[Closed] London Spy

Yeah. Totally agree. Excellent, best drama I've seen on beeb for a long while. Hope the rest of the series lives up to the opener.

I'm assuming the pimlico case was the inspiration for the writers.

There must have been some "inspiration"! He was a near neighbour when I lived there, was odd to see a face I recognised from the area popping up on the news.

Just watched it on delay, excellent.

Very well acted indeed. Annoyed when it ended!

Just watched it. I see they managed to stretch 20mins of story out to an hour....

Can't say it's at the top of my must see list...

Stoner + 1. Gave up, too boring.

Slow burner, set up nicely for ep2.

Another 'like' here but not sure what I think of ripping off the real spies death for a TV drama - poor taste??

Excellent, best drama I've seen on beeb for a long while

This

and

Jim Broadbent? Such a lovely balance of cuddly loveliness and utter menace

This

I can't make my mind up, certainly brilliantly acted and superb technical filming but it felt light on content and I didn't really 'get' how Ben Wishaws character became so involved in the other guy. I did think the ending was a bit of a cheap shot though, could have done something similar but suitably different without damaging the plot I'd have thought. I'll probably watch it next week but I'd not lose any sleep if I miss it.

I thought it an excellent drama, very well paced. The gay sex scenes were possibly the most graphic I've seen on the box. And what the hell were those stainless steel objects for?

not sure what I think of ripping off the real spies death for a TV drama - poor taste??

I can't see this as a problem - otherwise there would be no drama based on anything historic at all, none set in wars, no Jack the Ripper films, nothing featuring car crashes.....

You really can't see the difference between referencing a very specific, individual incident that happened in the last few years and either historical incidents where there are no living participants or direct relatives even or very generic incidents?

Yes, I can see the difference clearly. But we've been making films about WW11 since 1945, and Iraq / 'Ghan since before they ended.

In this specific instance, there are similarities to the Pimlico man-in-a-bag but also major differences that make the parallels unclear or deniable. So it doesn't make me uncomfortable any more that the the TV programmes featuring IED disposal operations in 'Ghan, which killed a relative of mine a few years back.

OK I watched last night, anyone else?

I was right in shouting "not your real parents" at the telly but didnt see the next day's twist coming
But was that really his parents?
And what did the housekeeper mean over the sausages by telling him to get away from "these people" (something like that)
And the American - what was that in the sweet? Suicide pill, tracker or what?

Hmmmmm, slightly too clever for me but Im still in for next weeks episode

Yes! Fantastic TV!!

The blue pill did look a *lot* like a 160mg OxyContin tablet, actually. Exactly the same colour, shape, everything. Chewing on one without already having a tolerance would be risky to say the least...

Rachel

Ok I was tired last night, but struggled a bit, Enjoying JB and BW - great acting

I wish I was clever enough to follow complex dramas - I needed my more critically aware older son to guide me through it!

Patter so far - 40mins slow build up before it gets going.

Awesome!
I don't watch much TV as a rule, but this drama has me hooked, I didn't want it to end - must find out more!!!

So well acted almost real stories, and the bit in the woods a real experience so well done, loved the bit in the old pump house but didnt understand the bit about the book in the pipe.

Its going to be a classic of its time and for the young lad to fom Q in James Bond to this is a huge leap of direction.

loved the bit in the old pump house but didnt understand the bit about the book in the pipe.

I was wondering about that: also, we were told that they had a relationship for 8 months, so I wondered if we would see some flashbacks that would give clues to Alex's death. Or maybe we already have.

Verbruggen also directed The Bridge, and London Spy certainly seems to have a Nordic noir flavour to it.

I know nothing of this. What is it?

TV drama, BBC iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06pmnwn/episodes/player

Ok, I'm up to date now! A bit different, sometimes slow but ultimately intriguing. The acting is what really makes it for me - first class!

Is pants, the plot has more holes than a tea bag.

Its going to be a classic of its time and for the young lad to fom Q in James Bond to this is a huge leap of direction.

I think you need to acquaint yourself with a broader range of his previous work - he is a very established actor.

Just being Q is exciting for me

Just caught up with this- I think it's excellent!

I got the impression that the book in the pipe is Daniel's keepsake, and he stashes it in a random pump house because he lives in a squat

Looking forward to episode 3 - trailers looked promising!

Dark enough for you all?

Oh my that was good.

The club scene near the end was excellent, re "settling up". They also fully captured the ambiance of a club before that. Stuffy, reserved, but yet calm and relaxing.

Am hooked. Brilliant storytelling, excellent acting and filming. What TV drama should be.

Sssssh! Am abroad! No iplayer!

(Exits thread now to leave you all to the spoilers)

Exactly as I imagined my Grandfather's club Flash! Quite sinister I thought.

There certainly is a sinister air in some. The RAC (On of my grandfather's clubs, as it happens. As in one of my grandfathers, and one of his clubs!) has always felt sinister, as if there are machinations and Machiavellian schemes in every nook and cranny.

Agreed - top episode

Have also been wondering about the book in the pipe he hid the combination device
Possibly some secrets from when he was a rent boy he may cash in before the end?

Also thinking about the strange motif record bloke recognised and linked to the mobile phone at the end
Whats the connection between a music celeb and an escort agency which is presumably linked to the spooks?

Hmmmm - roll on next week

Damn fell asleep at about 9:40 😳

CFH firstly thanks for the thread, we watched the first two on catchup and this one live. Excellent telly.

Understand what you mean about the club atmosphere, I thought they did that very well.

One of my Grandfathers was a 'diplomat' shortly after the war, Prague desk. I think he spent more time in the club than at home despite only being in Parsons Green!
Anyway the series flipping brilliant!

Watched the first three back to back last night, excellent.

I'm amazed! Started watching the first one where the 2 blokes met and it was so badly scripted, unrealistic and silly, I gave up after half an hour!
Maybe I should've stuck with it. 😆

It's probably worth sticking with Debz but I nearly gave up at the same point. It's not as good as it's being made out to be, but it's still better than a lot of stuff. A poor script and some terrible acting from Ben Whishaw is being compensated for by some classy production and atmospheric cinematography. NOIR...MOAAARRRR NOIR PLEASE! It's not bad, but it's not great either.

[i]some terrible acting from Ben Whishaw[/i]

WHAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTT?!

But then I could say

[i] A poor script and some terrible acting from [s]Ben Whishaw[/s][b]pretty much everyone[/b] is being compensated for by some classy production and atmospheric cinematography.[/i]

about True Detective Series 2, which other people seemed to like.

I am with DD on this - it is ok. Like most BBC modern drama output - very cliched in portraying a wholly unrealistic perception of the establishment and how they operate, the Club scene was the biggest example of this, and surely we have moved on from 60 year gays going to Turkish Baths. It is however better than the 1 star review it got from the Telegraph, I will probably see it through.

[i] It is however better than the 1 star review it got from the Telegraph[/i]

Well of course the Establishment won't like it 😉

The Telegraph is read by people who think they should be the establishment - not whose who are.

EDIT: Things have changed since Yes Minister

Hacker: Don't tell me about the press. I know exactly who reads the papers. The Daily Mirror is read by people who think they run the country; The Guardian is read by people who think they ought to run the country; The Times is read by the people who actually do run the country; the Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country; the Financial Times is read by people who own the country; the Morning Star is read by people who think the country ought to be run by another country, and the Daily Telegraph is read by people who think it is.

Sir Humphrey: Prime Minister, what about the people who read The Sun?

Bernard: Sun readers don't care who runs the country, as long as she's got big tits.

Just checking my understanding of something here:

The American he met by the Thames left the boiled sweet with something inside it that I guess looks like a 'suppository'. If it's an oral pill it's a pretty big one.

His flat mate finds the pill and is shocked and upset for him, asking why he didn't say anything but about what is not really explained. Is that particular pill so synonymous with anti-retroviral drugs (because I'm assuming finding it is the reason she now thinks he's HIV+)?

It cuts from there to him getting an HIV test, and it's not really explained why he suddenly felt the need to do that unless he then clicked that the 'pill' he was given is indeed synonymous with HIV drugs and therefore left as a warning.

All of which is fine but the narrative is asking a lot of the audience to pieces together. Have I pieced more together than is there or is this how other people read it?

i'm in two minds over this series. Yes it's a little slow, but then i think we've all been wired of recent to watch fast paced action stuff, it also doesn't help that they've tried to make it look a bit James Bond. I like the general darkness about it, the production is good though i'll admit (and not being prude), that gay gang bang scene in the last episode was a bit 😯 .

Greg - basically, yes.

Sui - that's pretty prudey, all that was shown was the sides of some naked fellas

geetee1972 - I thought the pill was a 160mg OxyContin. Same colour, shape etc. Having one of those as the core of a sweetie would be kind of interesting as sucking the sweetie would be fine, even if you sucked the pill. Crushing the sweetie, however, would crush the pill, releasing a large dose of Oxycodone into you at once. That much might well be fatal to somebody who isn’t already hooked on ‘hillbilly heroin’.

Rachel

it was more how well they made the suggestion on a BBC drama..

All of which is fine but the narrative is asking a lot of the audience to pieces together. Have I pieced more together than is there or is this how other people read it?

[i]It's probably worth sticking with Debz [/i]

Nah, it had it's chance. Came across to o try-hard for me.

DezB - Member

It's probably worth sticking with Debz

Nah, it had it's chance. Came across to o try-hard for me.

Says the man who thought True Detective 2 was good, and if anything was try-hard, that was.

Anyhoo, different strokes for different folks. And we all liked Diff'rent Strokes, right? 🙂

[img] [/img]

"Kimberley" ^^^ became addicted to booze/pills and eventually committed suicide. The real-life actress that is.

Says the man who thought True Detective 2 was good, and if anything was try-hard, that was.

Anyhoo, different strokes for different folks. And we all liked Diff'rent Strokes, right?

Oxywhat? I didn't realise I was supposed to understand pharmacology and drug paraphanalia to be able to piece the plot together. I am endeavouring to watch it - admittedly whilst doing something else. I'll stick it out but it's not Tinker, Tailor.

Just how creepy can Mark Gatiss be though?

The more I see Mark Gatiss in non League of Gentlemen roles the better he seems to be.

I'm busy should I try and watch this or the Bridge?

I'm busy should I try and watch this or the Bridge?

This. There's less episodes.

Some very good acting means I can ignore the terrible collection of cliches it's constructed from. I really can't believe they used the business card with no name or number not just once but twice.
Some people on here seem to think they are not clever enough to follow it, they are wrong, they are not stupid enough to follow it.
There will be no satisfactory conclusion, it'll be left so they can run another series and at the end there will be huge holes in the plot but I for one an enjoying watching the performers.

Slowoldman - could also be a PrEP. A prophylactic against HIV like Truveda that’s in assessment at the moment.

Actually, in context it does make more sense, if less fun.

Pills do also look similar:
[img] [/img]

Rachel

Penultimate episode. Need to avoid the red wine and try to stay awake this week.

Still undecided but hoping for big climax!

The reveal ... Da shit just got real!

Who are they?

Why was the police woman crying?

Sideline, but was was Scottie's car? Thought it was a Facel or something, but not sure.

However, nicely twisted and leading still!

Worked it out! Jensen CV-8 MkIII

A ha. I thought it was a Bristol.

Well the ending was dreadful. Why did they do that? So so disappointing.

Not a great ending was it. The series seemed to lose its way in the final third.

I will probably see it through.

I did and I wish I hadn't - it just got worse and worse.

Turns out his (not-real-life) parents live just down the street from me. Next door to Juliette Binoche and a load of other TV characters.

It didn't end well. Sadly.

The most soporific drama in recent time. Enjoyed one and then fell asleep in 3 and 4 and was fighting sleep from 14 mins onwards last night.

I should have given up after episode one - disappointing for me

Yep, bit of a let-down. Far fetched bollocks that the average acting couldn't rescue.

🙁 damn I knew I shouldn't have checked the thread, my own stupid fault, have yet to see the final episode on catchup

Great acting, weird story lines,and even better filming , but left the door open for future series,sad that scottie killed himself or did he, nice how he left his house and car to the young freind.

What a crock of shite.

The series held our attention, cleverly shot. Ending was total pants though, that last elisode was easily the worst

Just watched the final episode and I have to say one of the most consistent shows I've seen, the slide from excellence to dire drivel was beautifully smooth and well executed. I don't think there was a single moment when the downward trajectory was interrupted.

😀