Adam Carter
Encyclopedia
Adam Henry Carter is a fictional character
from the BBC
espionage television series Spooks
, which follows the exploits of Section D, a counter-terrorism
division of MI5
. He is portrayed by British actor Rupert Penry-Jones
. The character is a former MI6 officer who takes charge as the chief of Section D, and hence the head protagonist following the departure of Tom Quinn in series three.
Adam Carter was created with the knowledge that Matthew Macfadyen
, who played Tom Quinn, would leave the series. The intention was that Adam would be different from Tom; the producers wanted a character who was a husband with an MI6 background. Rupert Penry-Jones was cast after three auditions. Before the sixth series finale aired, it was announced that Penry-Jones would leave the series. In the premiere episode of series seven, Carter is killed in a car bomb. His death was voted the fourth most shocking death in the series. Rupert Penry-Jones was awarded "Best Actor" at the Crime Thriller Awards for his portrayal of Adam Carter.
. Oliver Mace (Tim McInnerny
), chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, describes Carter as a "loose cannon". He is a fluent Arabic
speaker and has good countersurveillance
skills. In one past operation, Adam worked a case in Damascus
to recruit Syrian intelligence officer Farook Sukkarieh as a double agent to work with the Israelis and stop a string of suicide attacks. He used Farook's wife, Fiona
(Olga Sosnovska
) as a way in. Fiona and Adam subsequently fell in love and started an affair. When Farook discovered this, he had Adam brutally tortured. After he escaped, Adam framed Farook, persuading the Syrians that he was a traitor, and Farook was supposedly hanged for this. Adam subsequently married Fiona and together they had a son, Wes.
Adam first appears in the series three opening episode "Project Friendly Fire", hired by head of Section D Harry Pearce
(Peter Firth
) to help clear Tom Quinn (Matthew Macfadyen
) who has been framed for the assassination of the Chief of the Defence Staff
. Ultimately Tom is cleared and returns to duty, only to be decommissioned in the following episode after sabotaging an operation. Harry decides to have Adam transferred to MI5, replacing Tom as head of Section D. In the series four episode "Syria", Adam learns that Farook had faked his own death; he is in England, where he kidnaps Fiona during an operation of hers. At the end of the episode Adam guns Farook down, but not before Farook fatally shoots Fiona, who dies in Adam's arms. Harry later relieves Adam of duty until he receives a psychological evaluation. In the series four finale, Adam is shot by rogue MI5 officer Angela Wells (Lindsay Duncan
). At the opening of season five, Adam appears to have made a complete recovery and has returned to the Grid.
In series five Adam hires a nanny, Jenny (Gugu Mbatha-Raw
), to look after Wes while he takes part in operations. Midway through the series, she and Adam start a brief love affair, which ends in the penultimate episode. In the fifth series, particularly in its later episodes, Adam suffers from several mental breakdowns following the loss of Fiona. He has recurring nightmares that involve his being wounded and unable to return home to his son, and in the eighth episode, he has a panic attack after learning that Wes has briefly run away from home; this attack jeopardises his life during an operation. In the series finale, Adam is revealed to be suicidally depressed, wishing he had died in Fiona's place. But after another panic attack, he is able to pull through, save fellow officer Ros Myers
(Hermione Norris
), and escape from the Thames Barrier
before they both drown.
In the sixth series, Adam has recovered from his breakdown—said to have been caused by post-traumatic stress—after receiving psychiatric counseling. He has an affair with Ana Bakhshi (Agni Scott), wife of Iranian Special Consul Dariush Bakhshi (Simon Abkarian). Ana later realises she is pregnant; whether Adam or Dariush is the father of her child is never resolved. Halfway through the series Adam is mugged, and his assailant is seriously injured during their struggle. The man, who is identified as a journalist, later dies, and Adam is wanted for murder. It is later revealed that the man was no journalist; Adam was set up, to prevent his stopping a deal that would have allowed Iran to become a nuclear power. He has a brief affair with Ros, and later fakes her death to protect her from CIA retaliation after it is exposed that she has worked with the anti-American shadow organisation Yalta.
In the first episode of the seventh series, Adam works with officer Lucas North
(Richard Armitage
), newly returned from imprisonment in Russia, to rescue a kidnapped British soldier in London. Later, Adam discovers that an Al-Qaeda
operative has positioned a car bomb to explode at a Remembrance Sunday
ceremony. Adam is able to drive the car to an unpopulated zone, but it explodes just as he exits the car, killing him. It is later revealed that FSB head-of-operations in London, Arkady Kachimov, withheld his knowledge of the bomb plot. Harry Pearce kills him in revenge. Ros Myers succeeds Adam as section chief.
The producers were aware that Matthew Macfadyen
would leave the series after playing Tom Quinn for two years, and they did not know whether he would return for the first two episodes. An eight- to nine-member team came up with the new character of Adam Carter. They wanted Adam to have a different dynamic than Tom; the producers set up a girlfriend/boyfriend storyline in the first series – with Adam, they wanted him to have a wife (Fiona Carter) who works in the Security Service, since married couples working in that environment are common. They wanted Adam to be more animated and energetic than Tom. Writer Howard Brenton
wanted him to have an MI6 background, and have something awful happen to him in the past. Brenton invented the backstory of Syria
early on into the third series, which he wanted to revisit in the fourth series.
Early on in the development process, the producers wanted to cast a "brilliant actor" with a strong screen presence. They discussed casting Rupert Penry-Jones
for the role of Adam Carter early in the process, though it took months to finally decide to cast him. Though Penry-Jones was aware of Spooks and its success, he had never seen any episodes. To be interested in the role, he spent a weekend catching up on the entire first and second series. He did not take long to decide, since his last leading role was four years previously, in 2000 in the Channel 4
drama North Square
. Adam was originally meant to be older, and more "street." When he found acting "street" was too difficult, Penry-Jones acted more like himself. He had to audition three times before the producers included him, four months before filming commenced.
On his first day for filming series three, Penry-Jones participated in a fight scene in the middle of the first episode. He felt a little wary replacing Matthew Macfadyen. After two months of filming, Penry-Jones began to feel more at ease with the role. He felt especially so after he started working for the fourth series. He returned to the fourth series because he thought his character took off by the end of the last series, and wanted to see which direction he would go to next. The crew wanted Adam to go from a "happy-go-lucky" figure to wanting him to deal with things that would make it hard for Adam to be jokey towards the end of the fourth series; this involved Fiona's death.
Before the sixth series finale aired in December 2007, it was announced that Rupert Penry-Jones would leave the series sometime in series seven. Penry-Jones wanted to leave the series as he felt the character had run its course, as well as wanting to explore other venues. He also stated that working in Spooks was "great," but felt he was "getting to the point where I needed to move on." Before the seventh series aired, Penry-Jones revealed his character would leave in what he believed was "one of the best" Spooks exits. He found that his last days on Spooks was generally upsetting and "welled up" on his final day. Penry-Jones did not envisage lasting as long as he did, because he believed the series would not last as long as it has.
, who was seventh, and Peter Firth
, who was tenth. He was later voted fifth in 2005, and ninth in 2006.
In a DVD review of the third series of Spooks, Michael Mackenzie of Home Cinema had mixed views of Adam's introduction, stating "despite ardent protests from both cast and crew, Tom and Adam are almost exactly the same character." In the fifth series, Mackenzie felt more open towards Adam, stating Adam Carter "isn't exactly James Bond [...] he doesn't jet around the world, bedding multiple women and engaging in fisticuffs atop precarious construction rigs, but he does rush around London with a gun in his hand and occasionally ends up on the receiving end of the odd beating." David Blackwell of Enterline Media was receptive of Adam in the fourth series, as he felt Adam became "more fleshed out and interesting." However, Blackwell was critical of Adam's role in the following fifth series, stating it is "too much" about him.
Fans and critics alike displayed shock towards the character's death in the first episode of the seventh series. Fans voted Adam's death as the fourth most shocking death scene in the series. The Radio Times
stated the shock factor of his death was "spectacular" and said that "driving a primed car bomb to a safe place is so run-of-the-mill for the spooks they wouldn't normally break a sweat. This time, however, it went off. Me-Me-Me.tv has said that Adam's death was "bound to happen" and stated "just when we've formed a deep, meaningful and totally healthy relationship with the lead gentleman [...] they go and blow him up", adding "It's just not fair." The Times
's Hilary Rose noted that fans will remember Adam's "dramatic exit," and said that "the nation's women duly went into mourning," regarding that "pretty much every woman with a pulse seems to fancy Rupert." She then noted that some would find "consolation in the shape of new Spooks totty Richard Armitage."
In 2008, Rupert Penry-Jones won a Crime Thriller Award for "Best Actor" for his portrayal as Adam Carter. Penry-Jones won the award against Ashes to Ashes'
Philip Glenister
, Midnight Man
and Murphy's Law's
James Nesbitt
, The Wire
Dominic West
, and Criminal Justice'
Ben Whishaw
. In the same ceremony, co-star Hermione Norris won "Best Actress".
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
espionage television series Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
, which follows the exploits of Section D, a counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
division of MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
. He is portrayed by British actor Rupert Penry-Jones
Rupert Penry-Jones
Rupert William Penry-Jones is an English actor, best known for his role as Adam Carter in the British television series Spooks, also broadcast under the title MI-5.-Family life:Penry-Jones was born in London on September 22, 1970...
. The character is a former MI6 officer who takes charge as the chief of Section D, and hence the head protagonist following the departure of Tom Quinn in series three.
Adam Carter was created with the knowledge that Matthew Macfadyen
Matthew Macfadyen
David Matthew Macfadyen is an English actor, known for his role as MI5 intelligence officer Tom Quinn in the BBC television drama series Spooks and for starring as Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.In June, 2010 Macfadyen won a British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting...
, who played Tom Quinn, would leave the series. The intention was that Adam would be different from Tom; the producers wanted a character who was a husband with an MI6 background. Rupert Penry-Jones was cast after three auditions. Before the sixth series finale aired, it was announced that Penry-Jones would leave the series. In the premiere episode of series seven, Carter is killed in a car bomb. His death was voted the fourth most shocking death in the series. Rupert Penry-Jones was awarded "Best Actor" at the Crime Thriller Awards for his portrayal of Adam Carter.
Role in Spooks
Before joining Section D, Adam Carter was an MI6 officer who specialised in the Middle EastMiddle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. Oliver Mace (Tim McInnerny
Tim McInnerny
Tim McInnerny is an English actor. He is known for his role as Percy in Blackadder and Blackadder II, and as Captain Darling in Blackadder Goes Forth...
), chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, describes Carter as a "loose cannon". He is a fluent Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
speaker and has good countersurveillance
Countersurveillance
Countersurveillance refers to measures undertaken to prevent surveillance, including covert surveillance. Countersurveillance may include electronic methods such as bug sweeping, the process of detecting surveillance devices, including covert listening devices and visual surveillance devices...
skills. In one past operation, Adam worked a case in Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
to recruit Syrian intelligence officer Farook Sukkarieh as a double agent to work with the Israelis and stop a string of suicide attacks. He used Farook's wife, Fiona
Fiona Carter
Fiona Carter, also revealed as being named Amelia, was the character portrayed by Olga Sosnovska in the BBC television series Spooks. Originally an officer of the United Kingdom Secret Intelligence Service , Fiona was seconded to the Security Service following the departure of Zoe Reynolds...
(Olga Sosnovska
Olga Sosnovska
Olga Sosnovska is a Polish-born UK/US-based actress.-Career:Sosnovska is perhaps best known in America for her role as Polish businesswoman Lena Kundera on the soap opera All My Children...
) as a way in. Fiona and Adam subsequently fell in love and started an affair. When Farook discovered this, he had Adam brutally tortured. After he escaped, Adam framed Farook, persuading the Syrians that he was a traitor, and Farook was supposedly hanged for this. Adam subsequently married Fiona and together they had a son, Wes.
Adam first appears in the series three opening episode "Project Friendly Fire", hired by head of Section D Harry Pearce
Harry Pearce
Sir Henry James "Harry" Pearce KBE is the fictional head of the Counter-Terrorism department of MI5, featured in the British television series, Spooks...
(Peter Firth
Peter Firth
Peter Firth is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC show Spooks, of which he is the only actor to have starred in every episode of the show's 10 series lifespan...
) to help clear Tom Quinn (Matthew Macfadyen
Matthew Macfadyen
David Matthew Macfadyen is an English actor, known for his role as MI5 intelligence officer Tom Quinn in the BBC television drama series Spooks and for starring as Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.In June, 2010 Macfadyen won a British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting...
) who has been framed for the assassination of the Chief of the Defence Staff
Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom)
The Chief of the Defence Staff is the professional head of the British Armed Forces, a senior official within the Ministry of Defence, and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the Secretary of State for Defence and the Prime Minister...
. Ultimately Tom is cleared and returns to duty, only to be decommissioned in the following episode after sabotaging an operation. Harry decides to have Adam transferred to MI5, replacing Tom as head of Section D. In the series four episode "Syria", Adam learns that Farook had faked his own death; he is in England, where he kidnaps Fiona during an operation of hers. At the end of the episode Adam guns Farook down, but not before Farook fatally shoots Fiona, who dies in Adam's arms. Harry later relieves Adam of duty until he receives a psychological evaluation. In the series four finale, Adam is shot by rogue MI5 officer Angela Wells (Lindsay Duncan
Lindsay Duncan
Lindsay Vere Duncan, CBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actress. On stage she won two Olivier Awards and a Tony Award for her performance in Les Liaisons dangereuses and Private Lives , and she starred in several plays by Harold Pinter. Her most famous roles on television include:...
). At the opening of season five, Adam appears to have made a complete recovery and has returned to the Grid.
In series five Adam hires a nanny, Jenny (Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Gugu Mbatha-Raw is an English actress.- Life and career :Gugu Mbatha-Raw was born Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha in 1983, in the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, England. Her name, "Gugulethu", means pride in Zulu. Her mother, Anne, is an English nurse, and her father, Patrick Mbatha, is a South African...
), to look after Wes while he takes part in operations. Midway through the series, she and Adam start a brief love affair, which ends in the penultimate episode. In the fifth series, particularly in its later episodes, Adam suffers from several mental breakdowns following the loss of Fiona. He has recurring nightmares that involve his being wounded and unable to return home to his son, and in the eighth episode, he has a panic attack after learning that Wes has briefly run away from home; this attack jeopardises his life during an operation. In the series finale, Adam is revealed to be suicidally depressed, wishing he had died in Fiona's place. But after another panic attack, he is able to pull through, save fellow officer Ros Myers
Ros Myers
Rosalind "Ros" Sarah Myers was a fictional character from the BBC espionage television series Spooks, which follows the exploits of Section D, a counter-terrorism division in MI5. She is portrayed by British actress Hermione Norris. The character was a former MI6 officer who works with MI5 in the...
(Hermione Norris
Hermione Norris
Hermione Norris is an English actress.Norris attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in the 1980s before taking small roles in theatre and on television. In 1996, she was cast in her breakout role of Karen Marsden in the comedy drama television series Cold Feet...
), and escape from the Thames Barrier
Thames Barrier
The Thames Barrier is the world's second-largest movable flood barrier and is located downstream of central London. Its purpose is to prevent London from being flooded by exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the sea...
before they both drown.
In the sixth series, Adam has recovered from his breakdown—said to have been caused by post-traumatic stress—after receiving psychiatric counseling. He has an affair with Ana Bakhshi (Agni Scott), wife of Iranian Special Consul Dariush Bakhshi (Simon Abkarian). Ana later realises she is pregnant; whether Adam or Dariush is the father of her child is never resolved. Halfway through the series Adam is mugged, and his assailant is seriously injured during their struggle. The man, who is identified as a journalist, later dies, and Adam is wanted for murder. It is later revealed that the man was no journalist; Adam was set up, to prevent his stopping a deal that would have allowed Iran to become a nuclear power. He has a brief affair with Ros, and later fakes her death to protect her from CIA retaliation after it is exposed that she has worked with the anti-American shadow organisation Yalta.
In the first episode of the seventh series, Adam works with officer Lucas North
Lucas North
Lucas North, formerly known as John Bateman, is a fictional character from the BBC espionage television series Spooks , which follows the exploits of Section D, a counter-terrorism division of MI5. North is portrayed by British actor Richard Armitage...
(Richard Armitage
Richard Armitage (actor)
Richard Crispin Armitage is an English actor famous for his roles as John Thornton in North and South, Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood, and Lucas North in Spooks...
), newly returned from imprisonment in Russia, to rescue a kidnapped British soldier in London. Later, Adam discovers that an Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
operative has positioned a car bomb to explode at a Remembrance Sunday
Remembrance Sunday
In the United Kingdom, 'Remembrance Sunday' is held on the second Sunday in November, which is the Sunday nearest to 11 November Armistice Day. It is the anniversary of the end of hostilities in the First World War at 11 a.m...
ceremony. Adam is able to drive the car to an unpopulated zone, but it explodes just as he exits the car, killing him. It is later revealed that FSB head-of-operations in London, Arkady Kachimov, withheld his knowledge of the bomb plot. Harry Pearce kills him in revenge. Ros Myers succeeds Adam as section chief.
Conceptual history
Matthew Macfadyen
David Matthew Macfadyen is an English actor, known for his role as MI5 intelligence officer Tom Quinn in the BBC television drama series Spooks and for starring as Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.In June, 2010 Macfadyen won a British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting...
would leave the series after playing Tom Quinn for two years, and they did not know whether he would return for the first two episodes. An eight- to nine-member team came up with the new character of Adam Carter. They wanted Adam to have a different dynamic than Tom; the producers set up a girlfriend/boyfriend storyline in the first series – with Adam, they wanted him to have a wife (Fiona Carter) who works in the Security Service, since married couples working in that environment are common. They wanted Adam to be more animated and energetic than Tom. Writer Howard Brenton
Howard Brenton
-Early years:Brenton was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, son of Methodist minister Donald Henry Brenton and his wife Rose Lilian . He was educated at Chichester High School For Boys and read English Literature at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. In 1964 he was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal...
wanted him to have an MI6 background, and have something awful happen to him in the past. Brenton invented the backstory of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
early on into the third series, which he wanted to revisit in the fourth series.
Early on in the development process, the producers wanted to cast a "brilliant actor" with a strong screen presence. They discussed casting Rupert Penry-Jones
Rupert Penry-Jones
Rupert William Penry-Jones is an English actor, best known for his role as Adam Carter in the British television series Spooks, also broadcast under the title MI-5.-Family life:Penry-Jones was born in London on September 22, 1970...
for the role of Adam Carter early in the process, though it took months to finally decide to cast him. Though Penry-Jones was aware of Spooks and its success, he had never seen any episodes. To be interested in the role, he spent a weekend catching up on the entire first and second series. He did not take long to decide, since his last leading role was four years previously, in 2000 in the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
drama North Square
North Square
North Square is an award-winning British television drama series written by Peter Moffat and broadcast by Channel 4 at the end of 2000. Starring an ensemble cast including Phil Davis, Rupert Penry-Jones, Helen McCrory and Kevin McKidd, the programme is set around the practice of a Leeds Legal...
. Adam was originally meant to be older, and more "street." When he found acting "street" was too difficult, Penry-Jones acted more like himself. He had to audition three times before the producers included him, four months before filming commenced.
On his first day for filming series three, Penry-Jones participated in a fight scene in the middle of the first episode. He felt a little wary replacing Matthew Macfadyen. After two months of filming, Penry-Jones began to feel more at ease with the role. He felt especially so after he started working for the fourth series. He returned to the fourth series because he thought his character took off by the end of the last series, and wanted to see which direction he would go to next. The crew wanted Adam to go from a "happy-go-lucky" figure to wanting him to deal with things that would make it hard for Adam to be jokey towards the end of the fourth series; this involved Fiona's death.
Before the sixth series finale aired in December 2007, it was announced that Rupert Penry-Jones would leave the series sometime in series seven. Penry-Jones wanted to leave the series as he felt the character had run its course, as well as wanting to explore other venues. He also stated that working in Spooks was "great," but felt he was "getting to the point where I needed to move on." Before the seventh series aired, Penry-Jones revealed his character would leave in what he believed was "one of the best" Spooks exits. He found that his last days on Spooks was generally upsetting and "welled up" on his final day. Penry-Jones did not envisage lasting as long as he did, because he believed the series would not last as long as it has.
Reception
Rupert Penry-Jones noted that the initial fan reaction towards Adam Carter were negative, "because Matthew [Macfadyen] was so successful and loved." It took a while for fans to accept him. Penry-Jones also felt that his role in Spooks, "definitely took my profile up several notches." In the "best of drama" viewer polls at BBC Online, Penry-Jones was voted third in the "Best Actor" category, beating co-stars Matthew Macfadyen, who was fifth, David OyelowoDavid Oyelowo
- Background :Oyelowo was born in Oxford, England of Nigerian descent. He is married to actress Jessica Oyelowo and they have three sons.Oyelowo first attended a youth theatre after being invited by a girl to whom he was attracted. He then studied Theatre Studies for A level and his teacher...
, who was seventh, and Peter Firth
Peter Firth
Peter Firth is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC show Spooks, of which he is the only actor to have starred in every episode of the show's 10 series lifespan...
, who was tenth. He was later voted fifth in 2005, and ninth in 2006.
In a DVD review of the third series of Spooks, Michael Mackenzie of Home Cinema had mixed views of Adam's introduction, stating "despite ardent protests from both cast and crew, Tom and Adam are almost exactly the same character." In the fifth series, Mackenzie felt more open towards Adam, stating Adam Carter "isn't exactly James Bond [...] he doesn't jet around the world, bedding multiple women and engaging in fisticuffs atop precarious construction rigs, but he does rush around London with a gun in his hand and occasionally ends up on the receiving end of the odd beating." David Blackwell of Enterline Media was receptive of Adam in the fourth series, as he felt Adam became "more fleshed out and interesting." However, Blackwell was critical of Adam's role in the following fifth series, stating it is "too much" about him.
Fans and critics alike displayed shock towards the character's death in the first episode of the seventh series. Fans voted Adam's death as the fourth most shocking death scene in the series. The Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
stated the shock factor of his death was "spectacular" and said that "driving a primed car bomb to a safe place is so run-of-the-mill for the spooks they wouldn't normally break a sweat. This time, however, it went off. Me-Me-Me.tv has said that Adam's death was "bound to happen" and stated "just when we've formed a deep, meaningful and totally healthy relationship with the lead gentleman [...] they go and blow him up", adding "It's just not fair." The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
's Hilary Rose noted that fans will remember Adam's "dramatic exit," and said that "the nation's women duly went into mourning," regarding that "pretty much every woman with a pulse seems to fancy Rupert." She then noted that some would find "consolation in the shape of new Spooks totty Richard Armitage."
In 2008, Rupert Penry-Jones won a Crime Thriller Award for "Best Actor" for his portrayal as Adam Carter. Penry-Jones won the award against Ashes to Ashes'
Ashes to Ashes (TV series)
Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
Philip Glenister
Philip Glenister
Philip Haywood Glenister is an English actor, known for his role as DCI Gene Hunt in British television series Life On Mars and its sequel Ashes To Ashes.-Television and films:...
, Midnight Man
Midnight Man (TV serial)
Midnight Man is a 2008 British television serial produced by Carnival Films for the ITV network. The three-part serial stars James Nesbitt as Max Raban, a former investigative journalist who discovers an international conspiracy involving government policy groups and death squads...
and Murphy's Law's
Murphy's Law (TV series)
Murphy's Law is a BBC television drama, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions for BBC Northern Ireland, starring James Nesbitt as an undercover police officer, Tommy Murphy. There were five series of the drama, shown on BBC One. The first two were composed of individual stories. Series three, four...
James Nesbitt
James Nesbitt
James Nesbitt is a Northern Irish actor. Born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Nesbitt grew up in the nearby village of Broughshane, before moving to Coleraine, County Londonderry. He wanted to become a teacher like his father, so he began a degree in French at the University of Ulster...
, The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
Dominic West
Dominic West
Dominic Gerard Fe West is an English actor best known for his role as Detective Jimmy McNulty in the HBO drama series The Wire.-Film and TV:...
, and Criminal Justice'
Criminal Justice (TV series)
Criminal Justice is a British television drama series produced by the BBC and first shown in 2008. Written by Peter Moffat, each five-episode series follows the journey of an individual through the justice system and was first broadcast over five successive nights on BBC One.The first series, first...
Ben Whishaw
Ben Whishaw
Benjamin John "Ben" Whishaw is an English actor who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Whishaw is perhaps best known for his breakthrough role as Hamlet, and his role as the lead character in Tom Tykwer's film Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.-Early life:Whishaw was born and raised in...
. In the same ceremony, co-star Hermione Norris won "Best Actress".
External links
- Adam Carter personnel file at BBC.co.ukBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...