The Game

Watched this as a way to relax before going to sleep. Boy, was that a mistake.

First thing's first. This show is intense. There were several times where I had to pause the episode, take a breather (knowing that crap was about to hit the proverbial fan), and then play the remaining scene. The music and camera work seamlessly complemented each other providing tension at every turn. There are strange, asymmetric camera angles that were meant to distort your view so that you, the viewer, couldn't get a good look at what was going on.

Secondly, this show is more than just about the Cold War "game" between UK vs USSR. It shows the games we play in our social, professional, and public lives and how people cope. It's about intrigue and personal aspirations. Everyone is playing a game with each other.

Thirdly, the actors are top notch. So fantastic to see these characters fleshed out and actually have personality.

A thing to note: the show is definitely a slow burn. Things don't really "happen" per se as expected until episode 5. Every episode is DEFINITELY intense but when you stop and think about what actually happened during the course of 59 minutes, very little occurs. Each episode seems to focus on a particular aspect for the entire episode. Of course, in the end, everything comes together like a puzzle.

So I guess an earlier reviewer was correct in saying that the real game is to make us watch. Because it does. It makes you wonder about what's going to happen next, forces you to think back to earlier episodes for little details and hints about upcoming events, and finally reach the conclusion with the characters at the end of episode 6.

Really great watch.

The premise is this: a Soviet agent holed up as a university professor in England gets called up for a major operation that consists in waking up sleeper cells in numbers for an unstated grievous purpose. He defects and spills the beans to the MI5. The MI5 - represented, for the most part, by the love-child of Morrissey and a flock of cats (Tom Hughes) - expects the worst and stands up to the challenge, monitoring the operation in desperate hope that they may get one step ahead of the Russians. Needless to say, with 6 hour-long episodes, it's easier said than done. All this takes place in the bleak environs of early-1970s London, in cramped spaces, dilapidated housing, and persistent rain (reminiscent of "Se7en"). The series is well-made and entertaining. The pace - initially somewhat pedestrian - quickens by the 4th episode to get you panting by the 5th. At first, the drama seems very facile - seeming to boil down to a personal duel between Tom Hughes's "Joe Lambe" and a KGB killer on the loose in England. But there's enough of side story to this to keep you thinking there's more to it than that. And, frankly, you do get rewarded. On the technical side, the editing is near-perfect and the acting is pretty good, too. I was stuck on Victoria Hamilton' performance in "Mansfield Park," but she's a completely different thing here, with enormous self-assurance and power. Brian Cox is also a perfect hit as the head of MI5 ("Daddy"). If anything, it's Hughes that seems rather odd - his appearance and demeanor is somewhat out of place. On the one hand, this may be a virtue, since he does portray a far less bleak character than it initially appears. On the other hand, he's anachronistic - a poster-boy for the new romantic or a candidate for a remake of "Anna Karenina." The portrayal of "the game" resonates with all that an avid reader of le Carre will know - that it's almost never fun and games, and that it's not about the spectacular at all. The "games" we see played out in the series are not just about espionage - they are also about the personal lives of the characters who either play or get played. While it's not on level with the classic le Carre stuff with Alec Guinness, there's enough substance here to make you hope there's more to come from this source. This is really good enough to see.

Many of the other reviews here - whether giving a good, bad or mediocre rating - have got the tone of this fun series about right. This is not for people looking for something in the vein of Le Carre or Deighton, excepting on a surface level. While (as many have said) it is wonderfully played with great intensity and commitment by a great cast, there's always a feeling that it's all style and no substance whatsoever. Like a parody of Le Carre novel with most of the jokes removed and Daddy's M15 never feels like it could really exist. That's not to say that it isn't good fun - I enjoyed it immensely - but while Funeral in Berlin and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy will stay with me for as long as I have breath I'll have forgotten The Game in a couple of weeks, which is a bit of a shame.

I absolutely loved "THE GAME"...while it was on. Why not more than just one season, I'll never know. I love this genre and the 6 episodes drip in espionage as if it was written from the pen of John le Carré's monozygotic identical twin. It has a certified fresh rating of 95% for a reason. I suggest you watch it with closed captions on to help you understand the British accents better. I would also suggest you watch this on your DVD player so you can rewind the parts that might confuse you too much. The show reveals ways in which the USSR would plan out espionage years in advance and how it infiltrated into top positions of government. Deliberately paced and brooding in tone, yet laced with caustic wit, personal tragedy and sinister inference, The Game keeps us wondering how far will a foreign government go to disrupt and destroy our way of life in the west. It is a first rate production of the Cold War terror that we all feared at times growing up in the 60's and 70's.

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.