Timewaster's Guide Archive

Departments => Movies and TV => Topic started by: Entsuropi on April 06, 2005, 10:08:30 AM

Title: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: Entsuropi on April 06, 2005, 10:08:30 AM
Has anyone seen this show? It's about the British counter-intelligence agency, and it's in it's second season now. I'm curious to see if it's worth investigating.
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: stacer on April 06, 2005, 11:37:51 AM
I love that show. It's only in its second season? It was playing when I was in Scotland back in fall of 2002. Or was that a different version of it, the way we have several different Law and Orders? At any rate, I've found it once or twice over here, but the PBS stations keep changing its schedule. So I suppose I'll have to wait till it comes out on DVD. As far as the one I saw, if you like 24 or Alias, it's roughly the same kind of thing.
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: Spriggan on April 06, 2005, 11:58:01 AM
This was on TV over here about 2 years ago and had gotten good reveiws, problem was the show was on A&E which no one watchs except NPR fans.
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers on April 06, 2005, 12:15:38 PM
what's wrong with NPR?
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: Spriggan on April 06, 2005, 12:16:41 PM
nothing if you like talk radio that makes you feel like you're on rittalin.
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: stacer on April 06, 2005, 12:34:30 PM
Ah, that's why I can't find it. They shut off our A&E back when they got rid of TNT and TBS, etc. (We, along with about 50,000 other Comcast customers, were getting channels that weren't included in the basic package. They hooked us then tried to get us to pay for them. No way I'm spending more than I am now on cable--it's only $10 a month, which is then split four ways in my apt.)
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: Spriggan on April 06, 2005, 12:38:08 PM
ya, but it hasn't been on tv for 2 years so I doubt it was even on when you were looking.
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: stacer on April 06, 2005, 03:57:44 PM
Too bad. It was a good show.
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: Entsuropi on April 06, 2005, 04:51:30 PM
http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/spooks/

Turns out it's gonna be in it's 4th season soon. And DVD's for stacer:

Season 1 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000E32UZ/qid=1112816911/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-9682463-8203812?v=glance&s=dvd)
Season 2 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00064AME4/qid=1112816911/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-9682463-8203812?v=glance&s=dvd)

Someone really needs to tell them that MI5 doesn't include a dash.
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers on April 06, 2005, 06:06:06 PM
you do realize that Ritalin is a stimulant, don't you Sprig?
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: Skar on April 06, 2005, 07:01:48 PM
This reminds me of a question I once had about Ritalin.  Perhaps one of you could answer.

Fact: Ritalin is prescribed to ADD/hyperactive kids, with the stated purpose of calming them down.

Fact: I was once diagnosed with narcolepsy (long story) and the doc prescribed Ritalin.  The one time I took it, it drove me into an intensely focused state (focused on one thing and one thing only, a certain passage of scripture) for three hours.

So, it's prescribed to kids to calm them down, it was prescribed to me in order to help keep me awake, the two things seem to be contradictory.

Question: WTH?
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: stacer on April 06, 2005, 08:23:41 PM
The idea is to so overstimulate them that they completely tire out, calming them down. Or overfocus, like your experience. At least, that's my understanding of it.

As for the DVD link, thanks, Ent!
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers on April 06, 2005, 10:14:20 PM
no, it's not expected to tire them out, at least, not in my understanding. it gives them the energy they need to work on one thing. Often the attention focus is due to lack of energy to stay focussed. they don't have the mental alertness for it. So they bounce around.

Ritalin is now prescribed less and less. There are better drugs and therapies for ADD/ADHD.
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: Skar on April 07, 2005, 12:58:10 PM
Thanks.
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: Jelly_Belly on April 07, 2005, 04:28:31 PM
My husband has ADD so I have some experience with this. What happens is there is not enough of a chemical in the brain and the body is trying to produce the chemical by moving around (which can cause shaking or just activity and keeps the person from being able to concentrate). When a stimulant is given to this person, they don't need to be moving around and shaking etc because they have it and don't need any more and so the person is able to calm down, sit still, and concentrate. I am not sure exactly how it effect hyper-activity because my husband only has the attention deficit part, but that is how it effects him. He doesn't take Ritalin, but the stimulant he does take really helps him out a lot.
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: The Jade Knight on April 08, 2005, 01:07:41 PM
My entirely family (more or less) was diagnosed with ADD.

In my case, after review the facts, I think I had a very mild manifestation of Autism instead (highly asocial, sensory integration problems, comfort behaviors, etc.)

My life actually got significantly better when I stopped taking drugs for ADD (I've been on at least 2 different ones, including Ritalin.  Might have been 3, plus an antidepressant to counteract the effects of the Ritalin).

That was around Middle School.  I just absolutely refused to take drugs at that point (in a particular manifestation of belligerence).
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers on April 08, 2005, 01:28:36 PM
It may not have been the Ritalin causing the depression. Most every person I know well who has ADD has at least mild depression as well (people I know well enough to know or guess about this, anyway). ADD is, imo, overdiagnosed in the world, but there are people who definitely have it.
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: Jelly_Belly on April 08, 2005, 01:50:22 PM
One thing that was hard for my husband is that he was not diagnosed until a couple of years ago. He went through elementary, jr. high, and high school thinking he was just slow and stupid because it took him so long to read one thing (cause he couldn't concentrate) and he got lectured as a kid from his parents for daydreaming in school. They never even tried to find out why he did this, they just assumed that it was cause he was lazy and not trying very hard. Even with the medication he has to work really hard in school to keep up with everyone and do well, but at least he has help with the medicine and he knows that it is his ADD instead him being stupid like he always thought. He finally has an explanation for how he is.
Title: Re: Spooks / MI-5
Post by: The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers on April 08, 2005, 02:21:05 PM
yeah, I wasn't diagnosed till I was 18. All this time everyone thought I had a persecution complex and that I was just socially malcoordinated. Fact is, people who have ADD act different, so they get teased, and they don't always think of how they're supposed to react, so they say the wrong things or say well,.. stupid things. This can make them very unpopular. Knowing that you have a disorder like ADD and how to react to it can often be enough for the person to be able to compensate, even without pharmaceutical help. But he has to KNOW.