The Game

The Game is an absolutely first rate Cold War mini-series from the BBC set in the 1970's. The 70's feel is palpably conveyed through the authentic use of the fashions, hairstyles, vehicles and music from that decade. The plot is complex and intelligent with lots of twists and turns and will appeal to Le Carré fans. The acting is absolutely superb all round. The scenes inside the Security Service show that most of the people working there are paper shufflers rather than James Bond action types which is probably a more realistic portrayal. My only gripe is that it was only 6 episodes but as is often the case with the BBC, quality trumps quantity. If I could only have one station on my pay TV service it would definitely be the BBC. The quality of British productions in recent times, both on the big screen (e.g. Tinker Tailor, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything) and small screen (The Game, Peaky Blinders, The Honourable Woman), has been absolutely outstanding.

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.

Call it a Le Carré light. MI5, spies and Cold War. Toby Whithouse, Sarah Dollard and Debbie O'Malley deliver 6 episodes of good fun and high entertainment full of suspense and surprise. Excellent mood and camera play, the viewer is convincingly cast back to a London of the 70's.

A tremendous performance from the entire cast especially Paul Ritter playing the hypocritical British public school creep! Worth watching if only for his performance and the exquisite interaction with his assistant the superb Chloé Pirrie (a touch naive, upright, loyal researcher).

The suspension of disbelief is perhaps called for to draw maximum enjoyment. The strength of the production rests chiefly on the convincing relationships fleshed out.

Why oh Why does the BBC have to nip above average productions in the bud. Xen is another example. It seems that the minute a viewer's brain is in any way engaged the Corporation pulls the plug out on it! Let's have some more please!

I thought this series was a great show and want to know when or if you are making another. I enjoyed watching how the characters were built and unfolded and trying to work out who was what (baddie or goodie) in the characters. Also enjoyed the slower pace of the story as opposed to one and a half hour movies that squeeze as much out of the time as possible without portraying the 'real life' pace and how in 'real life' it is the bringing together of lots of small pieces of information that result in collating the whole picture/story.

Hope you make another one.

What a welcome return to television for this genre, cold war spy thriller, so popular back in the 1980's and for many years criminally absent. The Game was an awesome five part series, incredibly written and scripted, it was dark, pacey, loaded with intrigue and thoroughly engaging.

Superbly acted, I've been a little critical of Tom Hughes in the past, a guy that looks like a model I found a little one dimensional, but he silenced me in this, he was outstanding. Brian Cox, Paul Ritter, Judy Parfitt etc all fantastic, but Victoria Hamilton was on another level, always been a fan but here she was unbelievable, an awesome actress.

Part 4 was without a doubt one of the best hours of television I have ever watched, outstanding.

Utterly devastating that a second series wasn't commissioned, the BBC missed a golden opportunity with both this and Banished. Nevertheless The Game was a magnificent piece of drama, 10/10