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

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.

First of all - the acting is great. But: If you're a John LeCarre fan looking for something like "Tinker Tailor...", you might end up seriously dissatisfied. That was exactly my problem when I began to watch the first episode. I felt betrayed by the writers: The character Joe Lamme looks almost like Peter Guillam played by Benedict Cumberbatch. The chief of MI5 is called Daddy and nobody knows his real name (like Control in "Tinker Tailor..."). His wife probably doesn't know he's working for MI5 (Control used to have a wife who thought he works as a postman - it's one little sentence in one of LeCarre's books). The evil KGB guy is called Odin (not Karla) and nobody knows his real name. DC Jim Fenchurch is basically Smiley's right hand man Mendel. Joe and Jim try to figure out who the mole is - they pull cards as a symbol for each of their colleagues. There is a mole. This alone would not be upsetting, but then there are goofs like: Joe tells Jim that he will use a workname - aloud, behind the suspect's door. Wendy is shaking all the time, I wonder how she passed the job interview. One scene is almost an exact remake of a scene from the first X-Files movie. I could go on. But it's really pointless, because obviously this series were not made for LeCarre fans. It's simply a well-made spy thriller that uses visual language of Thomas Alfredson's movie and borrows elements from genre classics.

Perhaps this reviewed is skewed since I grew up during the Cold War, but although the filming, acting, and atmosphere are spot on, there are inexplicable discrepancies in the plot that simply make no sense. Bodies are knocked out and left prone with no attempt to interrogate. Wire taps are set and the listeners just far away enough not to prevent the obvious disaster. Comedy is interjected at inappropriate moments and seems ridiculous, rather then funny. Also, the writers have thrown historical accuracy to the wind, and the story takes on a "Twilight Zone," science fiction tone. If I provide exact examples, I will spoil the show for those viewers who simply desire snappy entertainment. Thus, I will show restraint. The Game could have been a TV LeCarre, but alas, it is more pop then intrigue.