Anyone watching London Spy on BBC America?

[Ilsa]

The lead character is wonderfully acted, but he's so hyper and immature that I don't enjoy him much.

I like the storyline. I'm not convinced that Alex's big discovery is going to cut it, especially, why would intel from CIA, MI6, FSB, Mossad, etc all be read in on it so that they all agree?

[nationalize the fed]

1. Saw it when it aired in Britain. Ben Whishaw is outstanding

but this was not the best series. Way too long and slow-could have been 3 episodes easily. Sometimes 4 minutes seemed like 2 hours. At least we got to see Adrian Lester again ("Mickey Bricks" from Hustle- one of the best UK series ever made).

Whishaw and Romola Garai were brilliant in The Hour- a show set in the mid '50s about the BBC. That was 5 star must see excellence. Garai is back in a new Churchill drama coming soon.


Dominic West, Ben Whishaw, and Romola Garai from BBC's The Hour

[Ilsa]

2. I watched all of The Hour when it aired here.

Just loved it. Looking forward to seeing Garai again.

I recognized the actor playing the professor, Adrian Lester, as soon as he came on. I watched a lot of Hustle, but haven't seen the series in its entirety (I've seen all of Leverage, though). I had a little crush on AL. I've seen the actor who played Danny Blue on The Good Wife. He was the investigator's ex.

Jim Broadbent has been fantastic, too. I'm gonna hate not seeing him for the rest of this series. He was wonderful in Any Human Heart, a PBS Masterpiece Theater series.

Ben Whishaw is going to make a fabulous Q. The last Bond movie I saw was his first, Skyfall, so I have one to catch up on. I took note of him on The Hour. He's a fantastic actor.

[nationalize the fed]

3. By the way, there was an interesting case that had some parallels to London Spy

Gareth Williams, British Spy, Likely Died In Bag By Accident

11/2013: LONDON (AP) — A spy whose naked, decomposing body was found inside a padlocked gym bag at his apartment likely died in an accident with no one else involved, British police said Wednesday — a tentative conclusion that is unlikely to calm conspiracy theories around the bizarre case.

Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said the death of Gareth Williams, whose remains were found inside a bag in his bathtub in August 2010, was "most probably" an accident.

(That's worth a re-read!)

But he conceded that the facts could not be established beyond a reasonable doubt, and Williams' family members said they still believe he was killed.

The police verdict also disagrees with a coroner's inquest, which concluded last year that Williams had probably been killed by another person in a "criminally meditated act."...more http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/13/gareth-williams-accident-died-in-bag_n_4266397.html

There are some great parts in London Spy and it wanted to be 5 star. The writing just wasn't very tight. Whishaw deserved better.

If you want to see more Marc Warren (Danny Blue) try to find the British version of Mad Dogs- it's a wild ride. There's a US version (without Warren) on Amazon right now- (IMO not as good as the original, at least the first ep).

I tried to like Leverage but only lasted for 1 1/2 series. Maybe I should take another look. Never really liked the characters, Isn't Leverage pretty much a US copy of Hustle? One difference B/W US and Brit TV is that in US TV, you're never supposed to sympathize with the hustlers. At least that's one of my theories. I'd have every one of the Hustle crew over for a weekend- even though they'd rip me off.

Any Human Heart looks good, I'll have to check it out.

[Ilsa]

4. What a gruesome story (about Gareth). I'm

having a hard time believing no one else participated, but who knows? Maybe his playing went wrong.

Yes, I had concluded that Leverage was a copy of Hustle, but with more sympathetic characters. Each of them becomes more likeable and trustworthy as the character develops, except I'd keep matches away from the pretty blonde.

I'd like to watch Any Human Heart again; I thought it was that good. Heartbreaking, but thoughtful. Definitely worthy of Masterpiece Theater.

I enjoy espionage stuff. I watched as much of MI-5 (Spooks) here as I could find, but became disenchanted as several favorite characters went off the rails, died, etc and left the show. US tv had a knockoff of that one, also, called The Agency.

I better try to get back to sleep...