What is "spooks"

n. (plural of spook English) vb. (en-third-person singular of: spook)

Spooks (known as MI-5 in some countries) is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 to 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, and the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a highly secure suite of offices known as The Grid. It is notable for various stylistic touches, and its use of popular guest actors. In the United States, the show is broadcast under the title MI-5. In Canada, the programme originally aired as MI5 but now airs on BBC Canada as Spooks.

The series continued with a film, Spooks: The Greater Good, which was released on 8 May 2015.

Spooks! (1953) is the 148th short film released by Columbia Pictures starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges ( Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). The comedians released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Spooks is a game for the Commodore 64 which was published in 1985 by Mastertronic, and written by a programmer identified as The Prisoner.

Spooks is the 2010 album from Australian band The Beautiful Girls. It was released on 25 May 2010 and features the single "10:10".

The first series of the British spy drama television series Spooks (known as MI-5 in the United States) began broadcasting on 13 May 2002 on BBC One, before ending on 17 June 2002. It consists of six episodes. Spooks follows the actions of Section D, a counter-terrorism division of the British Security Services (MI5). Among the storylines, main character Tom Quinn faces dilemmas living a double life with his girlfriend, who at first does not know he is really a spy, and Tessa Phillips is running phantom agents for monetary gain. Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner, Esther Hall, Heather Cave, Hugh Simon and Greame Mearns are listed as the main cast.

Kudos Film and Television developed Spooks after releasing Channel 4 medical drama Psychos in 1999, though the company initially faced friction from television networks which saw no potential in a post- Cold War spy show. The producers later successfully pitched the series to the BBC after the networks' commissioning teams were replaced. Four episodes were being written when the September 11 attacks took place, and the some scenes were rewritten to take the event into account to show the audience Spooks's goal of fighting terrorism. Throughout production, the producers were advised by former intelligence officers from the Security Service, KGB and Central Intelligence Agency. Filming took place from November 2001 to March 2002.

The first series was seen by an average of 7.49 million, and received generally favourable reviews from critics, with some comparing the series to American espionage-based series such as 24. The second episode attracted controversy after a scene which depicted the brutal death of main character Helen Flynn ( Lisa Faulkner) attracted more than 250 complaints. As a result of the series, MI5's website saw a surge in a number of applications to the organisation by viewers. Spooks was awarded a British Academy Television Awards (BAFTA) for Best Drama Series, and was nominated for two other BAFTAs and three Royal Television Society Awards. The first series was released on DVD on 16 June 2003 in Region 2, 18 August 2003 in Region 4, and 13 January 2004 in Region 1.

The fourth series of the BBC espionage television series Spooks began broadcasting on 12 September 2005 before ending on 10 November 2005. The series consists of ten episodes.

The fifth series of the BBC espionage television series Spooks began broadcasting on 17 September 2006 before ending on 13 November 2006. The series consists of ten episodes.

The sixth series of the BBC espionage television series Spooks began broadcasting on 16 October 2007 before ending on 18 December 2007. The series, consisting of ten episodes, is the first where there is a story line throughout the episodes. Appearing as recurring characters are CIA Agent, Bob Hogan, and Iranian Special Consul, Dariush Bakhshi, and his wife, Ana.

The eighth series of the BBC espionage television series Spooks began broadcasting on 4 November 2009 before ending on 23 December 2009. The series consists of eight episodes.

The ninth series of the BBC espionage television series Spooks began broadcasting on 20 September 2010 before ending on 8 November 2010. The series consists of eight episodes.

Spooks is an animated short subject produced by Walter Lantz, and stars Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

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, before 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 Services (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.

The third series of the British spy drama television series Spooks (known as MI-5 in the United States) began broadcasting on 11 October 2004 on BBC One, before ending on 13 December 2004. It consists of ten episodes which continue to follow the actions of Section B, a counter-terrorism division of the British Security Services (MI5). It also sees the departure of three principal characters: Tom Quinn ( Matthew Macfadyen) is decommissioned in the second episode, Zoe Reynolds ( Keeley Hawes) is exiled to Chile in the sixth episode, and Danny Hunter ( David Oyelowo) is killed in the series finale. In addition to Macfadyen, Hawes and Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Rupert Penry-Jones, Nicola Walker, Hugh Simon, Shauna Macdonald and Rory MacGregor are listed as the main cast.

Though the producers knew that Macfayden would leave the series, they did not know when he would do so, and so the first two episodes were initially written without him. In either case, the producers created a new character, Adam Carter. In addition, the writers heavily researched the episodes; many of the story lines are based on truth. The producers also took information from advisors who were ex-MI5 officers. The series was directed in five blocks of two episodes in each. Filming started in January 2004 and took place over six to seven months. Shooting took place almost entirely in London, England, with some scenes shot in a cross- English Channel ferry in the fifth episode.

The third series was seen by an average of 5.77 million viewers, a decline in ratings from the second series with viewership dropping below five million at one point. However the BBC had renewed Spooks for a fourth series before the third had begun broadcasting. Critical reaction was generally positive, though reviewers believed it did not perform as well as its preceding seasons. It was nominated for seven British Academy Television Awards (BAFTA), winning one. The third series was released on DVD on 23 May 2005 in Region 4, 5 September 2005 in Region 2, and 31 January 2006 in Region 1.

The seventh series of the BBC espionage television series Spooks (known as MI-5 in the United States) began broadcasting on 27 October 2008 on BBC One before ending on 8 December 2008 on the same channel, and consists of eight episodes, two fewer than previous series. It follows the actions of Section D, a counter-terrorism division in MI5. The primary storyline involves Sugarhorse, a top secret operation set up by MI5 during the final years of the Cold War, and a mole working for the FSB who intends to leak the operation to the Russians. Peter Firth, Rupert Penry-Jones, Hermione Norris, Richard Armitage, Miranda Raison, Gemma Jones, Hugh Simon and Alex Lanipekun are credited as the main cast.

Penry-Jones announced his intention to leave the series in December 2007, while it was later announced Armitage would join. Norris and Raison were both asked to return after their characters were left open for return after the end of the last series. In developing the series, the producers wanted to repeat the serialised style from series six, and settled on using the resurgence of Russia as the primary storyline, as they felt that at the time, the resurgence is in subtle ways threatening the security of the west. The producers also participated in several meetings with the writers to discuss the purpose of Sugarhorse. Filming started in London in March 2008, and later finished on August in the same year, in Moscow, the first time in series history where Spooks was filmed outside the United Kingdom.

The seventh series received healthy ratings, with both BBC One and BBC Three ratings together achieving 6.13 million viewers per episode. It series also attracted critical acclaim, with some reviewers considering it to be the best series of Spooks. Both factors allowed the BBC to commission an eighth series of the programme for 2009. The seventh series was released on DVD on 12 October 2009 in the United Kingdom, 30 March 2009 in Australia, and 26 January 2010 in the United States.

The tenth and final series of the BBC espionage television series Spooks (known as MI-5 in the United States) began broadcasting on 18 September 2011 on BBC One, and continued until 23 October. It consists of six episodes. The series continues the actions of Section D, a fictional counter-terrorism division of the British Security Service (MI5). In August 2011, Kudos Film and Television, the production company behind Spooks, announced that the tenth series will be its last, as they wanted the show to end "in its prime."

In this series, former Russian spy-turned-politician Ilya Gavrik ( Jonathan Hyde), Harry Pearce's ( Peter Firth) opposite during the Cold War, proposes a strategic partnership between Russia and the United Kingdom. Also with Gavrik is his wife Elena ( Alice Krige), with whom Harry had an affair during the 1980s. However, over the course of the series Section D must stop those who intend to sabotage the partnership. As well as Firth, Nicola Walker, Max Brown, Shazad Latif, Simon Russell Beale, Lara Pulver and Geoffrey Streatfeild are included as the main cast. The final episode includes a cameo appearance of Matthew Macfadyen, who headlined the first two years of the show.

Ratings for the series generally struggled as it went against Downton Abbey, a highly successful period drama series from ITV1, which was seen by nearly twice the audience; the series attained a per-episode average ratings of 5.41 million viewers. Reviews of the final series were polarised between positive and negative, with critical opinions ranging from "as impressive as ever" to looking "tattered and tired". The DVD box set of the tenth series was released on 28 November 2011 in Region 2, on 6 March 2012 in Region 1, and on 4 April 2012 in Region 4.