MI-5: Volume 4

As the fourth season of MI-5, also known as Spooks to some viewers, begins the stories are more relevant than ever before. The series has always been fast-paced and hard-hitting but now the battleground of national security provides an even more dramatic backdrop to the challenges facing the team from MI5. The group were left reeling after the shocking death of Danny at the hands of hostage-takers as the last series concluded. Now Adam, Harry, Ruth, Fiona and rising star Zafar set out to become even stronger in their battle to safeguard the nation. An action-packed series opener leaves MI5 with only 48 hours to prevent a catastrophe. And Adam faces one of the most difficult choices of his career in order to save a hospital from devastation: will he be forced to let a brave and innocent young woman die?

The Special – Part One - The team is at Danny’s funeral when a bomb explodes amidst a London street market - high death count. The terrorists are Shining Dawn, an international group whose members believe they have a divine mission to wipe out human beings in order to save the earth. Shining Dawn’s only demand is the release of their leader, till then bombs, designed to target maximum casualties will detonate every ten hours in central London. The Grid is turned in to a command centre, the CIA led by Boyd assist and an old flame of Harry’s, Juliet Shaw, arrives to help. Ruth is sent to interrogate a Professor from whom Shining Dawn take their inspiration, but they are forced to flee when an assassin tracks them down. A waitress becomes caught up in the MI5 operation when she unwittingly becomes the only person able to id the bomb maker. The team are making good progress until a second key witness dies before the team can interrogate them. Adam realises there’s a mole on the Grid but with Zaf kidnapped and the next bomb still ticking down, they don’t have time to find out who it is.

The Special – Part Two - On the Grid, a power struggle between Harry and Juliet emerges with Juliet blackmailing Harry in to supporting her bid for the Security & Intelligence Coordinator’s job. Harry refuses to be manipulated and offers his resignation. Adam manages to free Zaf and forces the kidnappers to reveal where the next bomb is - it’s under a high-rise block of flats. They defuse it but realise their policy must change; they have to root out the mole to find the bomb maker. Harry and Adam arrest their main suspect – Juliet. As they subject her to an interrogation the Professor spots a Shining Dawn member in Thames House. The mole is the CIA man, Boyd. Boyd flees, using the waitress as a foil but is captured. The CIA offer Boyd a deal: reveal the bomb maker and you can resign. Boyd agrees and MI5 arrest the bomb maker, moments later the CIA assassinate Boyd. However, one final bomb is still ticking beneath a hospital and this time, the waitress is rigged to it. Move her and the bomb explodes. Adam stays by her side as they clear the hospital and the bomb ticks relentlessly downwards.

Divided They Fall - As a result of recent terror attacks, the British public have become fearful and increasingly conservative. Attacks and riots against asylum seekers are common and when a conservative MP crosses the floor to join a far right party, The British Way, MI5 realise democracy is being threatened. Adam goes undercover in the British Way, tasked to turn a politically correct racist back to his aggressive roots whilst Fiona, posing as a lobbyist, undermines the MP in Westminster and Zaf embarks on a dirty tricks campaign. The pincer operation works perfectly but perhaps too effectively. The racist returns to his roots, entraps ROAD TRIP - MI5 is alerted to information that a high profile terrorist belonging to a new Islamic splinter group, plan to enter the UK via an illegal immigrants truck. MI5 send Adam and Zaf to Istanbul where they infiltrate the truck and on the journey attempt to turn the terrorists away from his militant ideals. They succeed, but Adam and Zaf are not wholly convinced by the transformation. Back in the UK the team must decide whether to trust the terrorist and risk serious consequences. Too late they realise the terrorist true game and it yields disastrous consequences.

The Book - Harry mourns the suicide of a retired MI5 officer until a journalist informs Harry the officer was murdered because he’d been about to sell his autobiography and expose a life time of service secrets. The journalist is taken under MI5’s protection as the team investigate. The trail leads them back to Whitehall and Juliet where Harry is informed of the real politick; either one elderly officer died or the whole service was brought down. Harry can do nothing but protect his team from further assaults from this rogue Whitehall cabal. He threatens to publish the officer’s memories should anything like this happen again.

The Innocent - A terror attack is planned on the UK transport system, orchestrated by an Algerian terrorist, Malek, whilst locked in a high security prison cell. The team choose the unorthodox and risky strategy of freeing Malek so that he will lead them to the cell before the attack occurs. As they mount surveillance on Malek and his civil liberties lawyer, they discover that Malek is not the terrorist they thought he was but simply an innocent man and his arrest the result of a Special Branch admin error. However since Malek’s release he has been meeting known terrorists – has Malek been turned whist in prison? Adam interrogates Malek and discovers Malek’s family are being held hostage until Malek commits the required act of terror. The team fight to save Malek’s innocence but risk his family’s lives in the process.

Syria - A Syrian diplomat indicates he would like to begin secret talks with the UK. Fiona volunteers to go undercover and liase with the diplomat but Adam’s concerned: Years ago Fiona was locked in to a disastrous marriage with a Syrian secret service officer, Farook, whom Adam saved her from by framing Farook, resulting in his execution. Ever since Fiona has lived under an alias to avoid detection by the Syrians. Checks are made and since no one from her past is present Fiona is allowed to make contact. As the team prepare to work covertly with the diplomat it becomes clear that Fiona has another agenda, one she is arming herself for: Fiona has discovered that her first husband is still alive and looking for her. Fiona wants to provoke a confrontation so that she can kill her ex-husband and finally escape her past. However she fails and is kidnapped by Farook. Adam must save Fiona before she is flown out of the country. They nearly make their escape when Fiona is shot. She dies in Adam’s arms.

The Russian - Adam is in denial, unable to grieve for Fiona. Hugo Ross, an old cold-war traitor, is approached by MI5. The son of the now dead Soviet spy who recruited Hugo is in Britain. The son is as passionate about capitalism as the father was about communism and the UK Government is toying with allowing the son to save the NHS by buying it. MI5 are unconvinced by the son and independently set out to discover the son’s true motives. Adam insists on working on the operation but it quickly becomes apparent that he’s unable to cope. Harry sends him to the secret service psychiatric hospital. The team discover the son’s ultimate aim is to buy the NHS and strip it of its assets; Britain will lose its NHS. Appalled by the son’s free market values, Hugo helps MI5 destroy the son’s reputation, ensuring the government is no longer able to ignore the son’s unethical business dealings. Adam spars with his psychologist before walking out, re-joining the operation and leading it to success. Only then is he able to begin to grieve.

The Sting - The world is on the brink of war with Iran and, despite the Government’s reluctance to go to war again in this climate of playing lap-dog to America, the UK may be forced to do so. Harry is determined to remind everyone that MI5 is not a CIA outstation, so when the team catches the CIA illegally extraditing another British/Iranian citizen (Khurvin) based on a flimsy terrorism charge, Harry makes a stand and forces the CIA to release him. Khurvin subsequently murders his MI5 surveillance team and Harry is suspended. Juliet takes control of the Grid and tasks the team to recapture Khurvin before he commits an act of terror and forces the country into war with Iran. As the team follows up clues, Harry, unable to face life outside the service, starts his own investigation into the case. Secretly liaising with Adam, both investigations lead them to Pollard, an American mercenary working on behalf of big businesses in the USA, businesses who will profit from another war. The team captures Khurvin and Pollard. Harry is reinstated.

Diana - On the eve of her stepbrother Peter’s suicide, Ruth is visited by his partner Angela, an ex-MI5 officer famous for her operational accomplishments. Angela asks Ruth for help in procuring evidence that proves MI5, and more specifically Harry, assassinated Lady Diana – the news of which ultimately brought about Peter’s suicide. Ruth dismisses the idea, but the following day Angela walks onto the Grid carrying a bomb big enough to explode the whole of Thames House. Angela forces the team to find evidence that MI5 killed Diana. The team searches through the night, building a story based on facts and conspiracy theories. It begins to look as though there might be truth to the claim, until Harry disproves it. Ruth finally gets through to Angela by constructing a ‘truth’ about her relationship with Peter. The team agrees to award Angela ‘victim in the field’ status and allow her to walk free, but as she disappears Ruth notices the Buckingham Palace security plans have gone missing. Forces are mobilised and the Royal Family evacuated to a bunker when Adam realises they are playing into Angela’s hands yet again - the bomb is in the bunker. They manage to dispose of the bomb and the Royal family is safe. Thwarted and furious, Angela seeks to take her revenge on Harry and Adam in a terrifying way.

Adam Carter	---	Rupert Penry-Jones
Harry Pearce	---	Peter Firth
Juliet Shaw	---	Anna Chancellor
Zafar Younis	---	Raza Jaffrey
Fiona Carter	---	Olga Sosnovska
Ruth Evershed	---	Nicola Walker
Malcolm Wynn-Jones	---	Hugh Simon
Jo Portman	---	Miranda Raison
Colin Wells	---	Rory MacGregor

Created by David Wolstencroft
Written by Howard Brenton, Ben Richards, Raymond Khoury, Rupert Walters, David Farr
Directed by Antonia Bird, Alrick Riley, Jeremy Lovering, Omar Madha, Julian Simpson
Produced by Andrew Woodhead
Executive Produced by Jane Featherstone, Simon Crawford Collins, Lucy Richer

BAFTA® Awards
2002 – Best Drama Series

“...one of the most thrilling and intelligent dramas on TV.” -People

“Spooks is back, as entertaining as ever ... The success of the series is due to a heady combination of pace, character, slick production values and a sly humour.” -The Times

“Spooks returns with an explosive two-part special that could hardly be more topical ... gripping storyline.” Sun “...it’s classily done.” Guardian

“...tensely entertaining...”- Sunday Times, Critics’ Choice

“Well-produced compelling fiction.” -Observer

“the component parts clicked together as neatly as a trained assassin assembling his sniper rifle.” -Independent

“The pacy MI5 thriller that has helped re-establish the BBC’s reputation for contemporary drama.” -Guardian

“...this top-notch spy thriller ... the shocking deaths show no one is indispensable, that anyone can be killed at any time, making the nail-biting climaxes to both instalments of this opening story more nerve-shredding still.” -Financial Times

“It’s all so fabulously complicated and implausible, you just have to go with it. And it’s all such good fun, it doesn’t really matter if you don’t know who’s who, or have a clue what’s going on ... Wonderful.”- Guardian

“...a chillingly topical storyline...”- Daily Star