The name Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy probably sounds familiar to you as a film with that name was recently nominated for a few Academy Awards, but what you may not know is that the film is based on a novel which was made into a TV mini-series for the BBC back in 1979. Starring Alec Guinness in the role of George Smiley, it took the novel and played it out over seven episodes. That show, when aired in the US, was compressed to six episodes, removing some scenes and reordering others to match the timeline of the novel, and later this month it is being released on DVD and Blu-ray.

Tinker, Tailor,
Soldier, Sailor,
Rich Man, Poor Man,
Begger Man, Thief.

A children's counting rhyme is used by Control, the chief of the British Secret Service, as code names for a mole hidden in the highest echelon of their ranks, known as the Circus. Operation Testify is set forth, outwardly the mission is just information gathering but Control is actually after the name of this mole from a Czech Army general. There are five men who are suspect, and each is given a codename - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Poor Man and Begger Man - which agent Jim Prideaux is to use when reporting the name. But the mission is blown, he is shot and tortured, and the fallout causes the disgrace and forced retirement of Control.

Six months later, Control is dead, but another agent, Ricki Tarr has learned of the mole through an affair with the wife of a Moscow Centre intelligence office. Ricki reports it back to his handler, Peter Guillam, who in turn tells Oliver Lacon. Since George Smiley, one of the original suspected five, has retired, he has been cleared and is enlisted by Lacon to secretly investigate the remaining four members of the Circus.

What follows is not the kind of spy work that most people are used to. James Bond is primarily an action hero who also does a little spy work. He's constantly fighting and using gadgets, shooting guns, getting is car chases, boat chases, foot chases and blowing things up, all while making time for beautiful ladies. But Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is probably more close to the reality of the majority of spy work. Ferreting out details through research and interviews, talking to people who might know something, putting together the pieces of a story in order to justify the final actions. As such, many would consider this 6 part series to be boring and slow, and they wouldn't be wrong.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy involves lots of people sitting around and talking. Walking and talking. Talking while riding in cars. And it is peppered with a handful of tense scenes where someone goes after a piece of information they shouldn't have access to in an office or safe that doesn't belong to them. Outside of the shooting scene at the beginning when Jim Prideaux is captured, no one even draws a gun, and even the final reveal and arrest of the spy happens in a room filled with people talking it out.

The story is intriguing, if you are into that sort of thing. If you aren't, it will probably be the longest six hours of TV you've ever watched. If you don't know, I would probably suggest seeing the newer film, which at just over two hours is a much shorter investment to get the same story. Because the mini-series is so heavy with talk, it is dense with information and jargon, and your attention is required to get all the nuances of the tale - don't do some other activity while you watch or you'll miss something.

The Blu-ray set is beautifully presented on two discs. It includes a reel of deleted scenes, the ones cut to reduce the series from seven to six episode. There is also an interview with the director, John Irvin, and one with the author, John le Carré. In addition is has production notes, a biography/booklist for le Carré, and a glossary of characters and terms - just in case you get lost.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy isn't for everyone, but everyone should give it a try.