Over the past month or two, Mr Dee Dee and I have been busying ourselves watching the entire DVD box set of “Spooks”[1], the British MI5 spy drama starring Peter Firth and a variety of very good-looking young civil servants. Now, given that “Spooks” is about as realistic a portrayal of the day-to-day workings of the intelligence services as “24″ is a gritty, down-to-earth drama about life as it’s really lived in the CIA, you might be forgiven for thinking that any references to mental illness would be about as true-to-life.
This is not the case.
The series has lots of action, with the team foiling bombings all over London at the last minute, not to mention plenty of intrigue involving Russians, CIA and arabs of various provenance. Like ’24′, there’s a lot of racing against the clock, double-dealing and twists within twists. Unlike ’24′, it’s made clear that torture is something only the bad guys do. In amidst the espionage high-jinks, several of the lead characters end up suffering from PTSD because of what happens to them.
The first such storyline was Adam. His wife, also an MI5 agent, died in his arms in the line of duty. He starts to experience flashbacks as a result. He has nightmares every night, shouting out the name of his dead wife and his (not dead) son. At work, he takes greater and greater risks, saving the day quite often but scaring the crap out of his boss. He goes to see a psychiatrist who diagnoses him with PTSD. He confesses to being acutely suicidal. We’ll leave out the paranoia and hypervigilance since these are part of his job. The whole thing culminates with him getting lost inside the Thames Barrier while trying to prevent a bunch of eco-terrorists from blowing it up, sitting on the ground, crying, having flashback after flashback. We don’t see his recovery, as this was in an end-of-season episode, and the next season takes up 6 months on when he is doing very nicely, thank you. (Spooks has a habit of doing this and it’s really irritating). He got killed off at the start of season 7.
Next was Jo. Jo was captured and tortured by a bunch of terrorists. In the ensuing rescue, she killed her rapist with her bare hands but cannot remember this. Subsequently, every time she sees a man in the street with glasses who resembles her attacker she experiences flashbacks. In one case she nearly blows an operation as she has a full-blown panic attack in front of the bad guy. She is offered counselling but turns it down, although her superiors make it clear they don’t consider it a sign of weakness. A colleague explains to her what really happened and this appears to bring her some closure.
Finally there’s Lucas, who was a spy in Moscow and after being captured by the Russians was tortured for 17 days continuously. He is having problems with flashbacks to his interrogation too. We’re only up as far as the middle of season 7 so I can’t tell you any more about that. It’s likely that the Russians will kill his (Russian) ex-wife though.
What I like about the depiction of mental illness in this series is, first of all, the depiction is realistic. As far as I can see, they consulted someone who knew what they were talking about when they wrote the PTSD parts of the script. The symptoms are accurate. (It’s a pity they couldn’t have had the same attention to accuracy when putting together the IT-related parts of the script, the ‘facematch’ software is a load of bollocks for starters).
Secondly, the characters with PTSD are not seen as basket cases or burnouts by the others. They are shown as still actively involved in their work, dealing with the problem on the job. They experience certain symptoms, but are otherwise sane and normal. Only in one case, Adam Carter, is an involuntary suspension considered but not acted on, and this was after he put others in jeopardy due to excessive risk-taking. They are not demonised or considered weak by their bosses or colleagues for having PTSD, it’s seen as an inevitable consequence of the job. They are encouraged to seek help while continuing their day to day work.
What I didn’t like is that we seem them descend into the pit of PTSD hell, then they seem to just magically recover, and we aren’t shown any of this. I guess showing the cast disarming a bomb with a big massive digital countdown clock on it is more exciting than a doctor’s office.
When I am an Evil Overlord, my bomb will go off when the big helpful clock says 1m24, and the hero is just getting their plan into action.
[1] this series is called “MI5″ in the USA.
I’d say the “with one bound he was free” style of this genre is alive and well. From PTSD as well as from any other setback. Having a son who’s a TV producer, I can well imagine irritable script editors banging on about ‘flow’ and ‘storyboarding’. It happens that Mrs BM and I, avid watchers as we are, have been irritated by the loss of supporting characters without explanation. For example, during the Thames Barrier incident Adam was getting it together with his really lovely nanny. Come the next series she’d disappeared. Recently, we’ve had to witness Lucas dithering around with Ms Dodgy CIA Spook. Well, at least she’s been shot by her own co-conspirators. There’s closure of a sort. But will Ruth and Harry ever end up retired happily together in Dunspookin?
Yeah the nanny just kind of disappeared. We also have a game a bit like Star Trek, trying to guess who is going to end up dead in thhe current episode. We call it ‘spotting the guy in the red shirt’ except of course in Spooks they don’t have red shirts. Most members of the public end up dead, unless there are two of them, in which case, only one dies. Spot the stiff, like in Casualty. Same goes for any agents visiting from another agency or almost anyone ‘new’. also, ‘this is just a routine matter’ in the dialogue means something BAD is about to happen.
So is Roz truly dead or in the next series will she emerge from the wreckage, still dragging the Home Secretary whom she sheltered from the blast by her body, now horribly deformed and wracked with PTSD?
I’m guessing the latter.
Also they can’t die because she was blatantly about to jump his bones if they get out alive.
Would’ve thought she was too damn skinny to protect an, er, ample bloke like the actor playing the Home Secretary from anything
.
Yes, but you see that rigid hairstyle is really a kryptonite helmet capable of deflecting any blast. With all that leather, it may be her whole body is zipped onto somebody completely different. Come to think of it, did anyone notice whether Roz and Ruth were ever together in the same shot?
What’ll happen is that Roz will return, unchanged, with kryptonite helmet intact, in the next season, and no explanation for this will be forthcoming.
Spooks is one of only 3 programmes I refuse to miss, meaning if I miss it on the telly first time around I will resort to VirginMedia catup or BBCiPlayer. It is the only TV series I own real DVD box sets of, meaning they aren’t Definately Very Dodgy’. It is wondeful and brilliant and yey for anyone who praises it
Peter Firth won a Golden Globe for best actor in the 70s and was nominated for an Oscar. Watching Spooks, it’s not hard to see why.
At last another subject other than psychotherapy regulation that I feel qualified to comment on.
Is it just me or is Ros in full ass kicking mode one of the sexiest women on TV? And what about her underlying sapphic relationship with the dead Jo? Oh sorry wrong website.
So what was your professional diagnosis of Ros hanging the corrupt banker to torture him?
The PTSD stroylines are great from a writers point of view because they allow the character to act out of role without recrimination – they can act bad but still be the goodies in a way that the old “shell shock” didn’t allow in earlier guff like the Professionals.
One note of caution though – as far as I recall every character who has been depicted with PTSD has ended up dead.
With regards to Ros dead or alive – don’t forget she was already “dead” and living happily ever after in South America at the end of series six.
While we’re on the subject of psychology in TV shows what do you reckon to Lie To Me – I love it.
The only threee shows I record religously = Spooks, Lie To Me and Doctor Who – anyone want to analyse that?
Have fun and a great New Year – thanks for all your help and support to everyone on this website.
Now look here, Howard, you really should record the proper Dr Who, as it originally was, aka ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’. And stay away from that strange Cardiff spin-off in which nobody can keep their mind on what they’re supposed to be doing owing to compulsions to i) climb into bed with whomever they happen to be standing next to, and ii) have angst-ridden debates in the face of immanent and imminent disaster. Dr Who for pissed students. Tom Baker wanted to come back as The Master, which role he’d have camped up outrageously, but he’d have been a fun Jack Harkness.
Every character in Spooks, bar a few, have ended up dead or have fled the country. Remember Tom Quinn? Danny? Zoe?
Jo is still alive at the end of series 7.
I haven’t seen the episode you mention with Roz as I haven’t watched the current series yet. To be honest I find Roz a tad irritating, because she’s obviously hamming up the ice queen role to the nth degree. She’s a good actress and is doing what she’s being asked to, but it’s another stereotypical female role (ass-kickin’ ninja babe) and I would like to see more depth. Before you tell me that the men are just as stereotyped – I know, I know. Harry is the most interesting character by far I think. He’s also a phenomenal actor.
And at least they aren’t going around saying “get your trousers on, you’re nicked, sonny”.
These formulaic stereotypes are how simplistic reviewers like Alison Graham in the ‘Radio Times’ like it. Peter Firth could reprise Smiley and give Alec Guinness a run for his money, as long as the director had the sense to give him his head. What do you think of ‘Waking the Dead’, taken as a whole? Young Sir started his career there post-uni as a runner and was sometimes on screen as a corpse. I still have warm feelings for Sue Johnston who, through him, sent us some very decent bottles of wine.
I’ve never seen Waking the Dead, I’m afraid.
I believe it is some kind of Police Drama involving Necromancy.
Actually that is quite a good idea.
Since Spooks is really just a remake of the Professionals – don’t believe me then catch some of the professionals re-runs on ITV4 – you too might be surprised by how political they actually are, except in the Professionals they used fictional countries like “Umbargo” that were mostly in the Middle East or Africa instead of the very real Russia and India and Pakistan of Spooks.
Anyway I digress – there I was catching up on my late seventies fashions and eyeballing the motas when suddenly Bodie is getting lower scores in his (pre)psychometric tests and Doyle (the curly one) considers him a liability – the token female psychiatrist thinks he’s a sexist pig and behaving like a child because he’s been traumatised by too much killing etc, but some squaddie says all guys who risk their lives day in day out are entitled to let off steam. Turns out the butler from Upstairs Downstairs who is now chief Spook and hasn’t aged since King Edward was on the throne diagnoses that Bodie has a “deathwish” hence he goes round picking fights with a “Hell’s Angels” motorcycle gang. Hahahah but it’s no “deathwish” he’s bluffing because one of the motorcycle gang killed Bodie’s mate and he wants revenge. So you see Bodie didn’t have PTSD he was faking it dah daaaaaa. And I think the proves my point precisiely.
Re outskool Dr Who – Have you actually watched an episode lately? 45 minutes of nothing happening except people and aliens walking in and out of doors – I watched a John Pertwee one recently where they used the same shot of a hovercraft landing and taking off six times in the same episode. Gimme running down corridors and shouting really fast and unintelligible plot exposition any day.
By the way who doesn’t lurve a good kick ass iced maiden every now and again – especially when they stereotype her as either frigid or a dyke – oh yes and a torturer. The most interesting character was always Malcolm – how could one man know so much be it breaking cypher or defusing nuclear weapons over the radio? He was a one man budget cut for the security services – you didn’t need whole departments dedicated to things with him around – and he wasn’t without emotion too, if anyone remembers how distressed he was when “he was my best friend” Colin got killed on an op in the back of a van with nasty Adam. Any way there’s also a website dedicated to Ruth and her Marks and Spencer clothes – far more realistic attire for folks probably on about £30k than the Armani and Belstaff chic of the very discreetly tattooed ex Russian prioner spy bloke and old Rupert Penry Jones (the nxt Bond?).
The Sarah Jane Adventures can be found on CBBC and sometimes (esp. new series) late afternoon on BBC1. Sarah Jane is a middle-aged, former Tom Baker companion who has dedicated her life to protecting the Earth from Nasty Beings. She has an ET computer called Mr Smith and our old friend, the robot doggie K9, as well as teenage assistants of her own, and occasional cameo appearances by the current Doctor and the Brigadier, now retired but still up for it. The story lines rely on Pluck and Ingenuity (do I hear howls of derision or is it merely the first cuckoo?)rather than zap! bang! pow! SFX like the current Dr Who (fun, though, and David Tennant certainly was the best Doctor since TB and arguably the best ever, a Shakespearian actor no less!) and streets ahead of the depressing bonkfest known as Torchwood. If you can’t get Sarah Jane there’s always Shaun the Sheep, made yer in Bristle by Aardman (cracking good production company Grommit!).
Yeah Malcolm was ace! He knew everything! I wouldn’t be surprised if his clothes weren’t from m&s too. Notice how in later series they all have posh pads by the thames, whereas to begin wth they had flatmates and the like to save money. And complained about having to do their expenses.
Probably Burton’s. I was very sorry when Malcolm retired but glad for him.
Yeh but didn’t you want Malcolm to grab a gun and go slaughter all that baddies that killed Ruth’s husband and kidnapped her kid? Hmmmm he looked so Clint when he went round the kidnapper’s house.
Not Clint Eastwood though! I just saw that episode earlier today and yeah, storming the joint would have been cool. Still, he got results – the Malcolm way. I’m sad to see him leave the series. His replacement, Tariq, is irritating.