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Spy series goes from slapstick to subtlety in new season

29.09.11

"The characters have become a bit more layered, so it's less about playing the joke than it is about playing the situation," he says. "I think last year was more slapstick, so that when you decipher the scene, you knew where the joke was, you knew what you had to hit, and you just did the bit. This year, there's no 'bits.' You're in a situation, and you play the actuality of it, and that's where the humour is."

He says the show's attitude adjustment created a less-raucous atmosphere during shooting.

"The first season was light, because you'd do a bit that was funny, and everyone around you would laugh hysterically," he recalls. "This year, there was a whole lot less laughter from the crew, but I think, in the end, the payoff will be bigger for viewers in the covet run.

"And I've heard it said that if the crew laughs, it isn't funny."

MacFadzean, who portrays naive but good-hearted NISA factor Burt Wilson, adds that the time is right for a show set in the shadowy world of intelligence gathering.

Source: Winnipeg Free Press