The critically acclaimed first series of ITV espionage drama The Sandbaggers is set for its first ever UK DVD release through independent distributor Network. A huge ratings winner when it was first transmitted in 1978, twenty-five years on The New York Times described it as "The Best spy series in TV history."
The series was created and written by former ex-military man Ian MacKintosh, where "Sandbaggers" is a nickname for the special section of the British SIS (Secret Service) - a team of special agents who are deployed undercover in hostile situations at a time when the Cold War was at its height. Run by the dour, single-minded Neil Burnside (Roy Marsden - PD James), the "Sandbaggers" are headed by Willie Cain (Ray Lonnan - Harry's Game). In a game of cat and mouse between foreign powers, the stakes are high and the risk of a sandbagger being killed on an operation is not small. An ex sandbagger himself, Burnside must try to keep his operatives alive while contending with the political machinations and dictates of the government.
The series has been available in the US for some time and I had read enough references to the series in magazines and books to take the plunge as soon as I heard I could. I then promtly watched the entire series back to back as from the first episode I was hooked. I can't recommened this title highly enough and was pleased when it was released in the UK and have quickly added the discs to my collection.
:: Series 1
| title | Tx. Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| First Principles | 18.9.78 | The Director of Operations for Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, Neil Burnside, objects to sending his best agents, the Sandbaggers, on a mission into Russian territory for the Norwegian Secret Service. |
| A Proper Function of Government | 25.9.78 | Burnside is trying to get official approval to assassinate an African dictator whilst the Sandbaggers are monitoring a possible defection in Vienna. |
| Is Your Journey Really Necessary | 2.10.78 | After a rough, unauthorised, mission near the Soviet border, Sandbagger Alan Denson considers quitting to get married. Burnside can't afford this loss so puts pressure on Denson's fiancee. |
| The Most Suitable Person | 9.10.78 | Willi Caine, Sandbagger one, is in Gibralter following the murder of an SIS agent and Laura Dickens, potentially a new recruit, is following leads in Morocco. |
| Always Glad To Help | 16.10.78 | Dickens is assigned to find out the sympathies of an Arab Sheik whilse Burnside and the Deputy Chief clash over covert operation the latter agreed to carry out for the Navy. |
| A Feasible Solution | 23.10.78 | Some rocket scientists go missing in Cyprus and Caine and an agent frsh from the field school go to investigate. Closer to home Burnside shows he has a softer side. |
| Special Relationship | 30.10.78 | A risky mission in East Berlin arises and Dickens is the most qualified agent to go, but Burnside has to pull stings behind the scenes to ensure her presence there won't present other security risks. |
:: Series 2
| title | Tx. Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| At All Costs | 28.1.80 | Berlin, last winter: Sandbagger Two lies bleeding to death on the ice cold ground of no-man's land which separates East from West Germany. Sandbagger Two was a beautiful young woman, Laura Dickens. She was assassinated on the orders of Neil Burnside, Director of Operations, British Secret Intelligence Service, the man she had learned to love. London, now: Exactly twelve months later, SIS receives a Top Priority Secret signal from behind the Iron Curtain. And for Neil Burnside, the appalling nightmare begins again. |
| Enough of Ghosts | 4.2.80 | Brussels 1015: FLASH SIGNAL TO UK ALERT. SIR GEOFFREY WELLINGHAM, PERMANENT UNDER SECRETARY MISSING STOP LEFT HILTON HOTEL 0900 IN OFFICIAL CAR DESTINATION NATO HQ FAILED TO ARRIVE STOP LONDON 1030: Burnside crash briefs the Sandbaggers for Belgium, but with neither time nor authority on his side he faces a tense war of nerves against an organisation that is both politically motivated and ruthlessly dedicated. |
| Decision by Committee | 11.2.80 | LONDON 0220 HOURS. Duty Officer's Report to Director of Operations: Malaysian World flight 505 hijacked thirty minutes out of Bahrain. The danger is real, the threat is horrifying. For Neil Burnside it is the beginning of hours of tension, anger and frustration in a desperate attempt to prevent the destruction of the airliner, its crew and its passengers - one of whom is Willie Caine, Sandbagger One. |
| A Question of Loyalty | 18.2.80 | IMMEDIATE. FROM WARSAW STATION. 1600: Regret to report that contrary to Station advice, Sandbagger Two elected to attempt bust-out. Mike Wallace is working on his own behind the Iron Curtain when a highly sensitive mission becomesunexpectedly dangerous: but in a world where survival is often bought with bitter experience, Wallace still has a lot to learn. |
| It Couldn't Happen Here | 25.2.80 | FLASH FROM WASHINGTON STATION: SENATOR FRANKLIN J. HERRON SHOT DEAD AT HIS HOME IN WEST VIRGINIA BY UNIDENTIFIED GUNMAN. SIS INTERNAL MEMORANDUM: Russian Desk Officer, Joan Wyatt, has been killed in a road accident while on holiday in West Germany. Two unconnected events, over 4,000 miles apart, force Burnside to make a savage moral decision and Caine to risk his life trying to protect a man determined to flirt with death. |
| Operation Kingmaker | 3.3.80 | IN CONFIDENCE: DEPARTMENTAL DIRECTORS ONLY: Due to sudden illness, Sir James Greenley has retired as Chief of Service, SIS. You will be advised as soon as a relief appointment has been made. INITIAL AND PASS BY HAND. A black day for Burnside. "C" must be replaced, but the most likely candidate is a man with a long-standing grudge against Burnside. He tasks the Sandbaggers with a special operation within SIS itself. Then Diane Lawler, Burnside's Personal Assistant, hands in her notice. |
:: Series 3
The complete third series comes with a number of special features which include The Sandbaggers - original 'bible' document written by Ian Mackintosh, PDF Material - original programme documentation and PR, and Crown Court: The Eleventh Commandment - a three-part story from this long-running seriers with an early performance from 1972 by Roy Marsden. The release is priced £19.99 and has a total running time of 350 minutes.
| title | Tx. Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| All in a Good Cause | 9.6.80 | VERBAL REPORT, D.INT TO D.OPS: JENNY ROSS IS SUBJECT OF CURRENT MI5 OPERATION. Why is MI5 investigating the wife of the CIA Chief of Station, London? Before Burnside has the answer, the Sandbaggers are involved in a complex cat-and-mouse hunt around London in pursuit of an enemy they can see - but not identify. Burnside, already in conflict with his new boss, has to endure the agony of an important friendship being stretched to breaking point. |
| To Hell With Justice | 16.6.80 | No man is indispensable - or is he? Edward Tyler the Director of Intelligence, a man with his head full of priceless information, flies to Malta for a much needed rest. Among the crowd of carefree holidaymakers, two people are waiting for him: a young SIS officer with an inquisitive mind and very sharp eyes - and a beautiful girl. Under the blistering Mediterranean sun a relentless drama is played out. But not even the Sandbaggers or Neil Burnside himself can prevent a tragic ending and the memory of an event that burns itself into the heart of SIS. |
| Unusual Approach | 23.6.80 | NO SMOKING! Burnside's jagged nerves and abrupt temper are not improved by his decision to kick the unhealthy habit. "C" knows that Burnside can't stand holidays - so he sends him on one, leaving Caine in charge of the shop. While the cat's away the CIA mice move in to gnaw at Caine's confidence. Is Ross' request for urgent help genuine and why the promise of such lavish rewards? Caine, out of touch with his boss, has to rely on his own judgement. At the other end of the Mediterranean an approach is made to Burnside that he, too, suspects has sinister motives. |
| My Name is Anna Wiseman | 30.6.80 | EXTRACT FROM TRANSCRIPT OF CASSETTE RECORDING:"... when you hear this, you may already know my name, for I shall have been brought to trial for political offences against the Soviet Union..." This key phrase from an extraordinary document, prepared by a NATO secretary in Brussels and handed to Neil Burnside in a playground in the East End of London, becomes the token of one woman's private courage and selfless determination. Determination which rapidly involves Burnside in a devious double-game with his own superiors and sends Wallace to Europe on the most dangerous kind of mission there is. The unofficial kind. |
| Sometimes We Play Dirty Too | 7.7.80 | Businessman and scientist, Robert Banks, was one of the best sources the joint Intelligence Bureau had anywhere in the world. And is irreplaceable. Was his death an accident? Why did it take him two hours to drive five miles? Why is his body being returned with such unusual haste? Burnside is determined to find the truth. Deceit can make the truth invisible and loyalty and love can make ordinary people into determined liars. But Willie Caine is trained to deceive and is an accomplished, professional liar. |
| Who Needs Enemies? | 14.7.80 | The service is Burnside's life, and now he finds himself fighting for that very existence. "Burnside must go" begins as a whisper through the corridors of Whitehall, but gets louder as the odds begin to stack against him. Suddenly everyone seems to be out to bring him down. The Principal Medical Officer writes a condemning routine medical report - "overstressed" and even his devoted staff begin to criticise him to his face. Meanwhile, Cliff Underwood, Head of SIS Station in Madrid, has committed suicide for no apparent reason. Burnside sends Caine to investigate the death - was it genuine or a clever hit? Then comes the final nail in Burnside's coffin. The CIA have run an assessment on the SIS and Underwood has sent a copy of the secret print-out to London. It contains a devastating criticism of Burnside and reports that he is causing friction and distrust within the department. Now there is no doubt. Burnside must go! |
| Opposite Numbers | 28.7.80 | Malta: the tiny island is host to internationally powerful men and their high ranking bodyguards at the Third Strategic Arms Limitation talks - SALTIII. A situation laden with opportunity and danger. While negotiations continue in the conference hall, security outside calls for men of the highest calibre. Men like the Sandbaggers and their opposite numbers in the KGB. In this lethal atmosphere a dangerous game of bluff begins. A Russian makes contact with Willie Caine; a secret signal brings Neil Burnside to the island; then a man disappears. |