Much like a good secret agent, this show went by many names, and you're never quite sure whose side it's on.

Was Sam McCready (played by British stage actor Alan Howard, "Strapless," 1989) a supporting character in a series of six spy movies? The star of one six-episode TV show called "Frederick Forsyth Presents"? Or the main character in a novel that was workshopped on TV before taking its final form?

It's easier to talk about it as a show. "Frederick Forsyth Presents" originally aired on ITV in Britain from 1989 to 1990. It consisted of six long episodes that functioned more like movies -- their plots were mostly unrelated, except for the presence of aging intelligence agent McCready (and a couple of appearances by real-life assassin Carlos the Jackal).

The show was co-written by the great thriller novelist Frederick Forsyth and screenwriter Murray Smith. Forsyth later came up with an overarching storyline (about McCready) to knit the individual stories into a single novel, which he called "The Deceiver."

That is, of course, an unusual route for a story to take -- usually, they start out as books first. But it's worth looking up for Forsyth fans, especially since it includes the ripped-from-the-headlines Carlos character, whom he used to such great effect in his classic, "The Day of the Jackal."

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Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided.