The Game is a British Cold War spy drama that takes place in London in the 70s. The Game was created and written by Toby Whithouse (Being Human, Doctor Who).
The Game follows a young MI-5 agent named Joe Lamb and a small team of operatives setup by spymaster 'Daddy' to figure out and counter Soviet Operation Glass, protect their only source 'Arkady' and neutralize the mysterious and deadly soviet operative 'Odin'. The group includes:
- Joe Lamb (Tom Hughes) as the 'interrogator' and field agent. Joe's allegiances are held close to his chest. A year prior to the start of the series he had fallen in love with a Soviet operative Yuli and may have attempted to defect. He wants revenge for Yuli's death by Odin during the botched defection.
- Daddy (Brian Cox) himself, embattled head of MI-5, and a mentor to Joe. Daddy is hinted to be at the twilight of his career.
- Bobby Waterhouse (Paul Ritter), Daddy's opportunistic deputy, momma's boy and a closet homosexual.
- Sara Montag (Victoria Hamilton) serves as the lead field agent of the team.
- Alan Montag (Jonathan Aris) is the team's audio surveillance specialist.
- Jim Fenchurch (Shaun Dooley) is a Special Branch detective seconded to the team.
- Wendy Straw (Chloe Pirrie), Daddy's secretary; she ends up working closely with Bobby. Wendy ends up moving in with Bobby as part of his attempt to obfuscate his Transparent Closet homosexuality. Bobby also uses her against Daddy, though she is unaware she's being used in that way.
At the same time the team is trying to figure out 'Operation Glass', they have to watch their own backs and question each other's loyalties. Is Joe blinded by the need for vengeance? How far would Bobby Waterhouse go in his political schemes to overthrow Daddy? Is Daddy still competent to handle the current threat? Can their sole source, the mysterious and withholding 'Arkady', be trusted? Is 'Operation Glass' itself a huge distraction or even the result of cold war paranoia on both sides of 'The Game'. Is there a double-agent among them and can anyone be trusted?
Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: Bobby's mother could arguably fall into this.
- Seems to be the case with Joe's father.
- Agents Dating: In this case, married, with one being a field agent and another a technical expert agent.
- The Book Cipher: Used in the middle of the series.
- Back from the Dead: Yulia.
- Blatant Lies: Joe and Bobby lie to nearly everyone about their personal affairs. Sarah had been lying all along.
- British Brevity: Series 1 is 6 episodes.
- Duel of Seduction: Joe has one of these, and seems to be known for them among his colleagues.
- Flashback: Joe has quite a few of his girlfriend's death.
- Jurisdiction Friction: MI-5 and MI-6 as well as MI-5 and Special Branch.
- Killed Off for Real: Quite a few for a miniseries; Kitty, David, Arkady, his friend Bogdan, Odin, etc.
- Love-Interest Traitor: Sarah to Alan and possibly Yulia to Joe.
- Love Martyr: Alan.
- Married to the Job: That's what Bobby wants everyone to believe. Joe is Married to the Job after Yulia's death, and apparently before falling in love with her as well.
- Mission Control: Bobby is often instructed to be this. Alan also has shades given his specialty.
- The Mole: Sarah Montag.
- Mole in Charge: The Home Secretary! and he's next in-line for Prime Minister!
- Mysterious Informant: Arkady
- Nice Guy: Alan and Jim come across as genuinely nice guys.
- Odd Friendship: Bobby and Wendy's relationship seems to have developed into this by the finale.
- Open Secret: Bobby's homosexuality.
- Red Herring Mole: Joe at the start of the series, and then Alan later on, setup by his own wife!
- Right Hand Versus Left Hand: MI-5 follows/detains an MI-6 agent.
- Rogue Agent: Joe has shades of this, as part of wanting personal revenge on Odin.
- The Spymaster: 'Daddy' on the British side, with Bobby as his deputy that also tends to be Mission Control. 'Odin' on the Soviet side, at-least for Operation Glass.
- The Stoic: Joe
- Spy Versus Spy: The basis of the series.
- Straight Gay: Bobby
- The Starscream: Bobby Waterhouse to Daddy.
- Trenchcoat Brigade: Joe and others.
- Undying Loyalty: Daddy is confident (and rightly so) that Joe is the only one who would never betray him.
- Alan towards his wife Sarah, as seen in the series 1 finale.
- Was It All a Lie?: Sarah and Alan's marriage.
- Wrongly Accused: Many characters are wrongly accused during the series.
