Spoiler Zone - The Night that SPOOKS "Jumped the Shark" w/Lucas - last Mon. in ep #907
I know that the phrase "Jumped The Shark" is used far too often by people in referencing TV shows. People who are often angry or snarky, and rushing to judgement. Because of this, I don't really like the phrase. But enough is enough.
I now truly believe that that is EXACTLY what SPOOKS/ MI-5 did in Mon. night's penultimate 9th series/season-ending episode. Jumped the Shark. Via Lucas North. Why?
I was in such an "not-thrilled-but-accepting place." There were fantastic discussions in here on LJ, etc. and I wasn't happy but was rationalizing things, a few different ways. No more. Why? Richard Armitage's interview appearing today in the Daily Mail. http://bit.ly/d6e8gh (link shortened to minimize spoilers in title!)
Now, even living in the U.S., I know that the Daily Mail is beyond dubious, and perhaps the quotes aren't accurate. HOWEVER, if even Armitage is characterizing Lucas as "wicked?"
Then, what I was hoping/assuming was Vaughn's final mindf*ck, really wasn't!???? Just...Noo!!
Blocking out events which one may have been inadvertently responsible for, and feeling supreme guilt over? Okay. Building a new life and working hard for queen and country, to redeem oneself, to lessen that guilt, and atone? Alright. But that extra, final reveal? No way. Utterly non-sensical. You've now gone too far, writers, and have ticked off too much of the fan base. Your actor has produced amazing work, considering how little you gave him (and clearly had to get to a certain place to wrap his own head around it); however, this is One. Step. Beyond. (And yes, it's Madness too.)
Thanks to the incredible tigertrapped for a wonderful link, to a blog comment beginning, "Sorry Spooks writers, I'm not having it...." at http://lifeofwylie.com/2010/11/02/spooks-be-ready-for-anything/#comments This writer really encapsulates it all. Bravo!
But after reading RA's interview? LAZY writers & Powers That Be!! L-A-Z-Y! A big, loud SLAP for you!
Why? Because you producers were clearly so desperate to stay on the TV-map, and make a "Spooks-type SHOCK-splash", and have now sooo ridiculously overreached, that your own actor doesn't know if the character lives or dies. As a writer on this board once commented, Richard is able to "dance rather nimbly around the truth," when it came to the actions/death of his characters, etc. However, the way this reads, even barring The Hobbit, he himself won't know until after post-production.
Actors not knowing it their charcters will survive a finale is common enough. And, under normal circumstances, (i.e. contract negotiations) this would be okay. This time, however, it's clear that you producers & writers really have NO idea what you are doing, or where you want to go. You're just making all of this up on the fly, with no planning or forethought, and have not only lost the plot, but lost interest in BASIC story telling! (I'm sure you will attempt to justify that under the label of "but we have to stay current with the news and will write the stories in Jan./ Feb. 2011." I'm not buying that anymore. Tiresius, anyone?)
I no longer trust you with ANY characters, **NOT** because you took them to places that I didn't like (what little you gave them to do), but because you took them to places which MADE NO SENSE (on ANY level) and VIOLATED basic precepts of HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY
Other have said some of the following, with which I agree completely...
You introduce new characters and do *nothing* with them. You manufacture a love interest who's a mere plot device. You continue to have an overbearing, sanctimonious character, who is supposed to be a standard bearer & mentor, but who has only gotten progressively WORSE, and is now such a hypocritical prat that I just want to repeatedly punch him in the face. ("Betrayed?" Don't make me laugh.) I can only hope that Lucas kills him off in the finale. Yes, please! Maybe THAT would finally be a big enough "Whoa! Oh-looks-SPOOKS-did-it-again" for you. At least that would work for me.
So, we're clearly going to get an open-ended season finale to cover all of your clueless, non-caring, non-thinking, non-planning butts, right? Whatever. I'll watch --- solely for Richard Armitage and Nicola Walker's acting prowess.
Then, I'm off to read well-written fic., which is character-correct (!), with intricate plot-twists and justified actions, and developments. You know...GOOD story-telling!
Powers that Be, your Shark just got harpooned. Spooks series 10? Who cares? Clearly all of you are just pulling paychecks.
Editorial Note: Clarifier for those unfamiliar with the term:
Per Wikipedia - Jumping the shark is an idiom used to describe the moment of downturn for a previously successful enterprise. The phrase was originally used to denote the point in a television program's history where the plot spins off into absurd storylines or unlikely characterizations.
Per Urban Dictionairy - Original meaning was the point when a television series shows it has run out of ideas and must resort to stunts to retain viewer interest. Derived from a scene in the last years of Happy Days when the Fonz waterskied over a shark. Includes actions such as "it was all a dream" episodes...