For a short pleasing unwind before bedtime this show can suffice. It is well paced and mildly interesting excepting the repeated introduction sequence which is tediously long and pompous. But the show is fake. The short listed candidates are described as 'highly intelligent' and 'especially gifted' whilst in fact they were mostly quite ordinary people who could have been picked at random. However some of the candidates were quite special. They were so incredibly inept, so amazingly dull and so ridiculously clueless that the show collapses on take off.
'How could any professional body accept such fools for intelligence training?' is the first question that arises when the show's cover begins to crack. Even amongst the final four a candidate is stupid enough to call the emergency safety line simply because no one has contacted her for a few hours. Julian Fisher, supposedly a former intelligence officer of some rank and now the organizer of this 'course' for MI5 hopefuls exclaims "intelligence officers are made and not born" as if his business model can actually create gold from lead. But it cannot. In fact the whole show proves that his training cannot succeed where the raw material simply isn't good enough.
Finally towards the end of the series Justin blows his own cover. He tells the viewers that arrested agents must achieve a rapport with their interrogators and not antagonize them. This is absolute nonsense. The relationship between agent and interrogator is entirely dependent upon the cover being used. Posing as an experienced international businessman an agent might well strike a good tone with his interrogator. Successful businessmen are normally cool and smooth. But these candidates were posing as tourists. Innocent holidaymakers do not take kindly to police interrogations for no apparent reason. After five hours of solitary confinement the average tourist would either be absolutely livid with his interrogator or so deeply shocked that their responses would be muted and sullen. Anything else would raise suspicion.
One candidate acted as if the cell experience had blown his mind and so hardly responded to his interrogator. He was immediately suspended from the show and thrown off the course as a failure. As I wrote, this is absolute nonsense and entirely fake. Justin Fisher was either never in MI5 or was removed for being an idiot. Watch this show with a bucket of salt.
'How could any professional body accept such fools for intelligence training?' is the first question that arises when the show's cover begins to crack. Even amongst the final four a candidate is stupid enough to call the emergency safety line simply because no one has contacted her for a few hours. Julian Fisher, supposedly a former intelligence officer of some rank and now the organizer of this 'course' for MI5 hopefuls exclaims "intelligence officers are made and not born" as if his business model can actually create gold from lead. But it cannot. In fact the whole show proves that his training cannot succeed where the raw material simply isn't good enough.
Finally towards the end of the series Justin blows his own cover. He tells the viewers that arrested agents must achieve a rapport with their interrogators and not antagonize them. This is absolute nonsense. The relationship between agent and interrogator is entirely dependent upon the cover being used. Posing as an experienced international businessman an agent might well strike a good tone with his interrogator. Successful businessmen are normally cool and smooth. But these candidates were posing as tourists. Innocent holidaymakers do not take kindly to police interrogations for no apparent reason. After five hours of solitary confinement the average tourist would either be absolutely livid with his interrogator or so deeply shocked that their responses would be muted and sullen. Anything else would raise suspicion.
One candidate acted as if the cell experience had blown his mind and so hardly responded to his interrogator. He was immediately suspended from the show and thrown off the course as a failure. As I wrote, this is absolute nonsense and entirely fake. Justin Fisher was either never in MI5 or was removed for being an idiot. Watch this show with a bucket of salt.