The Game
By Joyce Slaton,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Espionage drama is smart, twisty Cold War tale.
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The Game
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What's the Story?
The six-part miniseries THE GAME centers on 1970s London, where a secret committee of intelligence officers are assembled to investigate a KGB attack threatening Britain and the world. M15 head Daddy (Brian Cox) has learned of the existence of a Soviet plot code-named Operation Glass. Operation Glass may already have planted nuclear warheads on British soil. Now it's up to the M15 committee to defuse the plot. At the heart of the action is interrogator Joe Lambe (Tom Hughes), who has some very intimate ways of getting the information he wants -- and secrets of his own. Working alongside are the head of counterespionage, Bobby Waterhouse (Paul Ritter); conflicted husband-and-wife team Sarah and Alan (Victoria Hamilton, Jonathan Aris); and secretary-with-ambition Wendy Straw (Chloe Pirrie).
Is It Any Good?
The deeply creepy idea of shadowy terrorists seeking to sneak warheads onto enemy soil resonates with American viewers, which lends menace to this already heart-stoppingly thrilling show, easily the equal of the early seasons of Homeland or cable drama The Americans. The pacing is quick, the motives murky, the characterizations deft. We know everything we need to know about one agent when she sizes up an undercover colleague as a spy because he hadn't thought to crack the spine of the novel he was pretending to read.
Knowing the history of how the Cold War developed and turned out is useful -- things move pretty fast on-screen -- but it doesn't spoil the action, as this is a small offshoot of a greater conflict examined under a microscope. The proceedings do require that viewers pay attention, as many characters are thrown at you all at once, and things are not neatly summed up by clunky bits of exposition. Many of the most important lines are thrown off or mumbled; much action takes places offscreen. However, that only serves to make what's on-screen more emotionally juicy and resonant. The Game is brilliant drama.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the history of the Cold War. What is a Cold War? How is it different from a regular war? What countries were involved in the Cold War? What was at stake? What happened?
Is espionage "the game" referred to in this series' title? Why would espionage be like a game? Why does this series have the title it does?
Do these characters' jobs and lives look like fun? Why, or why not? Would you like to be a spy? Does The Game make spying look attractive? Scary? Boring?
TV Details
- Premiere date: October 1, 2006
- Cast: Brian Cox , Tom Hughes , Victoria Hamilton
- Network: BBC America
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: History
- TV rating: TV-14
- Last updated: August 29, 2022
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