paul2001sw-1 One part 'Tinker, Tailor', and one part 'Spooks', moody thriller 'The Game' tells the story of an attempt by the British government (in a thinly fictionalised 1970s) to spoil a major Soviet intelligence operation. There's the possibility of at least one mole, office politics, and a brooding air of tension amid general social decay. But what made John Le Carre's story so brilliant was its minimalism: not one thing happened that wasn't necessary for the plot. 'The Game' needs too many set pieces and seems to present an intelligence agency repeatedly guilty of both bizarre judgement and operational incompetence. The love story woven into the story has its own tragic conclusion; but none of the subtlety of George Smiley's complicated, broken relationship with Ann. Tom Hughes is underpowered in the lead role; the supporting cast, however, at least play their (somewhat stereotyped) parts with gusto.

John Pelosi I have just finished watching the final episode of The Game, and have to admit feeling on the one hand thoroughly satisfied and on the other, somewhat frustrated. On the positive side, this is a first rate drama with excellent production values - the acting is top notch, the characters well developed yet always leaving a sense that there is much kept hidden, the costumes, locations, cinematography and overall "feel" are spot on. The pace starts slowly - deliberately so - and picks up as the complex plot works its way inexorably towards its ultimate resolution. All in all, the feel is taught, suspenseful and engaging - this is a drama you are compelled to keep watching.And so to the frustrations - as others have pointed out, there are a number of very glaring screw-ups in plot and "fieldcraft" which seem utterly at odds with the otherwise high quality of the production. I won't repeat all the errors here, but suffice it to say, it was enough to take the gloss off an otherwise exemplary and novel BBC drama. I would, nevertheless, encourage you all to watch it - just cut it a little slack! I for one very much hope there will be further series with this excellent cast. I just hope they spend a little more of the budget ironing out the glitches - if they do, this will be a series to rival the very best spy dramas ever produced.

Tweekums Set in the early 1970s MI5 operative Joe Lambe is given the task of overseeing the defection and debriefing of Soviet agent Arkady. He quickly learns that the Soviets have a major operation planned, 'Operation Glass', but Arkady doesn't know the details. If MI5 is to thwart the KGB's plan they will have to uncover who is behind Operation Glass as well as its eventual aim. Matters are complicated when Joe learns that one of the KGB men behind the operation is 'Odin' the man responsible for the death of his girlfriend before the events of the series. A further complication is the revelation that a mole within MI5 has been leaking details of their counter-operation to the Soviets.This gripping cold war thriller nicely captures the feeling of the 1970s and more importantly the sense of paranoia within the Security Services as agents wonder who they can trust; they don't even know if Glass is real or just a ploy to make Arkady's defects seem real. The cast does a fine job making us believe in the characters while still wondering whether or not they are the traitor. The only big name in the cast is Brian Cox, who is great as MI5 head 'Daddy', however the rest of the cast more than hold their own; most notably Tom Hughes who plays Joe and Shaun Dooley, who plays DC Jim Fenchurch, a policeman brought into assist MI5. These spies certainly aren't in the James Bond or even the 'Spooks' mould; they are almost bland in their ordinariness; something that suits the story perfectly. As the series approaches its end the tension mounts nicely as we learn just how dangerous Operation Glass is. Overall I'd say this is well worth watching and hope BBC2 continues to provide us with more quality drama like this in the future.

Major Kalas First of all - the acting is great. But: If you're a John LeCarre fan looking for something like "Tinker Tailor...", you might end up seriously dissatisfied. That was exactly my problem when I began to watch the first episode. I felt betrayed by the writers: The character Joe Lamme looks almost like Peter Guillam played by Benedict Cumberbatch. The chief of MI5 is called Daddy and nobody knows his real name (like Control in "Tinker Tailor..."). His wife probably doesn't know he's working for MI5 (Control used to have a wife who thought he works as a postman - it's one little sentence in one of LeCarre's books). The evil KGB guy is called Odin (not Karla) and nobody knows his real name. DC Jim Fenchurch is basically Smiley's right hand man Mendel. Joe and Jim try to figure out who the mole is - they pull cards as a symbol for each of their colleagues. There is a mole. This alone would not be upsetting, but then there are goofs like: Joe tells Jim that he will use a workname - aloud, behind the suspect's door. Wendy is shaking all the time, I wonder how she passed the job interview. One scene is almost an exact remake of a scene from the first X-Files movie. I could go on. But it's really pointless, because obviously this series were not made for LeCarre fans. It's simply a well-made spy thriller that uses visual language of Thomas Alfredson's movie and borrows elements from genre classics.