A Spy Among Friends - ITVX

[IwantToRetire]

Damien Lewis, Guy Pearce, Anna Maxwell Martin star in new series about the repercussions of Kim Philby's defection to Russia. Although I am familiar with the story this is told from the aspect of a close friend.

www.itv.com/watch/a-spy-among-friends/2a7931/2a7931a0001

Anna Maxwell Martin's weird accent is distracting me. It's all over the place although she is playing an interesting character.

Yes! I’ve only watched the first episode and I can’t get past the accent.

She's playing a made up character - who I presume could have been written to come from anywhere because the person didn't exist in real life - so why chose an accent AMM isn't very good at? Two episodes in here.

hmmmmm ... I haven't had time to get beyond episode one, but wondered why I found her a bit strange. So she was meant to be Durham but had an aquired Received English accent. And her relationship with her husband was a bit strange. I suppose they have both been added to try and make the series a bit more diverse, which I am all for, but if the series is a real like story about a group of posh white men, I am not sure that it helps the story to try and re write history.

But found Damien Lewis was not particularly inspiring but thought Guy Pearce really good - isn't he Australian, or am I getting him confused.

But will probably continue.

I think her dull life was supposed to be a contrast to the 'exciting' adventures of the posh white man she was debriefing. Stealing the sugar cubes suggests they were hard up although her husband appeared to be a doctor - or did I mishear that? I'm not sure if the diversity was relevant but there definitely were black doctors in the early 60s.

Yes, one of the interesting aspects seems to be the difference between MI5 and MI6 in terms of class. AMM's accent seemed fine / consistent she was at home. Was she trying to hide it at work, and that was why it was so weird? I might be wrong, I've only watched the first episode.

I hadn't thought of her trying to hid her accent at work but it is excruciating to listen to. I've only watched 2 episodes so maybe there will be some explanation. I wouldn't have though an actor like AMM would agree to do doing an accent she was crap at.

I think yes at that time to be doing the job she is doing she would have to not sound too Durham.

I wasn't questioning that there were doctors from BME communities, but more having made up her character they have loaded all aspects of diversity onto her in contrast to the cocktail drinking swanky people who seem to become spies. Or is that just Cambridge.

But also just realised that she is a plot devise, as it is a way of telling the story from the beginning of the friendship through her questioning.

I've only watched the first episode so far but found it a bit disjointed. I would recommend the book by Ben Macintryre though. It's much more gripping and involving.

I understand why they've introduced the AMM character for the TV version though as otherwise it wouldn't really work as a drama.

I want to watch this but don't have ITVX on my tv. I can get it on my laptop but don't like watching things on that.

How do I get on my tv?

I think ITVX is designed as a streaming service, ie it is only online.

If both your tv and your laptop have hdmi ports you should be able to watch the show on your tv.

I do this, and it works okay, but is a nuisance as if you want to pause or whatever you have to do it via the computer.

Best to google how to do this and check that both you tv and your laptop have compatible hdmi ports.

Thanks for that. Our tv is not very new so not sure if it does have the right port. Will get DH to check.

If not I will have to watch on my laptop

I think you can get hdmi to usb ports cables. I think hdmi is meant to be better with sound and images, but suspect all these "new" inventions are to make us constantly feel we have to buy new equipment.

If you can get iplayer, All4 etc. you should be able to get it.

I can get iplayer, All4 and quite a few other channels but cannot find ITVX anywhere on my tv

It will depend on whichever tv package you have signed up to. But its main purpose is to stream big new tv shows online first. I imagine this is linked to them offering an ad free service for which you have to pay.

But in the meantime if you have a computer and a tv nearby you just need to connect the two as discussed above.

This is what the Radio Times has said:

You can already explore what ITVX has to offer by heading to itv.com to check out the web browser version. If you have a Samsung Smart TV (dating from 2016 onwards), an Xbox One/S/X or Xbox Series X/S, a Huawei device, a Chromecast, a Roku streaming player or a NOW smart stick or box, then your app should have updated too.

Otherwise, you’ll have to wait for the ITVX app to replace the old ITV Hub app on your device.

www.radiotimes.com/tv/itvx-start-date-prices-shows/

Our telly won't update any apps anymore despite being less than 5 years old so we use a Chromecast device. ITVX automatically replaced the old ITVhub app on my phone when i went to use it. But Spy Among Friends has also appeared on Britbox if you want to watch it without ads with a burner email address for a free 7 day trial

That's odd. I didn't do anything to get it - I just found it there in the list.

We have a Roku stick. Maybe that's why.

Not sure I am going to bother with this after I watched episode 2. I dont know if it is the long ad breaks which you get if you use the free service or the slow pace.

Can see that a lot has gone into recreating the era and way of talking and the smoking and so on but it just doesn't really interest me.

Or it could be that I think the role played by AMM just doesn't work. I think they would just do better telling the story in a straight forward way.

I have a roku stick and am on itvx but can’t find this.

I have watched 3 episodes so far (ad breaks are driving me mad)! I am enjoying it so far I have read the book, which helps otherwise it think it would be quite confusing. I would also prefer a more chronological telling of it its a bit all over the place. Guy Pearce is very good, I think he should be the main focus rather than the Lily/Nicholas story. And yes AMM's accent is all over the place it seems to be only present on some words.

Reviving this thread as we have just watched this and really enjoyed it. I think you do need to stick with the whole series as the Damian Lewis character became more complex and interesting as the story progressed. I thought he and Guy Pearce were excellent. AMM did her best but as others have said her character was (a) invented and (b) carrying almost the entire load of introducing a bit more diversity to the story - woman, not posh, married to the only non-white character. The other women with central roles were all from upper/upper middle class backgrounds and fitted right in, accepting all the public school japes from the male spies without comment or criticism. I was a toddler when Philby defected so have no idea how this betrayal and MI6's failure to notice it was received by the general public, but what with that and Profumo it's perhaps no accident that Harold Wilson won the general election the following year and of course The Beatles and innumerable other working class/lower middle class kids changed the UK (for the better).

PS Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was on BBC 4 recently (maybe still going out). We recorded it to watch it for the umpteenth time. Still unparalleled. Likely to be on iplayer for a bit longer, I'd think.

I've got temporary access to ITVx so tried to continue watching but I just go to sleep.

I wish there was a way to record so that maybe on a rainy sunday afternoon or something I could just focus on it.