The second series of the British spy drama television series Spooks (known as MI-5 in the United States) began broadcasting on 2 June 2003 on BBC One, ending on 11 August 2003. It consists of ten episodes. Spooks centres on the actions of Section D, a counter-terrorism division of the British Security Service (MI5). Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Hugh Simon, Shauna Macdonald, Rory MacGregor, Natasha Little, Nicola Walker, Megan Dodds, Jenny Agutter and Enzo Cilenti are listed as the main cast.
The second series was seen by an average of 7.19 million, and received generally favourable reviews from critics. The second episode attracted controversy for depicting a plot where a mosque is used to recruit suicide bombers; the controversy attracted near a thousand complaints and negative responses from key figures of Muslim groups across the United Kingdom. It was nominated for a British Academy Television Award (BAFTA) and a Royal Television Society Award, winning the latter. The second series was released on DVD on 20 September 2004 in Region 2, 11 January 2005 in Region 1, and 21 March 2005 in Region 4.
Cast
Main
Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Quinn
Keeley Hawes as Zoe Reynolds
David Oyelowo as Danny Hunter
Shauna Macdonald as Sam Buxton
Hugh Simon as Malcolm Wynn-Jones
Rory MacGregor as Colin Wells
with Nicola Walker as Ruth Evershed
and Peter Firth as Harry Pearce
Guests
Megan Dodds as Christine Dale
Natasha Little as Vicki Westbrook
Enzo Cilenti as Carlo Franceschini
Jenny Agutter as Tessa Phillips
Esther Hall as Ellie Simm
Lorcan Cranitch as Patrick McCann
Heather Cave as Maisie Simm
Tomas Arana as Herman Joyce
Benedict Cumberbatch as Jim North
Sophie Okonedo as Amanda Roke
Ruth Gemmell as Miranda
Episodes
Broadcast and reception
Broadcast and ratings
The second series began broadcasting on 2 June 2003 on BBC One during the 9 to 10 pm timeslot, and continued on every Monday night until 11 August 2003, although there was a week break in the schedule midway through the series due to an overrun of a Wimbledon tennis match on 30 June. The second to ninth episodes were pre-empted to BBC Three a week before they are repeated on BBC One. In the US, the second series aired on A&E, though each episode had approximately fifteen minutes edited out to accommodate for advert breaks. The DVD release of the series in America contained the uncut episodes. It was later repeated on BBC America, alongside the first series from July 2007.
The second series began with overnight viewing figures of 7.8 million. The second episode lowered slightly to 7.6 million viewers, which was about a third of the television audience, while the third episode dropped to 6.9 million viewers, and the fourth rose slightly to 7.2 million, often winning its timeslot against repeats of ITV1's The Darling Buds of May. Following the week interruption from Wimbledon, the fifth episode slipped to 6.1 million, and to six million for the sixth episode, before the seventh episode rose to 6.6 million. Overnight ratings rose to seven million for the second series finale. With consolidated figures factored in, the second series was seen by a per-episode average of 7.19 million viewers.
Critical reception
The second series received generally favourable reviews. Gord Lacey of TVShowsOnDVD called the second series "such a fun series", a "plausible spy show" and "a great show, [...] another solid BBC release." Dennis Landmann of MovieFreak stated that the season "rules" as it "tells complex, dangerous, and relevant stories that creates high octane, powerful drama", and the producers "create top notch work, from the excellent cinematography to the great-looking sets and locations, and from well researched and sweet scripts to solid acting by the principal actors." Landmann noticed the main focus towards Tom throughout the series that builds until he "becomes somewhat of a haunted soul" with the final minutes being "so powerful they affected how I felt for the next couple of days; I kept thinking about the character and the tragic events that happened to him". The reviewer summed up by stating "the second season improves on the first" and rated it nine out of ten.