paulted

Quite possibly the greatest television drama of them all. There are no pyrotechnics or snappy dialogue. If you are watching for either, you will be disappointed. This is a very slow burning, gripping game of chess that enthrals from the start. Subtle and nuanced, with a plot that grabs you by the brain and never lets go. ALL of the performances are top notch, with Alec Guinness giving a superb performance as Smiley (the most unlikely hero of them all) and Beryl Reid, Ian Richardson, Hywel Bennett, Michael Jayston, and Alexander Knox also magnificent. Special mention must go to Ian Bannen as the haunted, patriotic Jim Prideaux who acts his socks off while his character loses so much as the plot unfolds. Nothing short of a masterpiece.

Having been familiar with the history of this subject, I can only be abjectly disappointed. First the good points- it was well acted and looked great. However, the actual facts of this story were largely ignored. The character of Philby was unrecognisable, the writer seemed determined to make him some kind of romantic "Hannay" type moralistic hero, which he was not. Where was Nicholas Elliott, a key, central figure in this drama? Why was Philby's second wife ignored? why all the homo-erotic scenes? Where was Philby's period in the wilderness and his utterly gob smacking press conference? I sense a leftist leaning writer at work here trying to fit in HIS story instead of the true compelling drama that originally unfolded. Bad and worthless.....

An astounding piece of work! Memorable characters abound and the performers are top notch. Paul Whitehouse is perhaps the greatest character actor in the world, with no end to the amount of accents he can master. Every episode is crammed with gags(usually the same one) but the variations of the repeated gags are so fabulous that the anticipation of the line you know is coming is the fun in itself. From the sublime Ted and Ralph, Swiss Toni, Chris, The Suits You tailors, Channel 9, Jazz Club, Rowley Birkin, to the all too real Competitive Dad, this is side splitting stuff. Special mention must go to the awesome "A right royal cockney barrel of monkeys" which must have made Guy Ritchie crawl behind his sofa! Magnificent!