Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is 40 years old, which is a slightly depressing thought… However it’s a welcome reminder that the good old days of British TV offered more than racist sitcoms and so-called light entertainment which was about as light and entertaining as a poorly made suet pudding (occasionally interrupted by Dr Who and a teenaged David Attenborough). With every episode of I, Claudius  ‘balanced’ by multiple repeats of Up Pompeii! (Please note, that “!” is not an expression of my surprise or alarm, the programme title had an exclamation mark. One of several often overlooked parallels with Apocalypse Now!)

 

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was notoriously perplexing at the time, basically because it actually expected the audience to pay attention. Although to be fair, there are lots of characters and stuff happening, and the plot is pretty convoluted. I had to read part of the book twice recently to convince myself that there isn’t a Big Sleep sized plot hole in the middle, which there isn’t.

 

This nationwide puzzlement was not helped by limited ownership of VCRs in 1979 (not surprising given they cost about £4k each in today’s money) but the BBC broadcast each episode twice a week to give viewers some hope of working it all out.  The book is even more complex so reading it didn’t always help and it defintely wasn’t like a virtual box set without pictures.

 

Finally available in high definition on blu ray, a good transfer according to reviews on Amazon.