TV series
Smiley's People
Overview
Called out of retirement to settle the affairs of a friend, Smiley finds his old organization, the Circus, so overwhelmed by political considerations that it doesn't want to know what happened. He begins to follow up the clues of his friends past days, discovering that the clues lead to a high person in the Russian Secret service, and a secret important enough to kill for.
Details
- First air date
- 1982-09-20
- Status
- Ended
- Seasons
- 1 season
- Episodes
- 6 episodes
- Genres
- Drama, Mystery
- Network
- BBC Two
- Production
- BBC, Paramount Television
- Country
- GB
- Original language
- EN
Cast
- Alec Guinness as George Smiley
- Eileen Atkins as Madame Ostrakova
- Bill Paterson as Lauder Strickland
- Vladek Sheybal as Otto Leipzig
- Andy Bradford as Ferguson
- Bernard Hepton as Toby Esterhase
- Anthony Bate as Oliver Lacon
- Michael Byrne as Peter Guillam
- Tusse Silberg as Alexandra Ostrakova
- Germaine Delbat as Madame La Pierre
- Ingrid Pitt as Elvira
- Michael Lonsdale as Anton Grigoriev
Creators and crew
- John le Carré - Creator
- Jonathan Powell - Producer
- Simon Langton - Director
- John le Carré - Writer
- John Hopkins - Writer
Episodes
Episode 1: A Mother's Assistance
Once more, George Smiley is brought out of retirement to look into the murder of an old colleague.
Episode 2: The General's Big Fish
Smiley takes a trip to investigate his friend's flat for clues. After finding a series of clues that lead to something bigger, Smiley interrogates a man about Vladimir's whereabouts. And lastly, a picture of two men in bed with a woman stirs things up.
Episode 3: Gathering Friends
The investigation of Vladimir's murder leads Smiley to interrogate his latest suspect. Smiley is told to stop investigating the case by a man on a motorcycle, and he just blows him off. Smiley's next stop is Oxfordshire, speaking to a mother and a daughter about the case.
Episode 4: The Rogue Elephant
Smiley continues his investigation, now looking for a man named Otto in a small fishing community, only to find his decaying body in his boat, and a mysterious chalk mark he's seen before. Smiley talks to the now-perpetually afraid woman.
Episode 5: Alexandra Tatiana
Smiley and his colleagues read through an extremely long deathbed confession. Using an undercover name, Smiley travels to Berne to attempt to find the missing pieces of the murder mystery. Meanwhile, we are introduced to a woman in an asylum.
Episode 6: Smiley's Lighter
Smiley interrogates a diplomat by showing him a series of photographs, and in turn, closes in on the person who killed Vladimir. He is led to the asylum, and ironically, things eventually become clearer.
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