Very disappointing...

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

As Good As It Gets

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

I traversed to this series in a descending order - I saw the 2011 film adaptation and was impressed with the plot and the presentation. I went on to read(I rarely read novels) the novel and found it captivating. After years, I decided to watch this series. I couldn't help but compare this series with the film and the original book.The star cast is apt and the performances are solid. Except Roy Bland, I vividly recall every character and their countenances, personas. The bleak English climate, the somber and choking atmosphere in the Circus and the lives of the people involved, the no-nonsense portrayal of the events, a non-invasive background score are a perfect treat. One can actually feel the emotions and the tension e.g: when Control learns about the disaster, his face reflects 'All is lost'.The series does leave us desiring. While some techniques like checking for the 'baby sitters', delivering secret messages by hand etc. are depicted, how the spies evade surveillance, the transistor sound used by Smiley in the hotel(read this in the book) to avoid eavesdropping and so on could have been covered, even at the expense of adding another episode.To summarize, this is a series not to be missed, especially, if espionage is your interest.

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.

There are generally two types of spy fiction. One type is the larger-than-life adventure of a charming hero who battles nefarious and mysterious enemies bent on world control. The other type is a more realistic, bleaker tale of a spy battling in a world where his own allies would turn on him, for something that most people hold insignificant or irrelevant. This story falls under the second type, but while not so entertaining is one of the best spy stories ever done.Based on the classic spy novel by John Le Carre, this series tells the story as follows: In the 1970s, a fiasco at the British Secret Service shakes things up, forcing the head of the Service out and all his subordinates, including protagonist George Smiley. In his place steps in Percy Allenine, a pompous and arrogant official who smugly claims access to a source of Soviet intelligence that will revive the Service's reputation. However, a maverick spy named Ricki Tarr appears with information about a Russian spy hidden within the Service; he is dismissed, but raises enough concern for George Smiley to be recruited to make an investigation. The story is intelligently written, but the true power of the story lies in its emotional impact. Smiley was thrown out of work and then dragged back to clean up a mess he had nothing to do with; he has to deal with insufferable superiors who want to stay secure with no blame attached to them; his allies go through nightmares that cost them greatly; and finally, when the mole is revealed, the weary cynicism that led him to commit treason against (this character is one of the most ironic and tragic characters despite what he's done). And yet, Smiley and his allies doggedly strive for something pure and noble in the miry sordid world they live in, and their eventual victory and reward, while it may be small, is made sweeter and grants a touch of hope. This miniseries moves at a slow but masterful pace, having Smiley trace out the mole's ruinous track and identity in the manner of a detective story; the adaptation is done wonderfully, with expert expansion and removal of the novel's passages into a solid unique work. The cast is wonderful, with Alec Guiness leading an all-star ensemble; Guiness who usually plays a lean, dignified Brit, delivers a masterful performance as the meek, frog-like Smiley. Ian Richardson does a wonderfully ironic role as Bill Haydon and Ian Bannen is haunting as the wounded agent Jim Prideaux. A particular standout is Patrick Stewart as Smiley's enemy the Soviet spy Karla, who commands intensity and menace without uttering a single word throughout his appearance. On the whole, if you want to see how real spies do their work, this is the show for you to watch. It will not be exciting or easy, but it will be worth the watch.

This is the best piece of ensemble acting I've seen. This was a mini-series in 1979, directed by John Irvin and starring Alec Guiness. The cast works together as the characters did, and they make the mini-series rise above the genre.It's based on the novel by John le Carre, and we find George Smiley (played by Sir Alec) called back from retirement to ferret out a mole in the British Secret Service. It would be the usual spy-vs-spy stuff but for the camaraderie shown by the cast (a camaraderie I was disappointed to find missing in the sequel "Smiley's People").The material is top-notch, the screenplay is excellent, and the story moves along crisply and with intrigue, lots of subtle things going on that add depth to the characters, but it's a real winner because of the performance of the cast.