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Wish Me Luck: Series 1-3
Jun. 8th, 2012 11:52 pmWish Me Luck is an 80s ITV series about British SOE agents operating in France during WWII. The first two seasons are based on the experiences of SOE agent Nancy Wake, with much of the dialogue being lifted from her autobiography (which, sadly, appears to be out of print) and so are heavily focused on the female agents.
It's a very Serious Business show and the first two seasons are more about the realities of living and working in occupied territory, and the mundanities of spying (so much WAITING that spies have to go through). It's focused on the intelligence work and the networking and communication, with little of the action that's the norm for spy shows*. It also doesn't believe in holding the viewer or characters' hands and isn't afraid to go places I'm not sure some modern shows would go. The first 2 seasons have loose overarcs plots but are largely more about that life in general as the characters wait for their next mission and try to avoid detection, as well as illustrating how their presence affects the lives of the French citizens around them, and how it wears you down and affects your mental well being.
Season 3 departs from Wake's exploits and instead bases the plot around the events in Vassieux-en-Vercors in 1944, and more heavily incorporates the French Resistance than the first 2 seasons did, and is much more centered around the seasonal plot. There's also a bit less focus on the actual spying and more focus on rebellion, and a lot more action. More attention is given to the romantic subplots as well, but unlike the first 2 seasons, where there was a heavy focus on how you couldn't let your personal life affect your work, the romantic subplots spill over into the spying and rebellion, and sometimes interfere with the work. Season 3 is still quite good, but it's definitely a departure from the first 2 seasons in many ways.
The cast is largely revolving, with only two characters playing major roles in all 3 seasons: Jane Asher as Faith Ashley, one of the 2 bosses back in England in the first 2 seasons *the other is Julian Glover) and Michael J. Jackson as Kit/a-slew-of-codenames, a field operative who serves a variety of leadership positions throughout the series. Kate Buffery serves as the nominal lead, Liz Granger/a-slew-of-codenames, in the first 2 seasons, but is largely absent from the last season**, With Jane Snowden (who was also in the second season) somewhat stepping forward. The first season is set when female operatives were only just being sent into the field for the first time, and so most field leadership positions are initially held by men, but that transitions to more field leadership positions being held by women as the series progresses, and the system adjusts to women having been in the field more. I should mention that there are several instances of characters being captured and tortured (the last 2 episodes of the first series likely being the hardest to watch) but the actual torture is largely off screen, and never felt gratuitous to me.
All three seasons are currently available in the US, and Netflix has the first season streaming. (And possibly the rest soon? They seem to eventually have most Uk series streaming, and there are a lot that are streaming now that weren't when I rented them.)
Wikipedia compares the series to Secret Army and Tenko, but neither appears to be available in the US. This is where you come forward with recs for books(preferably non-fiction, for once)/movies/shows about WW2 lady spies
*I actually wonder if Covert Affairs is influenced by Wish Me Luck. They both focus on female operatives, which is the most obvious similarity, but they also stand out (for me) from most spy shows by focusing far more on the intelligence and communication than the action. Wish Me Luck also plays fairly heavily with the idea of spies who need the field vs spies who are needed in the field, something that Covert Affairs also touches on. (And they both have blonde leads with a ladyboss back home giving out the orders?)
**Series MO: "Situation Dire: SEND LIZ!"
It's a very Serious Business show and the first two seasons are more about the realities of living and working in occupied territory, and the mundanities of spying (so much WAITING that spies have to go through). It's focused on the intelligence work and the networking and communication, with little of the action that's the norm for spy shows*. It also doesn't believe in holding the viewer or characters' hands and isn't afraid to go places I'm not sure some modern shows would go. The first 2 seasons have loose overarcs plots but are largely more about that life in general as the characters wait for their next mission and try to avoid detection, as well as illustrating how their presence affects the lives of the French citizens around them, and how it wears you down and affects your mental well being.
Season 3 departs from Wake's exploits and instead bases the plot around the events in Vassieux-en-Vercors in 1944, and more heavily incorporates the French Resistance than the first 2 seasons did, and is much more centered around the seasonal plot. There's also a bit less focus on the actual spying and more focus on rebellion, and a lot more action. More attention is given to the romantic subplots as well, but unlike the first 2 seasons, where there was a heavy focus on how you couldn't let your personal life affect your work, the romantic subplots spill over into the spying and rebellion, and sometimes interfere with the work. Season 3 is still quite good, but it's definitely a departure from the first 2 seasons in many ways.
The cast is largely revolving, with only two characters playing major roles in all 3 seasons: Jane Asher as Faith Ashley, one of the 2 bosses back in England in the first 2 seasons *the other is Julian Glover) and Michael J. Jackson as Kit/a-slew-of-codenames, a field operative who serves a variety of leadership positions throughout the series. Kate Buffery serves as the nominal lead, Liz Granger/a-slew-of-codenames, in the first 2 seasons, but is largely absent from the last season**, With Jane Snowden (who was also in the second season) somewhat stepping forward. The first season is set when female operatives were only just being sent into the field for the first time, and so most field leadership positions are initially held by men, but that transitions to more field leadership positions being held by women as the series progresses, and the system adjusts to women having been in the field more. I should mention that there are several instances of characters being captured and tortured (the last 2 episodes of the first series likely being the hardest to watch) but the actual torture is largely off screen, and never felt gratuitous to me.
All three seasons are currently available in the US, and Netflix has the first season streaming. (And possibly the rest soon? They seem to eventually have most Uk series streaming, and there are a lot that are streaming now that weren't when I rented them.)
Wikipedia compares the series to Secret Army and Tenko, but neither appears to be available in the US. This is where you come forward with recs for books(preferably non-fiction, for once)/movies/shows about WW2 lady spies
*I actually wonder if Covert Affairs is influenced by Wish Me Luck. They both focus on female operatives, which is the most obvious similarity, but they also stand out (for me) from most spy shows by focusing far more on the intelligence and communication than the action. Wish Me Luck also plays fairly heavily with the idea of spies who need the field vs spies who are needed in the field, something that Covert Affairs also touches on. (And they both have blonde leads with a ladyboss back home giving out the orders?)
**Series MO: "Situation Dire: SEND LIZ!"
