The Game 

A Cold War spy thriller that tells the story of invisible wars fought by MI5.

Creator:

Toby Whithouse

Stars:

Tom Hughes, Jonathan Aris, Victoria Hamilton

1 nomination.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Tom Hughes	...	Joe Lambe 6 episodes, 2014
Jonathan Aris	...	Alan Montag 6 episodes, 2014
Victoria Hamilton	...	Sarah Montag 6 episodes, 2014
Shaun Dooley	...	DC Jim Fenchurch 6 episodes, 2014
Brian Cox	...	Daddy 6 episodes, 2014
Paul Ritter	...	Bobby Waterhouse 6 episodes, 2014
Chloe Pirrie	...	Wendy Straw 6 episodes, 2014
Zana Marjanovic	...	Yulia 6 episodes, 2014
Yevgeni Sitokhin	...	Odin 5 episodes, 2014
Judy Parfitt	...	Hester Waterhouse 5 episodes, 2014
Marcel Iures	...	Arkady 4 episodes, 2014
Stuart Whittaker	...	MI5 Agent 3 episodes, 2014
Gemma Chan	...	Chen Mei 2 episodes, 2014
Rachael Stirling	...	Kate / ... 2 episodes, 2014
Tim Bentinck	...	Home Secretary 2 episodes, 2014
Jay Simpson	...	Colin Blakefield 2 episodes, 2014
Velibor Topic	...	KGB Hood 2 episodes, 2014
Taber Allen	...	Barista 2 episodes, 2014
Bartley Burke	...	Ivan 2 episodes, 2014

Storyline

Starring Brian Cox, "The Game" is a 1970s Cold War spy thriller set in the world of espionage. It tells the story of the invisible war fought by MI5 as it battles to protect the nation from the threats of the Cold War.

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Plot Keywords:

tv mini series | 1970s | mi5 | cold war | spy | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 November 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Igra

Filming Locations:

Birmingham, West Midlands, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Cymru Wales, BBC Drama Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (6 parts)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although set in 1970s London, the show was almost entirely shot in Birmingham. The MI5 headquarters building (both interiors and exteriors). was the recently closed Birmingham Central Library, a much criticised and largely unloved example of 1970s 'brutalist' architecture, which has now (as of 2016), been completely demolished as part of a major city redevelopment scheme.

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Connections

References Gorky Park (1983)

User Reviews

Too easy to miss this one ... and you would be missing a lot

It is my view that the writer and director did something unusual and experimental with this teleplay, and that experiment "cost" them viewers and ratings.

Which it should not have.

It is all about timing. This six episode mini-series starts slow and picks up speed like one of those amusement park rides, until, by the time you get to very end of the finale, it seems like you are going 100 miles an hour.

This is not the traditional way to execute a narrative. But, if you give it a chance, it works just fine.

Besides, there are so many extraordinary things going on here, that I rather think the odd pacing (which was deliberate, of that there is no doubt) makes the total experience all the better. I am thinking specifically of the performances of Tom Hughes and Victoria Hamilton, which are beyond good, they are unforgettable.

And - another trick of the writer -- he saved the very best lines of dialog for the post-Dénouement (postscript), specifically the lines "It takes a whore to catch a whore" (all the more potent when directed at a man!) and "doubt will kill as surely as a bullet." If you want to know why those lines are so powerful, watch the series!