this series get me into deighton writing and the genre when i be young and i love this presentation of the story . i would however disagree with the above comment . from what i have read in the past and it be not holm performance that lead deighton to refuse to have the series release but the butchering that all three book receive in the translation to the screen . a great example of this be the rewrite of the boarder cross that end samson field career . the scene be not in the book and the character who die in the minefield be never in any of the book and the crossing in sinker be from east germany to west germany and not the polish frontier . this whole storyline be cloth . the change in set similarly damage the integrity of the story . my perspective on holm performance be that he portray the disorientation of samson during his wife defection excellently and i believe comport himself well in portray the age field agent desperately try to bridge the class divide . samson both pay for his father idealism and suffers due to it influence on his life . a clevemore comment and have he get himself an education he would have probably be run the department . i think the true loss of performance be due to physical appearance more than anything . holm be diminutive when compare to the samson of the book a physically impressive man capable of use his size to impose a presence .