Classic Spies: Game,Set and Match – E01/13 – Ian Holm,Mel Martin,Amanda Donohoe,Anthony Bate
Excellent cast
Bernard Samson, once a field agent for British MI6 based in West Berlin, is now working at a desk. A flashback relates how Samson attempted to run an aging Polish agent in Gdansk. The agent’s son is an officer in the Polish army and Samson is to make contact and try to “turn” him. The attempt proves to be a set-up and fails.
Game, Set and Match is a 1988 television serial directed by Ken Grieve and Patrick Lau and written by John Howlett. It is based on the books Berlin Game, Mexico Set and London Match by Len Deighton. The two directors worked separately on different episodes. Filmed on location in Berlin and Mexico, the project included a large international cast with 3,000 extras and a budget of $8 million. While critically acclaimed, the ratings for the series were a disaster.Ian Holm was nominated for a BAFTA award for his portrayal of Bernard Samson.
It was aired in 1989 in the United States as part of the PBS show Mystery!
Plot Synopsis
The series focuses on Bernard Samson (Ian Holm), beginning with his search for the “mole” that threatens the Brahms Network in East Germany. Samson is sent to Berlin to bring out a Brahms agent. He is then sent to Mexico to try to persuade a KGB major (Gottfried John) to defect, using his childhood friend Verner Volkmann’s wife Zena as bait. After it appears another traitor is working at London Central, Samson himself becomes one of the prime suspects.
Cast
- Ian Holm as Bernard Samson
- Mel Martin as Fiona Samson
- Michael Culver as Dicky Cruyer
- Michael Degen as Werner Volkmann
- Gottfried John as Eric Stinnes
- Anthony Bate as Bret Renssalaer
- Frederick Treves as Frank Harrington
- Amanda Donohoe as Gloria Kent
- Hugh Fraser as Giles Trent
- Gail Harrison as Tessa Kozinski
- Gary Whelan as George Kozinski
- Brigitte Karner as Zena Volkmann
- Alan MacNaughtan as Sir Henry Clevemore DG
- Michael Aldridge as Silas Gaunt
- Peter Vaughan as David Kimber-Hutchinson
- Eva Ebner as Frau Lisl Hennig
- Jeremy Child as Henry Tiptree
The Inquiring Mind 
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