On the Brink (Spooks)
"On the Brink" | |
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Spooks episode | |
Episode no. | Series 7 Episode 5 |
Directed by | Edward Hall |
Written by | Christian Spurrier |
Produced by | Katie Swinden |
Original air dates | 10 November 2008BBC Three) ( 17 November 2008 (BBC One) |
Running time | 58 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
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"On the Brink" is the fifth episode of series seven of the
The idea behind the episode came from the
Plot
Section D believes banker Alexis Meynell is trying to bankrupt the country. Sir Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) asks the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gillian Calderwood (Selina Cadell) to freeze Meynell's assets, but is turned down due to lack of evidence. To get the evidence they need, Ros is sent undercover to the London Stock Exchange, where Meynell is targeting the bank Highland Life. After starting a rumour about the bank, he starts betting against it. When the chairman of Highland Life, Francis Debham (Simon Williams), attempts to keep the bank afloat, Meynell doubles his position, bankrupting Highland Life. Ros uses the opportunity to swipe a memory card from Meynell's mobile phone, containing his secure email account that could prove his guilt. However, they find nothing relevant. Lucas North (Richard Armitage) relays this to Ros and tells her to get closer to Meynell.
Running on a tip that
Production
The episode was written by Christian Spurrier, his first writing credit for the series. He joined the Spooks writing staff in January 2008. Producer Katie Swinden wanted to base an episode on the economy, which at the time was facing a
The character of Alexis Meynell was inspired by
The episode was filmed throughout May 2008. The helicopter shots of the city were filmed before principal photography of the seventh series started. Almost all scenes where shot during the day, including the scenes set during the night. The second day of the shoot for the episode took place at a house not belonging to the crew, used as the home of Connie James. The Blue Fin building in London provided several locations for the episode, mostly the stock exchange room. Real life traders were used to film scenes set in the floor. Swinden noted that the traders were "interesting guys" to work with, and told the producers the story was "very close to home."[1] The producers borrowed two expensive cars, more prominently an Aston Martin DB9 convertible, which were driven by Armitage and Norris. Armitage was asked to drive the car for only 10 yards, but the actor ended up getting carried away by wheel-spinning and driving the car around a city block. Another car was a Bentley used for Denham's suicide. Because it was on loan, Firth's options on acting as if he was trying to save Denham was very limited without having to damage the car.[1]
Broadcast and reception
The episode was originally broadcast on the digital channel
The episode received positive reactions from television critics. Gerard O'Donovan of The Daily Telegraph called it "another pertinent, brilliantly written episode" and reacted positively towards the episode's "new kind of threat: the economic terrorist." O'Donovan also praised Paul Rhys' acting for "giving his villainous all."[7] Mof Gimmers of TV Scoop praised the episode for having "a refreshing change from the usual theme of this series", with Rhys' performance and the sub plot of the Sugarhorse story arc adding "definitely one of the best stories so far in what has been an impressive series, if a little heavy on the Islamic terrorist side at times. With three episodes to go the Sugarhorse story is building nicely to a crescendo."[8]
See also
- Nationalisation of Northern Rock
- Late-2000s recession
References
- ^ a b c d Edward Hall, Christian Spurrier, Katie Swinden (2009). Audio commentary for "On the Brink" (Spooks Series 7 (DVD) Disc 3). Contender Entertainment Group.
- ^ "BBC – BBC One Programmes – Spooks – Episodes from 2008". BBC Online. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ "BBC – BBC One Programmes – Spooks, Series 7, Episode 5". BBC Online. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ Welsh, James (11 November 2008). "'Commander' has lead over 'Spooks'". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ Wilkes, Neil (18 November 2008). "2.1m tune in for 'Location' advice". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ O'Donovan, Gerard (17 November 2008). "Monday's TV & radio choices". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ Gimmers, Mof (18 November 2008). "TV Review: Spooks, BBC One, Monday 17 November, 9pm". TV Scoop. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
External links
- Series 7, Episode 5 at bbc.co.uk
- "On the Brink" at IMDb