'Spooks: Code 9': Episode Five

The plotting is still overwhelmingly unoriginal, although the confident execution generates enough tension to ensure that this episode is the best of Spooks: Code 9 so far.

Throwing a supposed victim strapped with bombs into a crowded place, with the terrorists monitoring the footage via CCTV, is a storyline that has been the basis for numerous episodes from a variety of shows over the years. However, the events in the bank are reasonably engaging courtesy of a convincing performance by Andrew Knott as Rob and a clever twist that involves the Semtex-ridden woman being unveiled as a radicalised eco-terrorist with a grudge against her mother.

Furthermore, Charlie's covert questioning of the imprisoned terrorist not only involves some inventive espionage, but also triggers a major revelation when it's revealed that another nuclear bomb may be awaiting detonation in the country. Does the show have enough budget for a CGI explosion on a grand scale though?

Elsewhere, the dialogue between the MI5 agents continues to be mind-sappingly dull and most of the characters have yet to be given an individual personality. In that sense, the dialogue is fairly interchangeable and you could swap the lines between characters without noticing anything untoward - which is fairly appalling given that the show has had five episodes now to establish some decent characterisation. Still, at least they stayed out of the dreaded nightclub this week.

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