but Matthew is an amazing actor.
When Lucas North asked about Tom Quinn's whereabouts, I don't think that it was out of friendship. In fact, the idea was for Lucas not to encounter Quinn because North was not the Lucas North that Quinn knew. Did I miss something or was something inferred that I misunderstood?
i thought i wouldn't like spooks after tom left, and it did take me a while to get into S 3. but it's a great programme with so many beautifully drawn characters like danny, harry and ruth and i've really liked adam and roz together. but the tension has been getting more intense in later series. last night i saw the last episode of S 6, it was soul- shattering and it left me feeling upset for hours. now i really don't know if i have the guts to keep watching when series 7 starts here!
This clip is surely great. I thought: NO NO!! Poor Tom :p! But I guess Tom is such a great character, because that was the first leading men most of us knew... I really liked Matthew MacFadyen's performance, because he is a great actor, but I still think Adam (Rupert Penry-Jones) and Lucas (Richard Armitage) are great leading character's as well, with all their differences! I am just more used too Tom, but they all grew on me and the whole show is just great :)
One of the best series ever! Just re watched MI 5 the movie.... as good as 5 years ago! upset because I will like to re watch the whole series again and nowhere to be found in the US! Originally in Netflix, not available anymore!
I started watching from season 7 and it gets better and better... I tried watching from season 1 but never really got into it. Season 7 and 8 are amazing
I wouldn't necessarily say that. The two-part opening to Series 5, for instance, was brilliantly written. It genuinely frightened me in parts because the idea of the UK being taken over in a legal coup is, to anyone familiar with the structure of the UK government, entirely plausible.
I think most of the remaining fans got completely fed-up when Lucas turned out to be an absolute scumbag who screwed over anyone just to be with the woman he wanted. No surprise that the series ended shortly after his death.
@DarkPrinceNH5570 MI5 isnt a "high speed law enforcement" its one of the oldest and well known Secret/Security services. They deal with domestic security. Any form of law enforcement is for the police. Though they work with the police when needed.
I don't know how to forgive Danny and Zoe for turning their backs on Tom. Especially when Tom had to underground to clear his name. This was a damn good series.
you shoulda just watched the show, there was great writing and acting that built up to each of them leaving or dying. the writers do it because it keeps the show fresh, and realistic. if it was the same cast always it was just go on and on and slowly become less popular. perfect example of that = smallville
@WordDuJour / from the states, how long did the series go until tom left? was it the end of series 3? never got to see the episode after he shoots harry with the shotgun then starts to swim out to sea i loved this show!
well actually- i read the interview when the shows second or third series aired- and it was with the creator of spooks david wolstencroft and another woman who had something to to with the writing and researching into the programme. it wasnt as if MI5 came round to their houses adn nicked their manuscript but i recall both saying that a couple of government officials and other people enquired as to what the programme would include and to ensure that no really important info was used.
LOVE the show - wish it was on more here in the states. American "dramas" pale next to MI-5!! I also don't like that the characters get taken off but that sort of adds to the realism! At the end of season four you really don't know if Adam is coming back or not. And I NEVER expected Zoe or Fiona to go off - you tune in one week and BANG, your favorite is gone. You just never know! You watch "24" and you'll pretty much know that next week you'll see Keifer again.....
I think that they should bring Tom back for series 8...have the series based around something he was involed with in the past so they have to bring him back. Something like that :)
why the hell would they think of taking him out of the show,, he is the one that made ma watch the show in the first place .. without him its just ....
I'm just now getting into the series. Did anyone read any tabloid commenting onw why Matthew Macfadyen left the show. Did he choose to leave to focus a movie career or was he written out because he wanted more money?
Yea, I guess thats the best for the show, but it would be nice to have Tom back sometime after, just for a few minutes and let us know how hes doing. I need that. Did you watch friends? They just go together, imagine Ross moved to Paris in season 7. Then I would be very much expecting him to be at least a few minutes, Without him it was like a chocolate brownie without chocolate... And the worst thing was that I had to wait a long time before I bought the next season. I didnt know if he was dead
Must’ve been weird for him to have to hate his wife in this scene and for her to betray him! Actually, I think Spooks is where they met, isn’t it? Glad they’re still together.
liset27 posted the whole first two series on youtube, i saw them last year. i've just looked around, but haven't been able to find them, or in fact, any other videos of entire shows. does anyone know if they have been removed?
Don't envy our system though. While I doubt we will become a republic any time soon, there is severe pressure to reform our parliamentary system. Many people here drool for the American system of a clear separation between executive, judiciary and legislature. It may be slower, but it's infinitely safer.
The power of the Crown is almost purely nominal. A Monarch hasn't dismissed a Prime Minister since 1834, or dismissed legislation since 1708. George V attempted to dissolve Parliament in 1910, following the battle over Asquith's 'People's Budget', but in the end it didn't happen. Our armed forces may swear loyalty to the crown, but whether or not they would rise to defend the crown is purely a matter of how loyal they are..
its really good- MI5 tried to stop the broadcasting of this show because of its realism and close reality to 'real' life of security services as it was written with a previous employee of the security services. (but gladly- in the end the bbc won over!!)
@timewatch12 its a AEROSPATIALE Type:AS355F2 Serial No.:5348 Popular Name:ECUREUIL II Generic Name:AS355 Aircraft Class:HELICOPTER EASA Category:CS-27: Small Rotorcraft Engines:2: 2 x ALLISON 250-C20F The reason i posted.....it was destroyed ! look up the public registration on the helicopter. So that helicopter is obviously MI6...lol
Politicians resign when the Queen 'convinces' them to because they know the public and the media will tear them to shreds if they don't; most of the Royals' power comes from the UK's high proportion of royalists among the public.
Like I said, a load of this power is merely nominal. The UK retains many wacky laws which in theory could be very damaging but are never carried out? Despite the death sentence being abolished for most crimes in 1964, it still remained for Treason until 1998. One legal definition of Treason (which still remains) is putting a postage stamp bearing the head of a British Monarch upside down!
Thanks, I actually liked both actors they (kind of) replaced his character with...but they didn't end those actors storylines well (IMO). The writers were got lazy it seems.
well i did... haha im bored.. but yeah tom never comes back, but the writers did write a novella about him caus they knew fans wanted to know where he's at. he's never going to be back in the show, but the writers wrote that he is now running a private security practice with his girlfriend from the C.I.A. (since she was fired too) and they got married.
I'd like to see Tom back too but as a human being he is better off. This line of work just uses you up until there is nothing left of you. Now he has a chance for a real life.
This was so unnecessary. Tom obviously was still traumatized by his ordeal. He wasn't ready to come back. He needed 6 months off and counseling. In many ways he was suffering from PTSD. He'd given years of service to the Crown. To just drum him out of the service was wrong. AND it was a waste of resources. If push came to shove, take Tom out of the field and set him up training new recruits. His skills are valuable.
Tom should have been fired at the end of the first season when he took the IRA laptop home instead of handing it over for forensic examination. Very poor tradecraft.
Harry did the same thing. In Tom's case, his error was the final straw that wrecked his relationship with Ellie. In Harry's case, he took a briefcase home that contained a new technological device. A teen-age code breaker broke into his house and safe and stole it. Harry and Tom sent the teenager to steal a laptop from a corporate office. Both men made crucial errors.
Danny sacrificed himself to save that white woman...and the Mi5 only _briefly_ attended his funeral... and then, afterwards they completely forgot about him.
YES, after that, I stopped watching the show, its just so sad... I hoped they somehow push him back in, but I have "checked" about 20 episodes and they actually killed off the top 3 favourite spooks, Tom, Danny and Zoe... That sucks! What was the point?
the sas dont usally operate internally- i.e- in the uk. the security servces have thier own special forces- (just MI5 officers in lots of armour!!!!!!)
YES! Now I feel better. because I felt that the C.I.A girlfriend was angry at him because she got fired because of him, but thanks! This certainly feels better now.
As Christine Dale told Tom, the job was destroying him. He more or less had a breakdown - - - again. This time, Harry Pearce said he had to go. As Tom told Christine Dale when he introduced her to Adam Carter, he and Adam were more or less doing the same job, so Harry could decommission Tom as his replacement was in place.
I dont think a programme like spooks can keep the same male leads forever, although its a shame to see Adam and Tom go more have come, i think this season of Spooks is the best for a few years.
