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Burnside receives his annual report and finds that his career prospects have suddenly dimmed. Willie Caine and Karen Milner returning from a conference in Sri Lanka when their flight is hijacked by terrorists and forced to land in Turkey. Burnside struggles to put together a rescue mission when the rest of the government has decided not to act.
posted by Grimgrin on Apr 22, 2016 - 4 comments

One year after the disastrous mission in last season's finale. The head of the Bulgarian Secret Service offers detailed information on active agents abroad, but demands that a Sandbagger makes the trade, that night. Burnside fears a setup, but ultimately the prospect of the information being offered is too tempting and the mission goes ahead.
posted by Grimgrin on Apr 8, 2016 - 6 comments

An East German photo technician who has been spying for the SIS, becomes convinced he's under surveillance. Laura Dickens is sent into East Berlin to bring him out, together with a cache of photos of a new missile base. [more inside]
posted by Grimgrin on Apr 1, 2016 - 8 comments

A British engineer specializing in missile engines goes missing in Cypress. Around the same time a Russian engineer specializing in guidance systems goes missing in Syria. Willie Caine is sent to Cypress to investigate after a SIS officer stationed in Cypress is gunned down. Meanwhile Burnside and Laura Dickens begin a relationship.
posted by Grimgrin on Mar 25, 2016 - 4 comments

After the deaths of two Sandbaggers, Burnside and Caine seek new agents for the special section. The only suitable new recruit, Laura Dickens, will be the first woman to be recruited as a Sandbagger. While shorthanded Burnside has to deal with two crises, as the #2 Algerian SIS officer is murdered in Gibraltar and Jeff Ross alerts Burnside possibility that the SIS may hae been compromise. The CIA has discovered that Colin Grove, a highly placed operations officer, has been seeing a psychiatrist that may be a KGB spy. [more inside]
posted by Grimgrin on Mar 11, 2016 - 11 comments

Jake Landy, Sandbagger 2, is killed when a mission goes wrong. After the mission Alan Denson, Sandbagger 3 decides to leave the service and marry his girlfriend. Burnside attempts to sabotage Denson's relationship in order to keep him in the Sandbaggers. Meanwhile, the SIS is called to investigate a homosexual relationship being carried on by a highly placed officer in the UK embassy in Paris, who's brother is a leader in the opposition party in Westminster.
posted by Grimgrin on Mar 4, 2016 - 10 comments

The chief scientific advisor of the British government is spotted in Vienna when he is supposed to be on vacation in Scotland. While investigating the possible defection, Burnside attempts to get approval to assassinate an East African head of state in retaliation for the murder of British citizens.
posted by Grimgrin on Feb 26, 2016 - 8 comments

Neil Burnside (Roy Marsden), The Director of Operations for the Special Intelligence Service, notices he's being tailed on his way to work. The tail turns out to have been set by the new chief of Norway's intelligence service, Lars Torvik, seeking to train his agents on MI6 personnel. Torvik asks for Burnside to assist in training his agents in exchange for intelligence the Norwegians are in the process of gathering. When the Norwegian operation goes wrong, Torvik asks the Burnside to put together a dangerous rescue mission in Soviet territory, but soon becomes frustrated by Burnside's apparent lack of action. [more inside]
posted by Grimgrin on Feb 19, 2016 - 17 comments

The green light is given, and Esterhase's team moves in on Grigoriev. Will he help them unlock Karla's secret? Can George finally bring down his nemesis and redeem his career, his Western values, his very being? This is George Smiley's last chapter. [more inside]
posted by carsonb on May 15, 2015 - 3 comments

George Smiley finally has the whole story, and now must work to put a plan in place. Circus Chief Saul Enderby takes Maude for a spin around the "garden," earning his cold shoulder from Part 4 and blessing him with his totally-deniable approval of the plan to snare Karla (as well as free access to the Reptile Fund). Commence file-digging with Peter Guillam, target-shadowing with Toby Esterhase, and totally ignoring Oliver Lacon at dinner. [more inside]
posted by carsonb on May 7, 2015 - 6 comments

Sleepless and relentless, Smiley races across West Germany and finally tracks down Otto Leipzig. He's still a step behind Karla for now, but with a flurry of aliases and feints and a little—OK a lot of help from Peter Guillam (Michael Byrne) all of the bits scattered by the death of General Vladimir are finally being swept up into one place. [more inside]
posted by carsonb on Apr 30, 2015 - 12 comments

George drinks his way through three interviews while piecing together the story that General Vladimir died trying to get to him. Bernard Hepton and Beryl Reid reprise their roles from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy as Toby Esterhase and Connie Sachs, respectively, and then Smiley ventures overseas in search of Otto Leipzig and the Ginger Pig's confession. [more inside]
posted by carsonb on Apr 23, 2015 - 8 comments

Straight from the briefing with Lacon, Strickland, and Mostyn, George steps out onto the Heath in the light of day and attempts to reconstruct the General's movements from the night before. Then, from the week before. He had two proofs. [more inside]
posted by carsonb on Apr 16, 2015 - 21 comments

Smiley springs his trap and then goes about picking up the pieces and putting The Circus back together. Poor George! Life is such a puzzle to you, isn't it? - Lady Ann
posted by carsonb on Apr 2, 2015 - 18 comments

With a new light cast on the aftermath of Operation Testify—who told Jim Prideaux to forget it, man... forget it! and move on with his post-Circus life—George Smiley knows who in the Merlin/Witchcraft circle to approach first. But before he heads down that path, a bit of follow-up is in order with old-boy lamplighter and drunkard footie newsman Jerry Westerby. [more inside]
posted by carsonb on Mar 26, 2015 - 21 comments

George Smiley conducts two interviews, first with old hand Sam Collins, the duty officer on the night Jim Prideaux was shot, then with Prideaux himself. Between the two testimonies a clearer picture is painted of the events of that night, the fateful, failed Operation Testify, as well as its fallout.
posted by carsonb on Mar 19, 2015 - 22 comments

In search of more information about Operation Testify, George sends Peter back to The Circus for the archived file. Waylaid mid-operation by the three of them and Alleline, Peter is read in on and then interrogated about some ultra-ultra-sensitive Witchcraft material. Patrick Stewart makes a brief, silent, and rather intense appearance during Smiley's relation to Guillam of the time in Delhi when he met Karla in the flesh. [more inside]
posted by carsonb on Mar 12, 2015 - 12 comments

Smiley sends Guillam to The Circus headquarters at London Station to covertly follow up on Ricky Tarr's story, while he visits Oxford to pick the brain of former Head of Research Connie Sachs. Connections begin to appear as they compare notes, and George fills Peter in on Merlin, Witchcraft, and Percy Alleline's insufferable angling for Control's chair. There are three of them, and Alleline. Control's words. [more inside]
posted by carsonb on Mar 4, 2015 - 7 comments