Slow Horses

     Not the actual plodding kind of horse but the TV series Slow Horses, based on the book series, a kind of affectionate homage to the worlds of John le Carre (pretty directly) and Len Deighton (less so) and one that will be recognizable to fans of the Charles Stross Laundry Files novels and short stories.  Tam and I started watching it and ended up following the entire series to date, night after night

     There's none of Stross's cosmic horror in Slow Horses but lots of horrible office experiences at Slough House, where the ultra-polished UK MI-5 spy agency sends their screw-ups and burn-outs, hoping they'll quit quietly, or possibly fall down the stairs.  The place is run by Jackson Lamb, a very burnt-out Cold War relic with a knack for being in the right place that kept reminding me of someone -- it took watching the entire series before I figured it out: "Sam Sheepdog," from the sheepdog-and-wolf Loony Tunes cartoons: the wolf gets up to all manner of subterfuge and Sam's always right there when it counts, minimal effort, stopping him cold.  Sam -- and Jackson -- have seen it all before; they know the next five moves and they're not impressed.

     Of course, the thing about the screw-ups infesting Slough House is they're MI-5 screw-ups, which means they're pretty good at spying -- and operate outside (or at least at odds with) the agency's bureaucracy.  It makes for exciting viewing, with the callous, obnoxious and nevertheless competent Jackson Lamb managing to manage them largely by indirection and malice.

     Highly recommended, if you like that sort of thing.  Tam and I do.