Series 8, Episode 1 (Spooks)

I walked through the doors onto the grid and thought it would be exactly the same, but of course everything has changed, I kept walking into rooms thinking they were cupboards or toilets but they've become other rooms since I left.

— Nicola Walker on her return to Spooks[1]

The episode marks the return of Ruth Evershed since her departure halfway through series five. Actress Nicola Walker left the series to raise her baby. When Walker was asked to return, she took "about half a second to say yes." Upon returning, she noticed that the Grid set changed since her initial departure.[1] Because there was media coverage reporting Walker's return, the producers believed that the shock of her return would be hindered somewhat, but also believed only the "die hard" fans of the series would be aware of it. Ace Bhatti, who portrayed the episode's primary antagonist Amish Mani, was cast because the producers were impressed by his highly convincing and relaxed acting style, which they felt would establish his role in the episode.[2]

Paul Birchard was cast as Libby McCall because the producers believed he acted like a "dinosaur" from the former Bush administration. Child actor Luke Tzortzis was cast as Nico since they were impressed with his intelligence and the fact he is a "strong" actor; children are often hard to work with in the series, but in Tzortzis' case, he would ask the production crew several questions between takes in order to do understand what he is to do in the episode. It was also Tzortzis' first performance as an actor, having no past experiences.[2]

Ben Richards wrote the episode. The main focus for the first ten minutes of the episode was the debate of whether Harry would be dead or alive. The producers decided to tease the audience by showing Harry alive, but then show him apparently executed before the main title sequence, which would make them question whether or not he survived. The producers also wanted to reflect this to the characters, and divide them between if the execution was real or fake. This development was not originally included in the script, and filming was already completed at the time. However, according to director Alrick Riley, Richards was quickly able to write those new scenes "seamlessly" into the rest of the episode, which is usually a difficult task to perform. Richards also added hints in the script that Malcolm would be leaving by the end. The primary plot of the episode were hard to do, but producer Chris Fry noted that Richards was able to execute the plot very well. Elsewhere, the episode would show Ruth living happily in Cyprus and then be quickly drawn back into the world of MI5 back at a "dark" and "grim" London. The conversations between Malcolm and Ruth were all automated dialogue replacement. Following the writing, Walker and Peter Firth were highly looking forward to play their scenes together again.[2]

A few scenes were shot on location in Deià, Majorca, which the producers believed was a suitable surrogate for Cyprus.

Filming took place throughout April 2009. Before it began, production designer Anthony Ainsworth partly reconstructed the Grid set to give it more of a concrete, underground bunker, feel. Though more television series in the UK are adopting high-definition cameras, the Spooks producers decided to continue using hand held standard-definition ones, which were more compact and flexible; the producers felt that using high-definition cameras would sacrifice the filming style of the series. For instance, a hand held camera would allow the crew to film one long take following cast members through tight spaces, like an average London flat. High-definition cameras would lose that ability.[2]

Two days were dedicated towards shooting the pre-title sequence. It was filmed on location at Hedsor House in Buckinghamshire. The helicopter scenes took place inside an actual helicopter taking flight with some cast members on board, which would make the sequence more genuine as opposed to having the cast members sitting inside next to a green screen. The fight sequences between Sarkisiian's and Mani's men were orchestrated and performed by stunt coordinator Chrispin Leyfield and his stunt team, as there was very little time to train conventional actors. Director Alrick Riley wanted the fight sequences to be performed in the same style as in the Jason Bourne films. The abandoned warehouse used to hold Harry and Ruth were filmed in an abandoned leather factory near London Bridge. One of the meetings between Lucas and Sarah Caufield were originally intended to be shot on the London Eye, a location the producers had never used before. However, due to restrictions the filming crew felt they could not follow, it was shot in South Bank, opposite the Houses of Parliament, instead.[2]

The scenes set in Cyprus were filmed on location in Deià, a coastal village in the island of Majorca. Previously working on a film using the same location, producer Chris Fry chose the village because he felt it was the closest to the UK the crew can get to mimic the hot, Mediterranean feel of Cyprus, although Ruth is seen driving a left-hand drive car on the right hand side of the road, whereas Cyprus drives on the left. Because filming abroad tend to be costly for a BBC budget, the producers kept costs down as much as possible by using a limited crew with some local help. Much of the original script was to take place inside a house, but because there were no gaffers responsible for lighting, and that the weather was decent, filming took place primarily outside because of the natural sunlight. The filming crew spent four days at the end of April shooting in Majorca.[2]

Jamie Pearson was responsible for editing the episode. The sequence where Lucas rescues Harry and Ruth near the end were made in slow motion, because the producers felt it would add to the tension. The incidental music was composed by Paul Leonard-Morgan. The computer graphics on the episode were designed by Mark Doman. The producers ended up being receptive of both Morgan and Doman's work, because of their ability to help interpret the story via the music, and computers, respectively.[2]

The episode was originally broadcast on BBC One, during the 9 pm to 10 pm time slot on Wednesday, 4 November 2009, and later repeated on BBC Three at 12:15 am on 5 November.[3] Upon its original broadcast, the episode received unofficial overnight viewing figures of 6 million and an audience share of 25 per cent. Spooks won its time slot against ITV1's UEFA Champions League game, which attracted 5.1 million viewers.[4] According to the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board, the episode received final figures of 6.549 million viewers, placing Spooks the sixth most seen programme on BBC One the week it aired. The repeat on BBC Three attracted 602,000 viewers.[5] In addition, 446,900 viewed the episode from BBC iPlayer, an Internet television service; as a result the episode became the seventeenth best performed iPlayer broadcast of 2009.[6]

Gerard O'Donovan of The Daily Telegraph lamented the eleven months that passed since the series seven cliffhanger, and stated that "for all its square-jawed silliness and bonkers conspiracies, Spooks still delivers high-class escapism at its slickest, most glamorous and entertaining."[7] Adam Sweeting of The Arts Desk felt that the episode's plot was "mere background noise," and that the series "is about hilariously artificial encounters between the characters, clumsily manufactured dramatic tension, and a denouement involving someone being prevented in the nick of time from detonating something/killing somebody/triggering a global economic collapse."[8] Andrea Mullaney of The Scotsman said that the plot was "all gibberish," but cited the episode was really about the return of Ruth, a development Mullaney praised, stating Ruth "has been much missed since she was framed and sent into faked-death exile." Mullaney also praised the performance of the cast, including "Walker's gulping hysteria when Ruth's husband was executed," which was "perfectly done," and Malcolm's "doughty attempts to comfort a small boy in danger were touching."[9]

Robert McLaughlin of Den of Geek believed that it is "equivalent to 24," "far more engaging than the last James Bond movie," and that it is "good to see [Ruth Evershed] again," seeing how "the re-introduction of an old character will work with the new additions."[10] While also reviewing Channel 4's The Family, Tom Sutcliff of The Independent stated that family values were "relevant in Spooks too," citing Ruth being "on the rack," after having her see her husband killed and adoptive son threatened. Though Sutcliff did not see the series with "great diligence recently," he thought the intelligence was "not the quality you would attribute to some of the strategies employed" in the episode.[11] Vicky Frost of The Guardian was overly critical of the episode, criticising it for the reunion between Ruth and Harry, which she stated "wasn't quite the romantic occasion [I would have] liked," and Malcolm's method to convince a "trained killer not to shoot Nico." Overall, Frost thought the episode was "medium" and rated it five out of ten on the "ridiculous-o-meter".[12]