BBC doppelgangers.

Mixing my entertainment with my politics.

So who is head of MI5 and who is editor for Newsweek? Every time Jonathan Alter appears as an analyst on the news, my television screams Harry Pearce (off Spooks). (Peter Firth, aka Sir Harry, is left; Jonathan Alter at right.)

Secretary of State for Social Affairs Hugh Abbot is often up a shit creek without a paddle in The Thick of It. Alas, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has experienced the same whilst hiking the Appalachian Trail. (Chris Langham, aka Hugh the Abbot, is left; Mark Sanford at right.)

Adieu, 'Spooks', for now.

Alas, my Spooks run must be put on indefinite hold as I am out of access. Where are you, series 5 and 6?! I just finished series 4, in which Adam was pelted with a bullet by a lunatic sharpshooter and rogue agent. Unlike Lucas North who, in series 7, managed to ferry Ros and traitor Connie through London's underground after being hit, poor Adam is left gurgling blood whilst Harry looks to be the next target. Even though word is that the next two series played more like the Adam Show - not that I particularly object to excessive displays of Rupert Penry-Jones - a lot goes down in those forthcoming episodes, in the form of tech guy Colin, nice Ruth, and hottie Zaf. There is an attempted coup, more Adam going crazy, and the introduction of superwoman Ros Myers.

But, if it's RPJ we're looking for, I think I've just set myself up for an evening with Whitechapel, a surprise ITV hit from 2009. The show mashes together some contrasting police personalities in order to solve some Jack the Ripper copycat murders. Mr Penry-Jones does a natural turn as the posh, media-savvy detective inspector who thinks the department foot soldiers could do better with a tie and some deodorant. Phil Davies, who played his boss in the short-lived lawyer drama North Square, prefers the gruff and scrubby way of solving murders and that sort of thing. Whitechapel's been commissioned for a second series, so I'm looking forward to playing catchup.

'Spooks' series 9, affirmative.

Via Partymania, series 9 of Spooks has been confirmed. Woot woot! If this intelligence is true, then we can count on Harry's return. Ros is definitely a goner, per tonight's series finale that just ended 12 minutes ago. At least I think. Haven't seen it yet. Surely Lucas will hang on because you can't knock off 2 leads in one go. Anyway, they've already offed 2 case officers plus Malcolm who took the cleaner route and walked off. Wonder who our new spooks will be next year.......(And Tariq is a cutie while we're on the subject.)

'Spooks' marathon and series 2 of 'Merlin' concludes...thank you, British tax payers.

My internet's back. Well, it's been back for some time now but I've been busy with other affairs. Like overdosing on Spooks. Plowed through series 1 and 2, currently midway through series 3. Bloody amazing. I was gutted to see Tom Quinn forced out. It will be sad to see Zoe fly off to Chile. And I imagine Danny's death will not take well......In other BBC briefs, Merlin ended its series 2 run, and unlike it's misguided cousin Robin Hood, this show is maturing nicely. I'm definitely looking forward to the third series. The acting and writing continue to improve, and I admit, I readily teared up in the last episode. Previously, Merlin freed the dragon who returned the favor by attacking Camelot. The knights are useless against the dragon's superior fire power and need the talents of a Dragonlord to tame the thing. Unfortunately Uther killed the lot, save one - Balinor. Arthur and Merlin are tasked with finding this last Dragonlord, who Merlin discovers is his father. Cue sentimentality. It could have been a very weepy moment, but kudos to Colin Morgan who put his drama school training to good use......Many other backed up television posts to catch up on, and hopefully I'll get to them all seeing as most of my shows are either coming to an end or on hiatus until March (damn you, FlashForward and your shitty ratings).

Say it ain't so, Jo.

I hope to eventually get around to reviewing the first episode of the eighth series of Spooks, but some disturbing spoilers...Hermione Norris aka Ros aka the woman I want to be in my next life dropped a bomb via the Daily Mail, always a reputable source. She promised a 'spectacular exit' for her character. The last 3 spectacular exits? Adam Carter (Rupert Penry-Jones) and the car bomb, Connie James (Gemma Jones) and the almost nuclear bomb, and of course Ben Kaplan (Alex Lanipekun) and the bra underwire. As long as Ros doesn't get her head dipped in a deep fat fryer, I might be able to stomach it, although they are a creative bunch over there. This sad news though comes on the heels of Miranda Raison's, who plays the useless Jo, interview last week. She leaked her departure from the show. Not a terrible loss for me as I never liked her character, but I do wonder about the trajectory of the show sans the two female leads. Anyway, 7 more episodes to go before series 9 speculation. I will admit from the preliminary viewing that this one hasn't hooked me like the opener of series 7, but I'm willing to expend some of my patience.

Spooks Series 8...Countdown

The Guardian asks: Spooks - overblown nonsense or top tv? Definitely top tv. Is it overblown and nonsensical? Of course. But sometimes that's exactly what makes top tv. After all, it's a tv show, it's absurd by definition. If someone is really interested in the daily trappings of spy life, go watch a cubicle. A good percentage of a spy's job is paper pushing and bureaucratic somersaulting anyway (so I'm told...). The point is not whether 5 lean Gucci-outfitted spies can save the whole of Britain with science-defying technology; the point is we like to imagine they can. It's fun, exciting, and damn sexy, very unlike most our lives. Okay, very unlike my life. How probable is it that a section head like Harry Pearce would be taken hostage by the Russian secret service, stuffed in a body bag, and bundled in a boot? Not very. But you sure want to tune in tonight and find out how it unravels.

Spooky

Lucas North will destroy you.

Looks like the 8th series of Spooks will debut sometime in October. That's - this month! Via an article uploaded on RichardArmitageOnline, there will be loads of sex and danger, just what I like in my spy show. Turns out Lucas North still has some baggage leftover from his Russian rendezvous. He also gets entangled with a blond, leggy CIA agent, which could have been me in another life, except for the blond and leggy part, and the CIA agent. Ruth comes back, which is supposed to be a big deal. I have yet to watch, well, most of the show; series 2-6 are hard to come by in these parts. In any case, let the spy games begin.

The TV BAFTAs v.2009

UPDATE: Ahh, Richard has appeared, presented, and left. The Armitage Army/Spooks boards will be quieted now. Time for some sleep.

***
I now understand the allure of Twitter. It's meant for things like updating sports scores and red carpet sightings. Not to be used by politicians to feign coolness and twit twatty jabs at one another. So I've been refreshing my pages every few minutes to get updates. Rubbish. How early 2000s of me.

They've given about half the awards, and the first one out - Best Drama Series. Result...Spooks lost! :( Admittedly expected because Wallander had the hype. I guess if The Wire never won an Emmy, we can live with great shows getting shafted. Anyway, there are more important things in life. I'm waiting for Richard Armitage to present an award but not sure how much longer I can hold out. Rupert Penry Jones has had his go. The things I want to say about him, and the presenters in general, must be put in context with the tone of the show and Graham Norton's Letterman-like performance. But I'm tired, so these thoughts will have to come once I've got my 8 hours.

Bits, Bobs, and BAFTAs for 4.26.09

Watching: Taye Diggs in Wicked
Listening: Taye Diggs in Wicked

News of the Day:

• UK's rich list takes a hit. I'm feeling punchy.
• Twitter + politicians.
• A longer than necessary article dissecting artistic achievement and beauty.
• Interesting commentary from Independent about US television's golden age (that would be now) and how Brit tv compares.
• Juice. Behind the Music: X Factor.
• What is wrong with real British spies?! Another major fuck up. Lucas North, show 'em how it's done.
• Whew. "Bob the Builder's close shave with the Village People."
• Eton opens its doors for the poor black kid. Good idea, bad idea?
  

TV BAFTAs are tonight! Richard Armitage and Hermione Norris are slated to present. French and Saunders are up for a special award so perhaps a little Harry Jasper Kennedy action? Also, Spooks is up for best drama series. If they don't win, I hope they send in Lucas North to set things right. No one seems to think it will, but The Guardian is a fan.

Meanwhile, the preview for episode 6 of Robin Hood looks...good. Richard Armitage and Toby Stephens? That's somewhat indulgent.

Anatomy of an Obsession

When there's not much to write about.....how I became an avowed Richard Armitage fan.

After perusing the fan forums, I conclude that I'm not entirely off the deep end, though admittedly more delusional than your average television viewer. Still nuts enough to write an entire blog post about an actor though, as if obsessing alone somehow dampens the crazy factor. It doesn't.

Crazy kicked off with a random viewing of North Square, a show about some posh totty lawyers. RPJ played his usual smug, smart, but somehow lovable self. About this time, the 7th series of Spooks was starting. I gave it a go, only because of one Rupert Penry-Jones. Little did I know he was going to get blown up in the first episode, or that I wouldn't miss him at all thereafter, or that the show would be awesome. Didn't really pay attention when Lucas North was first dragged out with a bag over his head. It wasn't until the conversation in the car with Harry Pierce that the man even registered on the radar. It's the moment when Lucas says that he'd agree to play spy for the Russians and he gets this look...is he really a double agent? Verrry intriguing. While everyone else was deciding what side he's on, I was trying to figure out if this scraggly actor (his character had just emerged from 8 years of Russian imprisonment) was dangerously handsome or just a skinny dude who needed a haircut, a shower, and some chicken.

Well, we know how that one turned out. Here is where credit goes to the show for its delicious powers of seduction. Those first 60 minutes of season 7 were television crack. There were many plot and character strands that converged into one explosive climax - possible double agent, massive bomb plot, kidnapped soldier. What really hooked me though was the return of Ros, agent extraordinaire. If MI5 recruited more people like her, they wouldn't be leaving shit in cabs and trains all the time. In her opening scene, she is informed by the Section D that her mission is compromised, and she's ordered out of Russia where she's working undercover. But one phone call ain't stopping this woman. She's minutes away from reaching her contact, and when she arrives, the guy's dead. As she's searching his body for information, she spies, from a beer bottle, an assassin. Within seconds, she disposes of the guy, probably with her bare hands and without secreting a bead of sweat. In my Second Life, I want to be Ros.

But I diverge. By now, I'm hooked, and since Lucas North is kind of a major character, and because he appears tattooed, shirtless, and ripped, my curiosity is piqued. Naturally, I do a little research. I don't remember what came next - Robin Hood, Vicar of Dibley, or North and South - but the combination of those 3, plus the ongoing series of Spooks was like Charlie getting lost in the Chocolate Factory (wait a minute...). Pure imagination and sensory overload.


And that's how it happened.