FanFare

Roper realizes someone close to him has betrayed him, and begins to narrow down the suspects. Jonathan tries to send a message. Jed tries to help. In London, Angela finds herself blocked and menaced. [more inside]
posted by ubiquity on May 23, 2016 - 6 comments

Pine finds himself in the middle of an arms deal, and in other arms as well. Things start to heat up in London, as some of the bad guys are revealed. [more inside]
posted by ubiquity on May 16, 2016 - 8 comments

Burr makes her pitch to Pine. Pine leaves the hotel under unfortunate circumstances. A holiday excursion for Roper and his friends almost ends in disaster. [more inside]
posted by ubiquity on Apr 30, 2016 - 8 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

Four men in a room quickly filling with smoke: George Smiley, newly un-retired right-hand man to The Circus chief, Peter Guillam, disgraced head Scalphunter for The Circus, Oliver Lacon, Intelligence Service overseer, and Ricky Tarr, officially absent without leave, on the Wanted list, recently resurfaced Circus spook extraordinaire. Ricky has a story he thinks might change all their lives. [more inside]
posted by carsonb on Feb 26, 2015 - 3 comments

Two to six men in a room filled or quickly filling with smoke. There is terse, slow conversation, interrogations mostly, punctuated by short, uneventful drives on the streets of Cold War-era London. Spies! George Smiley (ret.), played elderly and formidable and ironically reticent by Sir Alec Guinness, looms and frowns at the goings-on and pieces together the legend of a mole, right at the top of The Circus. [more inside]
posted by carsonb on Feb 19, 2015 - 15 comments

Who wants to patiently and deliberately discuss the original BBC productions of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy & Smiley's People? [more inside]
posted by carsonb on Feb 18, 2015 - 12 comments