I was watching an episode of Spooks last night, a drama involving agents of the UK intelligence agency MI5 (hence its name – MI5 – when it is shown in the US). In the episode a conference to create a new trade agreement was threatened by a side deal between Japan and the US, and an assassin targeting one of the delegates. It all wrapped up well, with the side-deal foiled (to the advantage of the UK, of course – this is our TV) and the assassin stopped.
Well that is how I imagine a standard US take on it would have ended, assuming that the US would accept a spy drama based on a trade agreement in a conference hotel. I was struck, however, by the extra complexity the British viewer was expected to take on. The side-deal also impacted the country the assassination target was the leader of, as part of an attempt by him to ethnically cleanse a group in his country. The assassin was released to complete her mission after the trade agreement was signed, followed by a cover-up of MI5′s involvement that included blackmailing the Foreign Secretary. And at the same time we had the standard love triangle, internal politics and character development.
Clearly having an extra 10 minutes of programming time helps, but even so the programme moved much faster than comparable programs like NCIS or even 24 (both excellent programs). Still accustomed to US pacing, I kept looking at the clock and being surprised that we still had so much time to go.