Monday, March 9 - Smiley's People: 3 Episodes

Smiley's People: Gathering Friends (Season 1 Episode 3 - aired Oct 4, 1982)

George calls on his now retired former colleague Toby Esterhase who tells him the General approached 2 weeks before his death and asked him to collect a document for him. Toby doesn't think much of the old General or some of his cronies such as Otto Leipzig, a peddler of information, most of it made up. George does remind him however that Otto's information about Moscow Centre, the headquarters of the KGB, was usually first-rate. George also visits Connie Sachs, Mother Russia as she was known before she retired from - or being pushed out of, she would say - the Circus. George wants her memory and she tells him of Otto Leipzig and a ginger-haired Soviet spy called Oleg Kirov, or the Ginger Pig, as Otto called him. They were university students together and unbeknown to Otto then, Kirov was already a spy shopping the more radical students to the authorities. Otto had run into Kirov in Paris struck up a friendship with him but by the time he had set Kirov up for the kill, so to speak, the Circus had gone off émigrés and didn't pursue it.

Smiley's People: The Rogue Elephant (Season 1 Episode 4 - aired Oct 11, 1982)

George travels to West Germany to make contact with Otto Leipzig. He starts by visiting the owner of a sex club, Claus Kretchmar. A friend of Otto's for many years, Kretchmar was often used as the intermediary when the Circus wanted to get in touch with Otto. It quickly becomes obvious to Smiley that the photo the General was so excited about was taken in the night club. He also assumes there is more information, taped conversations perhaps, but Kretchmar claims to have nothing. Smiley sets off to a holiday camp to find Otto. There he sees the extent to which the Soviets will go to keep Otto's information secret. He also finds the key to the information that Otto had left behind for him. George travels to Paris to arrange for Madame Ostrakova's protection and enlists the assistance of Peter Guillam, now assigned to the Embassy.

Smiley's People: Alexandra Tatjana (Season 1 Episode 5 - aired Oct 18, 1982)

Smiley is hot on the trail leading to Karla, but must make the ultimate sacrifice: cutting off his wife Ann.

Sunday, March 8 - Smiley's People: Episodes 1 & 2

Smiley's People (TV Mini Series 1982)

The murder of a Soviet defector forces his old handler, British spymaster George Smiley, out of retirement. His investigation leads to an old nemesis, the Soviet spymaster known only as "Karla". This will be their final dance.

Smiley's People: A Mother's Assistance (Season 1 Episode 1 - aired Sep 20, 1982)

In Paris, a Russian émigré is approached by a ginger-haired Russian official and told that her daughter Alexandra may be allowed to join her in the West. Madame Ostrakova had been given permission to join her husband who had defected to the West but at a great cost: she was forced to leave her infant daughter behind. She follows instructions and applies for a visa for her daughter at the Russian Embassy. When weeks go by and she hears nothing, she writes to a former Soviet General, Vladimir, who now lives in London. He realizes something important in what she says and contacts the Circus, headquarters of the British Secret Service. When he is found dead on Hampstead Heath, George Smiley is called out of retirement to tie up any loose ends and ensure the old General's death doesn't raise any of his former connections to the Service.

Smiley's People: The General's Big Fish (Season 1 Episode 2 - aired Sep 27, 1982)

George Smiley continues his his investigation into the death of General Vladimir but discovers a number of anomalies related to his death. His former employers in the Secret Service simply wanted him to ensure that the General's death doesn't dredge up any old history. George is convinced however that the General was assassinated by the KGB and is puzzled by the possessions the police found - or didn't find - in his coat pocket. He retraces the General's recent movements and learns that a friend of his had brought him something important from Germany. A walk through Hampstead Heath turns up the information he had obtained. In Paris meanwhile, Madame Ostrakova is attacked by thugs who try to throw her in front of a car. Now in fear for her life, she again writes her friend the General in London.

Saturday, March 7 - Reilly: Ace of Spies: An Affair with a Married Woman & A Mind to Kill: Black Silence

Reilly: Ace of Spies: An Affair with a Married Woman (Season 1 Episode 1 - aired Sep 5, 1983)

Sidney Rosenblum, a Russian born Jew, is recruited by the British espionage service and on his first assignment comes up with intelligence on the Russian oil fields but also sensitive information on their heretofore unknown Persian installations. He is detained in a provincial town by a zealous police inspector but sees a chance to escape. Rosenblum fakes a romantic liaison with the beautiful wife of an aged cleric caught in a dysfunctional marriage. Rosenblum's superiors are distressed with his less than gallant tactics and Margaret Thomas, the young wife in question feels humiliated at having been used. However, Rosenblum has a score to settle. An operative of Zaharov, an influential arms dealer working for the Turks among others, murders Rosenblum's London girlfriend in his zeal to obtain the invaluable documents from her.

A Mind to Kill: Black Silence (Season 1 Episode 1 - aired Nov 13, 1994)

In the midst of a strike at a local coal mine, DCI Bain finds himself investigating the murder of 17-year old Lesley Price, a local prostitute. She had witnessed a scab being beaten up by some of the strikers and then got into a car believed to be owned by Roderick Tate, the strike leader. Bain comes under political pressure from local Labour party officials to either arrest Tate or leave him alone. He also has to deal with the local constabulary who object to Bain being on their patch and who have a similar unsolved murder from three years before. When a local man confesses to the killing, Bain refuses to accept the evidence and remains convinced Tate is their man.

Friday, March 6 - Doctor Who: The Escape & The Ambush

Doctor Who: The Escape (Season 1 Episode 7 - aired Jan 4, 1964)

Susan meets Alydon of the Thals and agrees to try and arrange a treaty between his people and the Daleks. But the Daleks only see it as an opportunity to wipe the Thals out.

Doctor Who: The Ambush (Season 1 Episode 8 - aired Jan 11, 1964)

The Doctor and his friends attempt to escape from the Dalek City. However, knowing that the Thals are walking into a trap, Ian decides to go and warn them.

Thursday, March 5 - Destry Rides Again

Destry Rides Again (1939)

Kent, the unscrupulous boss of Bottleneck has Sheriff Keogh killed when he asks one too many questions about a rigged poker game that gives Kent a stranglehold over the local cattle rangers. The mayor, who is in cahoots with Kent appoints the town drunk, Washington Dimsdale, as the new sheriff assuming that he'll be easy to control. But what the mayor doesn't know is that Dimsdale was a deputy under famous lawman, Tom Destry, and is able to call upon the equally formidable Tom Destry Jr to be his deputy.

Wednesday, March 4 - The Rocking Horse Winner

The Rocking Horse Winner (1949)

In London, the young Paul Grahame lives with his upper class, but financially broken family. His wasteful mother Hester Grahame is a compulsive buyer, spending all the family money on new expensive dresses, jewels, and objects for their home. His father Richard Grahame is a gambler, losing money in the horse races. His uncle Oscar Cresswell is permanently covering the Grahame family debts. After the servant Bassett is hired, Paul finds that he can predict the winner of the horse races by rocking his wooden horse. Paul asks Bassett to become his partner. The two of them bet their money on the races. Paul wants to prove that he is lucky in order to silence the house, which perpetually whispers to him that it needs more money.

Tuesday, March 3 - Gideon C.I.D.: The Great Plane Robbery

Gideon C.I.D.: The Great Plane Robbery (Season 1 Episode 12 - aired May 8, 1965)

A group of thieves successfully steal a £1 000 000 shipment of gold from an Aeroflot plane that has just landed from Moscow. It was very well organised and Gideon is in charge of finding the criminals. One of the drivers involved is quickly found but proving his involvement is difficult. Only a few people knew about the shipment and that is where the police start looking. The thieves also start falling out amongst themselves, which makes it easier for Gideon.

Monday, March 2 - The Case of the Frightened Lady

The Frightened Lady (Original title: The Case of the Frightened Lady 1940)

"Mark's Priory", the Lebanons' family seat, is a house of terror to Isla Crane, Lady Lebanon's niece and secretary. The strange behavior of two sinister footmen, Gilder and Brooks, adds greatly to her fear, and her sole consolation lies in the sympathy extended her by Lord William "Willie" Lebanon.

A young architect, Richard Ferraby, arrives from London to inspect the ancient home in regards to renovations, and he and Isla are immediately attracted to each other. Lady Lebanon tells her son that he must marry Isla to carry on the family name, but Lord Willie tells her he has no intentions of marrying. Later, the family physician, Dr. Amersham, arrives and it is evident he has some hold over Lady Lebanon. 

The chauffeur, Studd, hints that he knew Amersham in India and that he was discharged from the Indian Army under unsavory circumstances. Isla and Richard find Studd murdered and suspicion falls on the gamekeeper, Tilling, whose wife had been more than a little friendly with Studd. But Chief Inspector Tanner and Deputy Sergeant Totty arrive from Scotland Yard and uncover evidence that points to Dr. Amersham as the killer, and Lord Willie substantiates the clue by telling them that Amersham had strangled a young Eurasian girl in India by using a red scarf--and Studd was found strangled with a red scarf. 

Just when the police are about to fold up their tidy little case, a telegram arrives from "Mark's Priory" informing them that Amersham has just been found murdered--strangled with a red scarf. Back to the drawing board.

Sunday, March 1 - Interpol Calling: 2 Episodes

Interpol Calling: The Thirteen Innocents (Season 1 Episode 1 - aired Sep 13, 1959)

An opium smuggling ring starts to operate across Europe, with its source in Turkey. Duval flies to Istanbul, where the local police have a suspect in the owner of an import-export business - except he appears to be operating quite legitimately. Finding a link in the supply chain gives Duval his first break, but leaves him with a problem: he must find a way of exposing the masterminds behind the scheme.

Interpol Calling: The Money Game (Season 1 Episode 2 - aired Sep 20, 1959)

Journalist James Brownley arrives to interview noted businessman Baron Untermeyer, who wants the sensitive news of his retirement reported responsibly. The Baron dies in front of Brownley, who immediately reports the story causing a collapse in shares. The Baron was an imposter, though, and the death a fake, but Brownley himself is then found murdered. When Duval realises the nub of the fraud, not news the Baron was dead but the revelation he was still alive, investigating who profited from that knowledge leads back to the Baron's own private secretary, Castillon.

Saturday, February 28 - New Orleans After Dark

New Orleans After Dark (1958)

After a nightclub dancer is murdered, detectives Stacy Harris and Louis Sirgo are put on the case. They find a suspect who matches a description given, but then the real killer strikes again. This last murder was seen by a musician however, and both the detectives, as well as the killer, are trying to find him. Before the killer gets his shot at the musician, Harris & Sirgo kill him. But they realize the killer was part of a larger heroin-smuggling ring, using cigars to stash the merchandise in, and they decide to go undercover in New Orleans's seediest district. . .

Friday, February 27 - The Case of the Scorpion's Tail

The Case of the Scorpion's Tail (Original title: La coda dello scorpione 1971)

When a plane explodes in the air with no survivors, the unfaithful Lisa Baumer is informed that her husband, businessman Baumer, left a one-million-dollar insurance policy and she is the beneficiary. She travels from London to Athens to receive the payment in cash and then to travel to Greece (I thought Athens was in Greece, but what do I know) to meet her lover. Meanwhile, the insurance company suspects that a bomb might be planted in the plane and assigns their investigator Peter Lynch to investigate the widow in Greece. Soon she is threatened by Baumer's lover Lara Florakis and her bodyguard Sharif, but Peter protects and rescues her from the attackers. When the front desk calls Lisa to take the taxi to the airport, they discover that she was murdered, and the money has vanished. Soon local Police Inspector Stavros, Interpol Agent John Stanley and the French Investigative Reporter Cléo Dupont, who is having an affair with Peter, investigate the case where Peter is the prime suspect.

Thursday, February 26 - Honey West: Come to Me, My Litigation Baby

Honey West: Come to Me, My Litigation Baby (Season 1 Episode 23 - aired Feb 18, 1966)

Although stymied when they try to get incriminating photographs of a man suspected of making a phony accident claim, Honey and Sam discover that the subject's accident witness, a seemingly sweet old lady, is suspiciously accident-prone herself.