This series harkens back to a time when spies did things the old fashioned way, with real human assets and not a lot of gadgetry. the first episode is a bit slow, but you will be hooked by the end of the second episode. I didn't start watching it until the third episode, and BBC America hasn't rerun it (but they don't seem to have a problem rerunning Dr Who or Top Gear to death - both shows I also enjoy) so I had to buy it to get the first two episodes. I think I've watched it six times. My mother introduced me to books by Robert Ludlum and Alistair McLean when I was a teen, so I had to show her the first two episodes. At the end of the second episode, she said, "Why did you do this to me, now I want to watch the rest of the series right now!"The dialog is all 1972 British slang, and done quite well. Americans are called "the cousins", the guy with the microphones and phone taps is referred to as a "nosey parker", etc. The bad guys are mostly Russian. The good guys are mostly British. And the cars are all small, cheap, and spew plenty of exhaust. Just about everyone smokes. There is also a little inter-agency and intra-agency intrigue.I'm usually pretty good about picking up on things, but there were a number of times where I questioned how they got from point C to point D in the story line, but in going back and watching the series a second and third time, I could see that the clues were there. So you do have to think about what you have seen and what you are currently watching. If you liked "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", you'll like The Game.Sadly, it does not appear there will be a second season and a look on imdb shows that all the principal actors are working on other projects.