History Series / Spooks

The show ran for ten series, from 2002 to 2011. Through it all, Sir Harry Pierce (Peter Firth) was the sole character to feature in all 86 episodes. Often a put-upon ReasonableAuthorityFigure struggling through a morass of ineffectual bureaucracy and murky political machinations and occasionally a badass former Cold Warrior who doesn't flinch at strangling an assassin with his necktie, Harry Pierce anchored the show through a [[LongRunnerCastTurnover revolving door of a cast]] including Creator/MatthewMacfadyen, Creator/KeeleyHawes, [[Creator/DavidOyelowo]], Creator/RupertPenryJones, Creator/NicolaWalker, and Creator/RichardArmitage.

The show ran for ten series, from 2002 to 2011. Through it all, Sir Harry Pierce (Peter Firth) was the sole character to feature in all 86 episodes. Often a put-upon ReasonableAuthorityFigure struggling through a morass of ineffectual bureaucracy and murky political machinations and occasionally a badass former Cold Warrior who doesn't flinch at strangling an assassin with his necktie, Harry Pierce anchored the show through a [[LongRunnerCastTurnover revolving door of a cast]] including Creator/KeeleyHawes, [[Film/{{Selma}} David Oyelowo]], Creator/NicolaWalker, and Creator/RichardArmitage.

** A quick rundown of the dead: [[spoiler:Helen, Danny, Fiona, Colin, Zafar, Ben, Connie, Adam, Jo, Ros, Lucas, Tariq, Ruth, Erin and Callum.]] Most of their names (plus a few extras) are seen in the final episode on MI5's memorial wall.

--> '''Wolstencroft''' "[The show] isn't the world where the cavalry always arrive, because in reality these people [MI5] do risk their lives on our behalf and they do get into sticky situations with genuinely nasty people."

* BecomingTheMask: "Traitor's Gate" has undercover MI5 agent Peter Salter, who infiltrated a group of violent anarchists and wound up accepting the ideology they advocate due to his disgust with the state of the UK which grew over many years. One of the female anarchists, who he got involved with, also inspired him.

* CombatPragmatist: if you're a field agent in MI5 you do not survive long if you don't adopt a "use anything at hand" ideology. However, strong contenders for a prize in this area go to: Adam (for using a set of empty metal shelves to beat up a terrorist), Zaf (for escaping from a cupboard using an opponent's own crowbar and then using it to beat him to a (deservedly) bloody pulp), and Ros (for using a car-jack to immobilise a Mossad assassin before he could call for back-up).

* DidYouJustScamCthulhu / MuggingTheMonster: far too many politicians [[RealPolitik try to use]] [[BadassIsraeli Mossad]] [[TooDumbToLive for their own ends]], usually via manipulation and mis-direction One very highly placed lawyer managed to manipulate them into taking out an MI5 op team. [[AlasPoorVillain Let's just say]] [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath that he did not live long.]]

* GoodIsNotNice: The MI5 agents are not afraid of doing anything immoral so long as they get the results they want. Harry himself has flat-out authorized the murder of a few people simply because [[AssholeVictim the victims were better off dead]].

* InterserviceRivalry: With [=MI6=], who the more serious-minded MI5 officers view as dilettante Film/JamesBond wannabes.

* LadyOfWar: Ros. This can manifest in HiddenDepths as when you're first introduced to her, she looks and acts [[SophisticatedAsHell too refined and upper class]] to have any of the badass fighting skills that the rest of MI5 are trained in. A couple of beaten-up Mossad agents later and you're immediately dissuaded from that idea.

* RefugeInAudacity: at the beginning of season 5 [[spoiler: Collingwood and [[VisionaryVillain his group]] of {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s try to ''[[KnightTemplar rewrite the face of British democracy]]''. They believe that DemocracyIsBad and that TheEvilsOfFreeWill and UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror will [[AnarchyIsChaos destroy England]], and hence they must [[TheEmpire head the new government]] with [[BigBrotherIsWatching stringent new security measures]] and [[{{Room101}} detention centres to house people who disagree with them]].]] The entire scheme is so ridiculously blatant (including [[spoiler: staging Acts Of Terror]]), so deeply steeped in a corrupt PropagandaMachine (backed by [[TheMinistryOfTruth malicious representatives of England's Security Services]]), and so heavily relies on Orwellian Editing of [[RealityIsUnrealistic the facts at hand]] that ''no one'' had prepared for it. In fact, the entire thing is so outrageous that [[CassandraTruth no one believes MI5 when they first expose it]].

* WesternTerrorists: This trope is fully [[JustifiedTrope justified]], as MI5 is (or at least, it ''was'' when the show started) concerned with domestic security akin to the American FBI, and not exclusively terrorism. The first series was written prior to 9/11 (although some cursory references were inserted after the fact) when Irish splinter groups, xenophobic race-baiting, and economic rioting were the prime sources of potential turmoil. The show deliberately went out of its way to show as many different threats as possible. The IRA, White Power groups, "totally not the BNP", eco-terrorists, abortion clinic bombers, a wide variety of ex-Soviet spies/assassins/moles, corrupt banks, all were shown as legitimate threats. It even becomes a plot point in at least one episode, where they're trying to work out which of the 10 groups they had flagged launched a chemical attack on London.

* WhatTheHellHero: Multiple characters have called out the MI5 agents on some of the "wrong" or immoral things they've done.

%%** [[spoiler:Various Americans and MI6 agents throughout the series.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Left-to-right: Ruth Evershed (Creator/NicolaWalker), Sir Harry Pearce (Creator/PeterFirth), Adam Carter (Rupert Penry-Jones), Ros Myers (Hermione Norris), Zafar Younis (Raza Jaffrey) and Jo Porter (Creator/MirandaRaison).]]

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Harry, Harry, HARRY. Strangling a Russian hitman half his age with his tie, interrogation technique that would put [[Franchise/MetalGear Revolver Ocelot]] to shame, outthinking Mossad, the CIA, the FSB and sometimes his own Government (sometimes all at the same time), threatening to shoot (and actually shooting) people who have threatened his Grid team...the list goes on.

[[caption-width-right:350:Left-to-right: Ruth Evershed (Nicola Walker), Sir Harry Pearce (Peter Firth), Adam Carter (Rupert Penry-Jones), Ros Myers (Hermione Norris), Zafar Younis (Raza Jaffrey) and Jo Porter (Miranda Raison).]]

%%** [[spoiler:Various [[AcceptableTargets Americans and MI6 agents]] throughout the series.]]

* MrFanservice: Adam Carter and Lucas North.

* SweaterGirl: In episode "Spiders", Zoe needs to get close to a particular target who happens to be male.
-->'''Tom:''' The kids' lives are in danger. ''(beat)'' So, wear a tight sweater tomorrow.\\
'''Zoe:''' What?\\
'''Tom:''' I've been watching him all day. He obviously fancies you. We need to build up on that connection.\\
'''Zoe:''' ''(sarcastically)'' Any particular sweater in mind?\\
'''Tom AND Danny, simultaneously:''' The blue one.