Looking After Our Own (Spooks)
Encyclopedia
"Looking After Our Own" is the second episode of the first series of the British
television series Spooks
. It first aired on BBC One
in the United Kingdom
on 20 May 2002. The episode was written by series creator David Wolstencroft
, and directed by Bharat Nalluri
. The episode focuses on MI5
's efforts to bring down the operations of right-wing leader Robert Osbourne (Kevin McNally
), who is believed to be planning a series of race riot
s across the UK.
"Looking After Our Own" took around two weeks to film, which took place around December 2001, five months before the episode was released. The episode was notable for being the first in the series to kill off a main character; the death scene would later draw the most complaints towards the BBC
in that year. It was viewed by over 8 million Britons.
believe that right-wing
leader Robert Osbourne is planning a series of race riots in the UK. A team led by Danny
(David Oyelowo
) attempt to bug his home, which fails upon learning the home is rigged with high-level security equipment. What MI5 does find, is that Osbourne abuses
his wife, Claire (Debra Stephenson
); believing Claire is vulnerable for recruitment
, Section D start "Operation Greensleeves" and tasks a "runner" to befriend her before recruiting. However, vetting
did not pick up on the runner's alcoholism
after she becomes involved in a road traffic accident whilst inebriated. Harry
(Peter Firth
) appoints Tom Quinn (Matthew Macfadyen
) and junior administrative officer Helen Flynn
(Lisa Faulkner
) to step in and pose as a married couple who are substitute tutor
s at the same Romford
community college
Claire is attending.
The two initially succeed, and are eventually invited to dinner with Osbourne at his home. However, during their visit, Osbourne catches Helen out by addressing Tom as her boyfriend rather than husband; Helen's improvising made Osbourne more suspicious of the two. Later, one of Osbourne's contacts, Nick Thomas, is revealed to be freelance journalist Kieran Harvey. When Osbourne discovers this, he has Harvey murder
ed. Eventually, Tom feels he and Helen have gained Claire's trust and recruit her; she agrees to help the two in exchange for a £600 a week account and transport to anywhere in the world.
In the meantime, a cargo of illegal immigrants from Chechnya
is intercepted by HM Customs and Excise; the traffickers throw their cargo overboard, drowning
them. Believing the traffickers will change their routes, Tessa
(Jenny Agutter
) and Zoe
(Keeley Hawes
) investigate and discover a link between the shipment and Robert Osbourne. With the information gathered from "Greensleeves", they discover that Osbourne intends to choke the asylum system by overcrowding the holding centres, and after his followers stir up the race riots, Osbourne would encourage independent MP Bill Watson to raise the issue of asylum seekers in the House of Commons.
Tom and Helen prepare to move out, but are kidnapped by Osbourne's gang and taken to the kitchen of his waste management plant for interrogation. Knowing they are MI5 officers, Osbourne demands everything Tom knows about their operation; when Tom fails to cooperate, Osbourne forces Helen's hand, followed by her head into a deep fryer, before shooting her. Before Tom could suffer the same fate, Claire throws a cigarette
into the vat, which ignites, buying Tom time to escape and return to Thames House
. However, Tom and Harry are disgusted to hear that the powers that be will take no action against Osbourne, in order to track the movements of all far-right groups. At the end of the episode. Harry has Osbourne assassinated
. Bill Watson receives photographs of the dead refugees washed up on a beach, presumably sent by MI5, along with a note reading "are you happy with your wash?"
were due to deliver the first series to the BBC
in one month. As a result, the episode was brought forward to the second slot. Since the first episode started Spooks
"with a bang", series creator and episode writer David Wolstencroft
, was given a lot of pressure to try and top the efforts of the first episode with the second, but not by much. During the writing stage, he introduced a story arc involving Danny Hunter
and his obsession with money
and spending, apparently mirroring David Oyelowo
, the actor who portrays him; the arc was created for the temptations that the staff of MI5 may have. In the original screenplay, Danny was to spend on his mother.
Wolstencroft did have assistance and suggestions particularly from his friends and girlfriend at the time. An early scene was to take place in a shower room, but was rewritten when the producers thought that the scene in particular would be "too racy" for the 9:00pm audience. In another instance, a long sequence would take place at sea concerning the smugglers dropping off the illegal immigrants into the ocean; the scenes were cut before filming due to time constraints. Also, before deciding on waste disposal, Osbourne was originally working in a security company. The funeral scene towards the end of the episode was inspired by The Godfather II. In the end, the script was rewritten four times before the BBC took the final version of the episode.
Kevin McNally
was cast as the primary antagonist, Robert Osbourne; McNally was chosen because the producers thought he would be perfect to play the part, as is the case with Debra Stephenson
, who portrayed his wife. Child actor Daniel Chenery, who played the part of their son, Sammy, was chosen for his likeness of a younger version of McNally. Also, Simon Crawford Collins's wife made a cameo appearance
as a BT
voiceover.
s used in the introduction, where Danny's team break into Osbourne's house was actually filmed in the meeting room of the Grid set. Parts of the break in sequence were originally filmed without sound; the sound would later be added during post production. The footage of the drowned immigrants found at the shore were shot by the second unit headed by producer Simon Crawford Collins in a pebbled courtyard in Kensington
to double as a beach.
Some of the exterior scenes at night were filmed with the street wet down so that the lights could kick off the ground. Also in the episode, the editing suite, where the series was edited, was used as a set. A shopping centre was used in a scene as an airport
, as well as the shopping centre itself in two scenes. The Chadford Community College was filmed at a rugby
club. The safe house Tom and Helen were appointed to was filmed in two separate locations. One of those locations was used before in the Mary Kane interrogation scene in "Thou Shalt Not Kill". In one scene where Tom was driving to the operation the car was in fact towed; an error was made in the episode where the car looked taller than the other cars on the road during the shoot.
stated that the shooting of the death scene, although not emotionally draining, was rather tough, and gruelling to perform. The part where Osbourne forces Flynn's arm into the fryer was done with a rubber arm made to double Faulkner's arm. Furthermore the "oil" was in fact cold tea
with food colour. Episode director Bharat Nalluri
wanted as little of the torture to be seen as possible, because he wanted the sequence to be more psychological to make it easier to frighten the audience, since they know the physicality of being burnt, where as if Helen was shot, not as many would.
broadcast, and the nineteenth most viewed broadcast in total the week it aired. The ratings were down by 1.5 million viewers from the first episode. As of April 2010, members of the user-contributed television review sites the Internet Movie Database
and TV.com
rated the episode at, respectively, 8.3 and 9.4 (rated "Superb") out of 10.
The episode drew the most viewer complaints for the year July 2002 - June 2003, as confirmed in a report by the Broadcasting Standards Commission. The scene in which Helen is tortured by having her head plunged into a vat of boiling oil drew 154 complaints. David Wolstencroft stated that after watching the episode with his friends, they both commented on and criticised his work: "I got some angry phone calls from my friends the next day saying 'how could you, but well done, but how could you, but she was so nice, but how could you, but well done'." In a January 2010 poll, Helen's death was voted the "most shocking death scene" in the series, drawing 49% of the votes.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television series Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
. It first aired on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on 20 May 2002. The episode was written by series creator David Wolstencroft
David Wolstencroft
David Wolstencroft is a Scottish television writer and author. He is best known as creator of the BAFTA award-winning TV spy drama Spooks and its spin-off series, Spooks: Code 9. Wolstencroft was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1969 and grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland, later going on to read history at...
, and directed by Bharat Nalluri
Bharat Nalluri
Bharat Nalluri is a British television director, best known for his work with the independent production company Kudos Film & Television in the 2000s and early 2010s. For Kudos, he has directed episodes of Spooks, Life on Mars, Hustle , and Outcasts: all for transmission on BBC One...
. The episode focuses on MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
's efforts to bring down the operations of right-wing leader Robert Osbourne (Kevin McNally
Kevin McNally
Kevin McNally is an English actor who has worked in theatre and radio extensively as well as in film and television.-Life and career:...
), who is believed to be planning a series of race riot
Race riot
A race riot or racial riot is an outbreak of violent civil disorder in which race is a key factor. A phenomenon frequently confused with the concept of 'race riot' is sectarian violence, which involves public mass violence or conflict over non-racial factors.-United States:The term had entered the...
s across the UK.
"Looking After Our Own" took around two weeks to film, which took place around December 2001, five months before the episode was released. The episode was notable for being the first in the series to kill off a main character; the death scene would later draw the most complaints towards the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in that year. It was viewed by over 8 million Britons.
Plot
MI5MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
believe that right-wing
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
leader Robert Osbourne is planning a series of race riots in the UK. A team led by Danny
Danny Hunter
Danny Hunter is a fictional character appearing in the first three seasons of the BBC television series Spooks, known as MI5 in the United States. The character, played by British actor David Oyelowo, is a Junior Case Officer in Section D, the counter-terrorism department of MI5...
(David Oyelowo
David Oyelowo
- Background :Oyelowo was born in Oxford, England of Nigerian descent. He is married to actress Jessica Oyelowo and they have three sons.Oyelowo first attended a youth theatre after being invited by a girl to whom he was attracted. He then studied Theatre Studies for A level and his teacher...
) attempt to bug his home, which fails upon learning the home is rigged with high-level security equipment. What MI5 does find, is that Osbourne abuses
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
his wife, Claire (Debra Stephenson
Debra Stephenson
Debra Stephenson is an English actress, comedian, impressionist and singer.-Career:At the age of fourteen Stephenson appeared on BBC TV's Opportunity Knocks, winning her way through to the All-Winners' Final, broadcast live from the London Palladium...
); believing Claire is vulnerable for recruitment
Recruitment
Recruitment refers to the process of attracting, screening, and selecting qualified people for a job. For some components of the recruitment process, mid- and large-size organizations often retain professional recruiters or outsource some of the process to recruitment agencies.The recruitment...
, Section D start "Operation Greensleeves" and tasks a "runner" to befriend her before recruiting. However, vetting
Vetting
Vetting is a process of examination and evaluation, generally referring to performing a background check on someone before offering him or her employment, conferring an award, etc...
did not pick up on the runner's alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
after she becomes involved in a road traffic accident whilst inebriated. Harry
Harry Pearce
Sir Henry James "Harry" Pearce KBE is the fictional head of the Counter-Terrorism department of MI5, featured in the British television series, Spooks...
(Peter Firth
Peter Firth
Peter Firth is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC show Spooks, of which he is the only actor to have starred in every episode of the show's 10 series lifespan...
) appoints Tom Quinn (Matthew Macfadyen
Matthew Macfadyen
David Matthew Macfadyen is an English actor, known for his role as MI5 intelligence officer Tom Quinn in the BBC television drama series Spooks and for starring as Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.In June, 2010 Macfadyen won a British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting...
) and junior administrative officer Helen Flynn
Helen Flynn
Helen Flynn , played by Lisa Faulkner, is a fictional administrative officer appearing in the first two episodes of the BBC spy drama Spooks, known in the United States as MI-5...
(Lisa Faulkner
Lisa Faulkner
Lisa Tamsin Faulkner is an English actress and television personality.-Early life:Faulkner was educated at Tiffin Girls' School, Kingston upon Thames.When Faulkner was 16, her mother, Julie, died of cancer...
) to step in and pose as a married couple who are substitute tutor
Substitute teacher
A substitute teacher is a person who teaches a school class when the regular teacher is unavailable; e.g., because of illness, personal leave, or other reasons. "Substitute teacher" is the most commonly used phrase in the United States, Canada and Ireland, while supply teacher is the most commonly...
s at the same Romford
Romford
Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...
community college
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
Claire is attending.
The two initially succeed, and are eventually invited to dinner with Osbourne at his home. However, during their visit, Osbourne catches Helen out by addressing Tom as her boyfriend rather than husband; Helen's improvising made Osbourne more suspicious of the two. Later, one of Osbourne's contacts, Nick Thomas, is revealed to be freelance journalist Kieran Harvey. When Osbourne discovers this, he has Harvey murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed. Eventually, Tom feels he and Helen have gained Claire's trust and recruit her; she agrees to help the two in exchange for a £600 a week account and transport to anywhere in the world.
In the meantime, a cargo of illegal immigrants from Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
is intercepted by HM Customs and Excise; the traffickers throw their cargo overboard, drowning
Drowning
Drowning is death from asphyxia due to suffocation caused by water entering the lungs and preventing the absorption of oxygen leading to cerebral hypoxia....
them. Believing the traffickers will change their routes, Tessa
Tessa Phillips
Tessa Phillips is a character in the television drama series Spooks. She was played by actress Jenny AgutterTessa joined MI5 in the early 1980s and eventually headed her own counter-terrorism unit, known as Section K...
(Jenny Agutter
Jenny Agutter
Jennifer Ann "Jenny" Agutter is an English film and television actress. She began her career as a child actress in the mid 1960s, starring in the BBC television series The Railway Children and the film adaptation of the same book, before moving on to adult roles and relocating to Hollywood.She...
) and Zoe
Zoe Reynolds
Zoe Reynolds is a fictional case officer in the counterterrorism department of MI5, featured in the British television series, Spooks, also known as MI5 in the United States. The character was played by Keeley Hawes...
(Keeley Hawes
Keeley Hawes
Keeley Hawes is an English actress and model, known for many television roles. She is best known for her roles as Zoe Reynolds in Spooks and Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes and Lady Agnes in the remake of Upstairs, Downstairs...
) investigate and discover a link between the shipment and Robert Osbourne. With the information gathered from "Greensleeves", they discover that Osbourne intends to choke the asylum system by overcrowding the holding centres, and after his followers stir up the race riots, Osbourne would encourage independent MP Bill Watson to raise the issue of asylum seekers in the House of Commons.
Tom and Helen prepare to move out, but are kidnapped by Osbourne's gang and taken to the kitchen of his waste management plant for interrogation. Knowing they are MI5 officers, Osbourne demands everything Tom knows about their operation; when Tom fails to cooperate, Osbourne forces Helen's hand, followed by her head into a deep fryer, before shooting her. Before Tom could suffer the same fate, Claire throws a cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
into the vat, which ignites, buying Tom time to escape and return to Thames House
Thames House
Thames House is an office development in Millbank, London, on the north bank of the River Thames adjacent to Lambeth Bridge, designed originally as commercial head offices...
. However, Tom and Harry are disgusted to hear that the powers that be will take no action against Osbourne, in order to track the movements of all far-right groups. At the end of the episode. Harry has Osbourne assassinated
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
. Bill Watson receives photographs of the dead refugees washed up on a beach, presumably sent by MI5, along with a note reading "are you happy with your wash?"
Writing and pre-production
The episode's storyline, including the part where Flynn was to be killed off was meant to be in the first series finale. However, by then, the second episode was not thought up yet, and KudosKudos
Kudos is an English word meaning acclaim or praise for exceptional achievement.Kudos may also refer to:* KUDOS, a vocational-counseling computer program* Kudos , a chocolate-covered cereal bar...
were due to deliver the first series to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in one month. As a result, the episode was brought forward to the second slot. Since the first episode started Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
"with a bang", series creator and episode writer David Wolstencroft
David Wolstencroft
David Wolstencroft is a Scottish television writer and author. He is best known as creator of the BAFTA award-winning TV spy drama Spooks and its spin-off series, Spooks: Code 9. Wolstencroft was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1969 and grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland, later going on to read history at...
, was given a lot of pressure to try and top the efforts of the first episode with the second, but not by much. During the writing stage, he introduced a story arc involving Danny Hunter
Danny Hunter
Danny Hunter is a fictional character appearing in the first three seasons of the BBC television series Spooks, known as MI5 in the United States. The character, played by British actor David Oyelowo, is a Junior Case Officer in Section D, the counter-terrorism department of MI5...
and his obsession with money
Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
and spending, apparently mirroring David Oyelowo
David Oyelowo
- Background :Oyelowo was born in Oxford, England of Nigerian descent. He is married to actress Jessica Oyelowo and they have three sons.Oyelowo first attended a youth theatre after being invited by a girl to whom he was attracted. He then studied Theatre Studies for A level and his teacher...
, the actor who portrays him; the arc was created for the temptations that the staff of MI5 may have. In the original screenplay, Danny was to spend on his mother.
Wolstencroft did have assistance and suggestions particularly from his friends and girlfriend at the time. An early scene was to take place in a shower room, but was rewritten when the producers thought that the scene in particular would be "too racy" for the 9:00pm audience. In another instance, a long sequence would take place at sea concerning the smugglers dropping off the illegal immigrants into the ocean; the scenes were cut before filming due to time constraints. Also, before deciding on waste disposal, Osbourne was originally working in a security company. The funeral scene towards the end of the episode was inspired by The Godfather II. In the end, the script was rewritten four times before the BBC took the final version of the episode.
Kevin McNally
Kevin McNally
Kevin McNally is an English actor who has worked in theatre and radio extensively as well as in film and television.-Life and career:...
was cast as the primary antagonist, Robert Osbourne; McNally was chosen because the producers thought he would be perfect to play the part, as is the case with Debra Stephenson
Debra Stephenson
Debra Stephenson is an English actress, comedian, impressionist and singer.-Career:At the age of fourteen Stephenson appeared on BBC TV's Opportunity Knocks, winning her way through to the All-Winners' Final, broadcast live from the London Palladium...
, who portrayed his wife. Child actor Daniel Chenery, who played the part of their son, Sammy, was chosen for his likeness of a younger version of McNally. Also, Simon Crawford Collins's wife made a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
as a BT
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
voiceover.
Filming
Filming of the episode took 13 to 14 days to complete, during December 2001. However, it was not filmed on order of the script. For example, the scenes set around the Osbourne residence were all filmed at once, during two to three of the total filming days, though during the episodes, the scenes took place in separate parts of the episode. The laserLaser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
s used in the introduction, where Danny's team break into Osbourne's house was actually filmed in the meeting room of the Grid set. Parts of the break in sequence were originally filmed without sound; the sound would later be added during post production. The footage of the drowned immigrants found at the shore were shot by the second unit headed by producer Simon Crawford Collins in a pebbled courtyard in Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
to double as a beach.
Some of the exterior scenes at night were filmed with the street wet down so that the lights could kick off the ground. Also in the episode, the editing suite, where the series was edited, was used as a set. A shopping centre was used in a scene as an airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
, as well as the shopping centre itself in two scenes. The Chadford Community College was filmed at a rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club. The safe house Tom and Helen were appointed to was filmed in two separate locations. One of those locations was used before in the Mary Kane interrogation scene in "Thou Shalt Not Kill". In one scene where Tom was driving to the operation the car was in fact towed; an error was made in the episode where the car looked taller than the other cars on the road during the shoot.
Helen Flynn death scene
Wolstencroft wrote the death scene with the intention of giving the audience the impression that no one in the series is safe. Matthew MacfadyenMatthew Macfadyen
David Matthew Macfadyen is an English actor, known for his role as MI5 intelligence officer Tom Quinn in the BBC television drama series Spooks and for starring as Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.In June, 2010 Macfadyen won a British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting...
stated that the shooting of the death scene, although not emotionally draining, was rather tough, and gruelling to perform. The part where Osbourne forces Flynn's arm into the fryer was done with a rubber arm made to double Faulkner's arm. Furthermore the "oil" was in fact cold tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
with food colour. Episode director Bharat Nalluri
Bharat Nalluri
Bharat Nalluri is a British television director, best known for his work with the independent production company Kudos Film & Television in the 2000s and early 2010s. For Kudos, he has directed episodes of Spooks, Life on Mars, Hustle , and Outcasts: all for transmission on BBC One...
wanted as little of the torture to be seen as possible, because he wanted the sequence to be more psychological to make it easier to frighten the audience, since they know the physicality of being burnt, where as if Helen was shot, not as many would.
Reception
After the original broadcast, "Looking After Our Own" was viewed by 8.1 million British viewers, making Spooks the ninth most viewed BBC OneBBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
broadcast, and the nineteenth most viewed broadcast in total the week it aired. The ratings were down by 1.5 million viewers from the first episode. As of April 2010, members of the user-contributed television review sites the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
and TV.com
TV.com
TV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
rated the episode at, respectively, 8.3 and 9.4 (rated "Superb") out of 10.
The episode drew the most viewer complaints for the year July 2002 - June 2003, as confirmed in a report by the Broadcasting Standards Commission. The scene in which Helen is tortured by having her head plunged into a vat of boiling oil drew 154 complaints. David Wolstencroft stated that after watching the episode with his friends, they both commented on and criticised his work: "I got some angry phone calls from my friends the next day saying 'how could you, but well done, but how could you, but she was so nice, but how could you, but well done'." In a January 2010 poll, Helen's death was voted the "most shocking death scene" in the series, drawing 49% of the votes.
External links
- Series 1, Episode 2 at bbc.co.ukBbc.co.ukBBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...
- Episode 2 at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...