Spooks (TV series)
All series of Spooks (most episodes edited) are available on iTunes, with series 7, 8, 9 and 10 becoming available to download one week after original broadcast. Series 1–8 have been released on DVD by Contender Home Entertainment with its successor Entertainment One then taking over; series 9 was released by Universal Playback.
Spooks (series 1)
The first series attracted controversy for its second episode, which saw the demise of a main character after her hand and head were forced into a deep fryer. The scene attracted over 250 complaints, 154 of them to the television watchdog, the Broadcasting Standards Commission, the highest number of complaints for a television programme in 2002. Following the complaints, the BBC admitted that the scene "clearly disturbed" several viewers, but defended it as it was showing the audience "the kind of threat which might be faced by agents engaged in the fight against terrorism." The Broadcasting Standards Commission stated the scene was shocking, but "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 in the scene. The controversy sparked a response from comedian Charlie Brooker in his "Guardian" column, stating: "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" and "Merseybeat" sat up and blinked in disbelief: here was a major BBC drama series that actually had the nerve to confound expectation."