Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979–1979)

TV ShowEndedBBC TwoWar & Politics, Drama, Mystery1 season, 7 episodes
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy posterReview score: 76%

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy highlights

Plot

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a seven-part BBC2 spy drama written by Arthur Hopcraft, adapted from John le Carré's eponymous 1974 novel. The serial, which stars Alec Guinness, Alexander Knox, Ian Richardson, Michael Jayston, Bernard Hepton, Anthony Bate, Ian Bannen, George Sewell and Michael Aldridge, was broadcast from 10 September to 22 October 1979. George Smiley, the ageing master spy of the Cold War and once heir-apparent to Control, is brought back out of retirement to flush out a top level mole within the Circus. Smiley must travel back through his life and murky workings of the Circus to unravel the net spun by his nemesis Karla 'The Sandman' of the KGB and reveal the identity of the mole before he disappears.

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Highest-rated episodes all ranked

  1. 01Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy S01E02Tarr Tells His StoryS01E02 · 10.0British agent Ricki Tarr, believed to have defected, resurfaces with sensational information: confirmation of a Russian mole in the Service.
  2. 02Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy S01E05Tinker TailorS01E05 · 10.0Smiley calls on ex-Circus spy San Collins, who was the duty officer the night Jim Prideaux was shot. Collins confirms the events as Smiley understands them and that Prideaux's good friend Bill Hayden is the senior officer who took charge of the case after all hell broke loose. Smiley subsequently meets with Prideaux to get a firsthand account of the events during the disastrous Operation Testify in Czechoslovakia.
  3. 03Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy S01E06Smiley Sets a TrapS01E06 · 10.0Smiley confronts one of his suspects and gives him the results of his investigations, which could prove a considerable embarrassment to those concerned.

Episodes by season

Season01Episode ratings across the season — the gold bar is its best episode7Episodes1979Aired 9.9Season avg
  1. S01E01Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy S01E01Return to the CircusSeptember 10, 1979 9.7Retired espionage veteran George Smiley is called out on a top-secret mission: to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.
  2. S01E02Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy S01E02Season's bestTarr Tells His StorySeptember 17, 1979 10.0British agent Ricki Tarr, believed to have defected, resurfaces with sensational information: confirmation of a Russian mole in the Service.
  3. S01E03Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy S01E03Smiley Tracks the MoleSeptember 24, 1979 9.7The investigation begins, with Peter Guillam burgling the archives for information, while Smiley visits an old comrade whose past knowledge
  4. S01E04Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy S01E04How It All Fits TogetherOctober 1, 1979 9.7While Guillam and Tarr come under pressure, Smiley recounts his one meeting with Soviet master spy Karla, who is undoubtedly running the mol
  5. S01E05Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy S01E05Tinker TailorOctober 8, 1979 10.0Smiley calls on ex-Circus spy San Collins, who was the duty officer the night Jim Prideaux was shot. Collins confirms the events as Smiley u
  6. S01E06Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy S01E06Smiley Sets a TrapOctober 15, 1979 10.0Smiley confronts one of his suspects and gives him the results of his investigations, which could prove a considerable embarrassment to thos
  7. S01E07Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy S01E07Flushing Out the MoleOctober 22, 1979 10.0Smiley springs his trap and catches the mole, who confesses how and why it happened, and the answers ultimately rob Smiley of any sense of v

Season 1 ranked & reviewed

Cast

Alec GuinnessAlec GuinnessGeorge SmileyMichael JaystonMichael JaystonPeter GuillamAnthony BateAnthony BateSir Oliver LaconGeorge SewellGeorge SewellMendel

Photos

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Trailers & Videos

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TrailerTinker Tailor Soldier Spy trailerTrailerTinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) Trailer

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