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"Looking After Our Own" is the second episode of the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
'' Spooks''. It first aired on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
on 20 May 2002. The episode was written by series creator
David Wolstencroft David Wolstencroft (born 16 July 1969), is an American-born British screenwriter and author. He is best known as creator of the BAFTA award-winning TV spy drama '' Spooks'' and its spin-off series, '' Spooks: Code 9''. Early life Wolstencroft wa ...
, and directed by
Bharat Nalluri Bharat Nalluri (born 1965) is a British–Indian film and television director. Personal life Nalluri was born in India. He moved to England at a young age with his family and grew up in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he attended the Royal Grammar ...
. The episode focuses on
MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...
's efforts in bringing down right-wing leader Robert Osbourne (
Kevin McNally Kevin Robert McNally (born 27 April 1956) is an English actor and writer. He is known for portraying Joshamee Gibbs in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. Early life Born in Bristol, McNally spent his early years in Birmingham, atte ...
), who is believed to be planning a series of race riots across the UK. The storyline was originally slated for the finale of the first series, but was pushed forward when the producers were pressured to deliver the story to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. Filming took two weeks, around December 2001. After its original broadcast, the episode was viewed by over eight million Britons, a decline of one million from the first episode, but was still the strongest performer in its time slot. The episode marked the death of a main character, Helen Flynn (
Lisa Faulkner Lisa Tamsin Faulkner (born 19 February 1972) is an actress, presenter and celebrity chef. Early life Faulkner was born in Merton, London, to David Faulkner and Julie (née Day). She lived in Esher and was educated at Tiffin Girls' School in ...
), which was met with considerable controversy due to its perceived violence; at 250 complaints, it marked the highest number of complaints for a television programme in 2002.


Plot

MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...
suspect that right-wing leader Robert Osbourne is planning a series of race riots in the UK. A team led by
Danny Hunter Danny Hunter is a fictional character appearing in the first three seasons of the BBC television series '' Spooks'', known as ''MI5'' in the United States. The character, played by British actor David Oyelowo, is a Junior Case Officer in Section ...
(
David Oyelowo David Oyetokunbo Oyelowo ( ; born 1 April 1976) is a British actor, director and producer. His accolades include a Critics' Choice Award and two NAACP Image Awards as well as nominations for two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards ...
) attempts to bug his home, only to find it impossible because of the home's high-tech
countersurveillance Countersurveillance refers to measures that are usually undertaken by the public to prevent surveillance, including covert surveillance. Countersurveillance may include electronic methods such as technical surveillance counter-measures, which is t ...
equipment. What MI5 does find is that Osbourne
abuses Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...
his wife Claire (
Debra Stephenson Debra Stephenson (born 4 June 1972) is an English actress, comedian, impressionist and singer, best known for her roles as Diane Powell in ''Playing the Field'', Shell Dockley in '' Bad Girls'' and as Frankie Baldwin in ''Coronation Street''. ...
); believing Claire is vulnerable for recruitment,
Harry Pearce Sir Henry James "Harry" Pearce, KBE (born 1 November 1953) is a fictional character, head of the counter-terrorism department ("Section D") of MI5 as featured in the British television series '' Spooks''. He was played by Peter Firth during t ...
(
Peter Firth Peter Macintosh Firth (born 27 October 1953) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC One programme '' Spooks''; he is the only actor to have appeared in every episode of the programme's ten-series lif ...
) appoints Tom Quinn ( Matthew Macfadyen) and junior administrative officer Helen Flynn (
Lisa Faulkner Lisa Tamsin Faulkner (born 19 February 1972) is an actress, presenter and celebrity chef. Early life Faulkner was born in Merton, London, to David Faulkner and Julie (née Day). She lived in Esher and was educated at Tiffin Girls' School in ...
) to pose as a married couple who are substitute tutors at the same
Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romfo ...
community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...
Claire is attending. The two initially succeed, and are invited to dinner with Osbourne at his home. However, during their visit, Osbourne catches Helen out by addressing Tom as her boyfriend rather than husband; Helen's improvising makes Osbourne more suspicious of the two. Later, one of Osbourne's contacts, Nick Thomas (
Tom Goodman-Hill Tom Goodman-Hill is an English actor of film, television, theatre and radio. Early life Brought up near Newcastle upon Tyne, he qualified as a teacher before turning to acting. During his time in Newcastle, he regularly acted in amateur perform ...
), is revealed to be freelance journalist Kieran Harvey. When Osbourne discovers this, he has Harvey murdered. Tom and Helen gain Claire's trust and recruit her; she agrees to help the two in exchange for a £600-a-week account and transport to anywhere in the world. In the meantime, a cargo of illegal immigrants from Chechnya is intercepted by
HM Customs and Excise HM Customs and Excise (properly known as Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at the time of its dissolution) was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was t ...
; the traffickers throw their cargo overboard,
drowning Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer as ...
them. Believing the traffickers will change their routes, Tessa Phillips (
Jenny Agutter Jennifer Ann Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1964, appearing in '' East of Sudan'', ''Star!'', and two adaptations of '' The Railway Children''—the BBC's 1968 television seria ...
) and
Zoe Reynolds Zoe Reynolds is a fictional case officer in the counterterrorism department of MI5, featured in the British television series '' Spooks'', also known as ''MI5'' in the United States. The character is played by Keeley Hawes. Prior to starting her ...
(
Keeley Hawes Claire Julia Hawes (born 10 February 1976), known professionally as Keeley Hawes, is an English actress. After beginning her career in a number of literary adaptations, including ''Our Mutual Friend'' (1998) and '' Tipping the Velvet'' (2002), Ha ...
) investigate and discover that Osbourne intends to choke the asylum system by overcrowding the holding centres, and after his followers stir up the race riots, Osbourne would encourage independent
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) Bill Watson (Jasper Jacob) to raise the issue of
asylum seeker An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and m ...
s in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
. Tom and Helen prepare to move out, but are kidnapped by Osbourne's gang and taken to the kitchen of his waste management plant for interrogation. Knowing they are MI5 officers, Osbourne demands everything Tom knows about their operation; when he fails to co-operate, Osbourne forces Helen's hand and then head into a
deep fryer A deep fryer (also referred to as a deep fat fryer), is a kitchen appliance used for deep frying. Deep frying is a method of cooking by submerging food into oil at high heat, typically between temperatures of . While commonly used in commercia ...
, then has her executed. Before Tom can suffer the same fate, Claire throws a cigarette into the vat, which ignites, buying Tom time to escape and return to
Thames House Thames House is an office building in Millbank, London, on the north bank of the River Thames adjacent to Lambeth Bridge. Originally used as offices by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), it has served as the headquarters of the United Kingdom' ...
. However, Tom and Harry are disgusted to hear that the powers-that-be are happy about Helen's murder and Osbourne's plans, since it discredits the far right, and enables the government to gain a political victory and gain consensus on an immigration policy. Additionally, they refuse to take any action against Osbourne, in order to track the movements of all far-right groups, until the surveillance has finished. At the end of the episode, Harry has Osbourne assassinated, and Claire and her son are in an airport about to catch a flight abroad. Bill Watson receives photographs of the dead refugees washed up on a beach, along with a note reading "are you happy with your wash?"


Production


Writing and pre-production

The episode's storyline, including Helen's death, was meant to be in the first series finale. However, by then, the second episode was not yet written, and series producer
Kudos Kudos may refer to: Arts and media * ''Kudos'' (computer game), a life simulation game produced by Positech Games * Kudos (production company), a UK-based film and television production company * Kudos, a fictional currency used by the Dwellers ...
were due to deliver the story to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in one month. As a result, the episode was brought forward to the second slot. Since the first episode began '' Spooks'' "with a bang", series creator and writer
David Wolstencroft David Wolstencroft (born 16 July 1969), is an American-born British screenwriter and author. He is best known as creator of the BAFTA award-winning TV spy drama '' Spooks'' and its spin-off series, '' Spooks: Code 9''. Early life Wolstencroft wa ...
, was under pressure to top the efforts of the first episode with the second, but not by much. During the writing stage, he introduced a story arc involving
Danny Hunter Danny Hunter is a fictional character appearing in the first three seasons of the BBC television series '' Spooks'', known as ''MI5'' in the United States. The character, played by British actor David Oyelowo, is a Junior Case Officer in Section ...
and his obsession with
money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...
and spending, apparently mirroring the writer; the arc was created for the temptations that the officers may have. In the original screenplay, Danny was to spend on his mother. Wolstencroft included some suggestions from his friends and girlfriend. An early scene was to take place in a shower room, but was rewritten when the producers thought it would be "too racy" for a 9:00 p.m. audience. In another instance, a long sequence would take place at sea concerning the smugglers dropping off illegal immigrants into the water; the scenes were cut before filming due to time constraints. Also, before deciding on waste disposal, Osbourne was originally going to head a security company. The funeral scene towards the end of the episode was inspired by ''
The Godfather II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is partially based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. ''Part II'' s ...
''. In the end, the script was rewritten four times before the BBC took the final version of the episode.
Kevin McNally Kevin Robert McNally (born 27 April 1956) is an English actor and writer. He is known for portraying Joshamee Gibbs in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. Early life Born in Bristol, McNally spent his early years in Birmingham, atte ...
was cast as the antagonist Robert Osbourne; McNally was chosen because the producers thought he would be perfect to play the part, as is the case with
Debra Stephenson Debra Stephenson (born 4 June 1972) is an English actress, comedian, impressionist and singer, best known for her roles as Diane Powell in ''Playing the Field'', Shell Dockley in '' Bad Girls'' and as Frankie Baldwin in ''Coronation Street''. ...
, who portrayed his wife. Child actor Daniel Chenery, who played the part of their son, Sammy, was chosen due to his likeness of a younger version of McNally. Also, Simon Crawford Collins's wife made a
cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
as a BT operator.


Filming

Filming took place over a 13 to 14 days period in December 2001. It was not filmed on order of the script; the scenes set around the Osbourne residence for instance, were all filmed at once, during two to three days, though during the episodes, the scenes took place in separate parts of the episode. Parts of the introduction scenes, where Danny's team break into Osbourne's house, was actually filmed on the Grid set. Parts of the sequence were originally filmed without sound; the sound would later be added during post production. The footage of the drowned immigrants found at the shore were shot by the second unit headed by producer Simon Crawford Collins on a pebbled courtyard in Kensington to double as a beach. Some of the exterior scenes at night were filmed with the street wet down so that the lights could kick off the ground. Also in the episode, the editing suite, where the series was edited, was used as a set. The West12 shopping centre in Shepherd's Bush, London was used in one scene as an
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
, as well as the shopping centre itself in another. The Chadford Community College was filmed at a
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
club. The safe house Tom and Helen were appointed to was filmed in two separate locations. One of those locations was used before in the Mary Kane interrogation scene in the pilot episode "
Thou Shalt Not Kill Thou shalt not kill (LXX; ), You shall not murder (Hebrew: ; ') or You shall not kill (KJV), is a moral imperative included as one of the Ten Commandments in the Torah. The imperative not to kill is in the context of ''unlawful'' killing resu ...
". In one scene where Tom was driving to the operation the car was in fact towed; an error was made in the episode where the car looked taller than the other cars on the road during the shoot.


Helen Flynn death scene

Wolstencroft wrote the death scene with the intention of giving the audience the impression that no one in the series is safe. According to producer Jane Featherstone, the idea to kill off a main character involved a female getting "her head set on fire" later in the series, but she decided "let's move the most dramatic thing you've got to episode two and kill off the only actress the audience recognise aulkner was considered the only recognisable cast member when the series was introducedand then you've got them hooked." Matthew Macfadyen stated that the shooting of the death scene, although not emotionally draining, was gruelling to perform. Director
Bharat Nalluri Bharat Nalluri (born 1965) is a British–Indian film and television director. Personal life Nalluri was born in India. He moved to England at a young age with his family and grew up in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he attended the Royal Grammar ...
wanted as little of the torture to be seen as possible, because he wanted the sequence to be more psychological to make it easier to frighten the audience, since they know the physicality of being burnt, whereas if Helen was shot, not as many would. Producer Stephen Garrett wanted to show a more realistic sense of violence, rather than a fantastical "cartoon violence" "in which blows to the head with iron bars leave small bruises rather than crushed skulls, gunshot wounds leave neat abrasions in conveniently fleshy parts of the anatomy rather than eviscerating their victims; and fights that would hospitalise Mike Tyson are walked away from with barely a mark."


Broadcast, reception and controversy

The episode was first broadcast on 20 May 2002, during the 9 to 10 pm time slot. It achieved overnight viewing figures of 7.8 million, with a 35 per cent audience share. Ratings were down over one million from the pilot episode the previous week. Regardless "Looking After Our Own" won its time slot; the finale episode of
ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...
drama ''Helen West'' came second, with 4.9 million viewers and a 21 per cent share. The final numbers posted on the
Broadcasters' Audience Research Board The Broadcasters Audience Research Board (BARB) is a British organisation that compiles audience measurement and television ratings in the United Kingdom. It was created in 1981 to replace two previous systems whereby ITV ratings were compil ...
website went up slightly to 8.1 million viewers, making the episode the ninth most viewed
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
broadcast, and the nineteenth most viewed broadcast in total the week it aired. The episode attracted controversy following the demise of Helen Flynn after her hand and head were forced into a deep fryer. The death scenes attracted over 250 complaints, 154 of them to the television watchdog, the
Broadcasting Standards Commission The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...
, the highest number of complaints for a television programme in 2002. In the wake of the complaints, BBC insiders had admitted that the scenes "clearly disturbed" some of the viewers, but also defended their decision to show the scene as it would show the audience "the kind of threat which might be faced by agents engaged in the fight against terrorism." The Broadcasting Standards Commission stated that despite the content; "in the context was acceptable and important for the later narrative," however the watchdog still criticised the BBC for failing to warn viewers of the violence to come. Garrett refuted this, stating: "Not only was there a clear warning before the programme began, but for anyone who missed that, the subject matter of the episode (a conspiracy to stir up inter-racial violence perpetrated by a man who clearly beat his wife) was hardly the stuff of which chirpy little bucolic fantasies are made." Wolstencroft stated that after watching the episode with his friends, they both commended and criticised his work: "I got some angry phone calls from my friends the next day saying 'how could you, but well done, but how could you, but she was so nice, but how could you, but well done'." Oyelowo also responded to the controversy, believing that it came from a result of Faulkner's male fans. Comedian
Charlie Brooker Charlton Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English television presenter, writer, producer and satirist. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the sci-fi drama anthology series ''Black Mirror'', and has written for comedy series such as ''Bras ...
however, commended the scene, as well as the series in general, stating in his ''Guardian'' column: "The moment her head was forced into the deep-fat-fryer, viewers reared on the formulaic, it'll-be-alright-in-the-end blandness of cookie-cutter populist dramas like ''
Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
'' and '' Merseybeat'' sat up and blinked in disbelief: here was a major BBC drama series that actually had the nerve to confound expectation." In a January 2010 poll, fans of the show voted Helen's death as the "most shocking death scene" in the series, drawing 49% of the votes.


References


External links

*
Series 1, Episode 2
at bbc.co.uk * {{Spooks 2002 British television episodes 1.02