I saw this series, or most of it, when it was broadcast originally. I managed to obtain a 'bootleg' copy of it a while back and have just finished watching it again.
This mini-series where I first became familiar with the name of Ian Holm and marvelled at the talent he brought to all his roles.
I have a friend who has all 7 DVDs of it. It was made in Australia from Tapes of the series.
Intelligence agents like Bernie Samson are not towering hulks or finely chiselled slabs of beef. They look like ordinary humdrum office staff or factory workers; who can pass in a crowd, stand on an hour unnoticed on a station platform, be stopped for their papers and not give off a vibe of trained violence.
If this is the same series I've been looking for on DVD that played on CBC way back I would like to know if someone has the WHOLE series. I remember when it finished the ending seemed quite strange in that it didn't seem "finished" and there were a lot of outstanding questions.
It has been quite awhile since I saw this series - 1987 or 1988 when I lived in the USA. It was on PBS MYSTERY and no other TV series has captured my attention - and admiration - as this ten art series did.
Though it can be had on grainy DVD from underground sources, Len Deighton himself refuses to allow this series to be legitimately released on DVD or anywhere else--and I can't really blame him. It is in most ways an extraordinarily faithful and masterful realization of his Game, Set, Match novels, with a perfect script, a cast that with only one exception brings the novels' characters to life without missing a nuance, and fine staging and direction to capture the sardonic, cleverly convoluted, slow-burning-fuse feeling of the books.
This i well remember. it was later .
An excellent series, masterfully acted and directed, but unloved (I am told) by Mr Deighton and withdrawn by him after a single presentation. It is now only viewable in private collections, and via the British Film Institute at special request.
