Yes, the scourge of the Humdrums was playing the game! I don't think this has been sufficiently appreciated, either by me or by other critics. What strikes me very forcibly now is that, in a roundabout way, Symons was updating the classic Golden Age novel. On first reading, this irritated me, but this time I felt more sympathetic to what Symons was trying to do. An extract from a newspaper article at the start of the book tells us that two mysterious deaths connected with Headfield take place in Venice, but for a long time it's really unclear where the story is heading. Symons' The Quest for Corvo) and also records some events in his diary. Cruddle (here Symons was reworking his brother A.J. One character, Jason Durling, is interested in an obscure writer called D.M. Most of the events take place in the prosperous town of Headfield, but there are important developments in Venice and on the island of Elba. There are plenty of enjoyable vignettes in this story. But they contribute to Symons' purpose, which was at least in part to offer a satirical portrayal of bourgeois English life in that respect the novel now reads like a slice of social history. That said, although the writing is very snappy, with short scenes and multiple changes of viewpoint, there are a lot of minor characters, almost certainly more than necessary for the purpose of the plot. Symons felt it was one of his best books, noting in Jack Walsdorf's bibliography of his work that he found the writing of it unusually smooth, 'with none of my customary back-tracking and elimination of what seem otiose characters'. And on the whole, my reaction second time around was much more favourable. I'd forgotten all about the characters and plot by the time I came to reread it the other day. I must admit that I found the title rather off-putting (in the US, it was retitled A Criminal Comedy) and the story didn't really strike a chord with me.
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I first read Julian Symons' The Criminal Comedy of the Contented Couple not long after its original publication in 1985. If you haven't seen it, don't leave it as long as I did before you repair the omission.
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Watching this show (along with Bleak House) has been a delight. With few exceptions, the episodes have tremendous pace, and although the attempts to humanise the spies with soap opera type backstories weren't entirely successful, the overall standard of writing was very good.
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The negativity probably just reflects the fact that Spooks was no longer new. Some critics detected a falling-off in quality in the tenth and final series. One can only ever be confident that Harry, the lynchpin, will survive. But right from the start, the writers were ruthless about disposing of characters. The supporting cast, including the data analysts, were just as good and the fate of Colin (Rory MacGregor) was one of the darkest and most poignant moments of the series. Peter Firth appears in every episode as Harry (later Sir Harry) Pearce, while the wonderful performers who work alongside him at different times include Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Nicola Walker, Rupert Penry-Jones, Gemma Jones, Hermione Norris, Miranda Raison, and Lara Pulver.
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It's been suggested that one or two of the writers let their anti-Israel feelings get the better of them, but in general I thought the political material was well handled, although there were various incredible features (not least the emphasis in later series on a Home Secretary who seems responsible for everything, with the Prime Minister remaining invisible). One thing that is very striking is the extent to which global geopolitics have changed in the years since Spooks, which was created by David Wolstencroft, first aired almost 20 years ago - long before Brexit, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the Aukus defence pact. Even the weakest episodes make for acceptable viewing, while at their best the scripts are razor-sharp.
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Thanks to good old Iplayer, I've now watched Spooks from start to finish and I must say that although it wasn't meant as pandemic-escapism, it worked brilliantly as far as I was concerned. Things changed, however, during lockdown and it became one of my viewing treats.
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I was encouraged to indulge in a binge-watch but the fact that there are no fewer than 86 episodes of the TV show was a deterrent. Five years ago, I gave a favourable review to the film which was a spin-off from the long-running TV series Spooks, which I somehow managed to miss when it was first screened (my excuse is that in those days I was a full-time lawyer as well as a novelist).