La talpa

I tried to watch this drama series a year or so ago and didn’t get far. It isn’t bad but it has a slow pace, which I am usually fine with, but I am not into spy stories. I gave it a second try recently and had no trouble finishing it this time. There is some action and a small amount of drama, but mostly it is conversation and a slow-burning tension running through it. I confess I occasionally …

With the Cold War at it's height, the head of the British counter-espionage agency - "Control" (Alexander Knox) is giving a clear impression that he is losing the plot. He is visibly ailing so his subordinates gather like vultures waiting to take his place. His preferred candidate is the redoubtable, semi-retired, "Smiley" (Sir Alec Guinness) and pretty swiftly we discover that is because the old …