I have a confession to make: I miss the Cold War. Things were much simpler and certain back when the United States and Britain were facing the “Evil Empire” across the Iron Curtain. We were the good guys, they were the bad guys, everybody had a huge pile of nuclear weapons that no one would really use (the occasional renegade Soviet general notwithstanding), and the ranks of the KGB were filled with hot blonde temptresses whose loyalty to Mother Russia didn’t stand a chance when confronted by the irresistible charms of western men.

Oh, alright, outside of James Bond movies the Cold War wasn’t like that all. It was a time when unknown men and women worked and died in the shadows trying to keep the likes of you and me safe. There was no glory, the enemy agents weren’t gorgeous, and if one was lucky a civil servant’s pension was the reward for years of sacrifice. It is that Cold War, the real one, that is so brilliantly portrayed in this post’s featured series, The Sandbaggers.

The Sandbaggers was broadcast on ITV over three seasons, from 1978 to 1980. The series stars Roy Marsden (who many Anglophiles will recognize as P.D. James’ poet/detective Adam Dalgliesh) as Neil Burnside, the Director of the Operations Section of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, commonly known as “MI-6″). Known as “D Ops” for short, he oversees the group of elite agents known as “Sandbaggers.” Never more than three in number, the Sandbaggers are the ones who undertake covert missions in foreign lands. If there’s a defector who needs lifting or a troublesome dictator that needs eliminating, the Sandbaggers are the ones that get the call. In a sense they’re like the “double Os” of the James Bond stories, but unlike Ian Fleming’s superspy the Sandbaggers usually don’t carry guns, they don’t have cool gadgets, and they never get the girl. It’s never explained why they are called “Sandbaggers,” but it may have to do with the fact that a big part of their job consists of plugging leaks in the great dike of British national security.

In the first two seasons of the show, the SIS is headed by Sir James Greenley, played by Richard Vernon (Bond aficionados will recognise him as “Colonel Smithers” from Goldfinger). Known as “C,” Sir James doesn’t have a background in intelligence, but despite that he and Burnside come to respect and trust one another. Things change at the end of the second season, however, when Sir James is forced to retire due to illness and a new C, John Gibbs, is appointed. Burnside and Gibbs have clashed in the past, and the two men detest each other.

In all three seasons, Matthew Peele serves as Deputy Director, the number two position in SIS. Peele has served in the SIS for a number of years, but in administrative positions rather than operational ones. His first concern is for his own career, and he often complains that the long hours required by his position keep him from attending society parties and working in his garden. In other words, he is a self-centred twit.

The man upon whom Burnside relies the most is Willie Caine, Sandbagger One. Played by Ray Lonnen (who starred in the 1982 mini-series Harry’s Game, and who has also appeared in series such as Doctor Who, The Bill and Z Cars), Caine is the most experienced Sandbagger and the closest thing Burnside has to a friend.

Because the SIS is perpetually under-funded, Burnside finds that he must rely in large part on the CIA. If, for example, the SIS doesn’t have the assets to mount an important mission, the CIA, with their seemingly limitless budget, may do it for them. Or the SIS might need some particular bit of intelligence, say satellite photos, that only the CIA with all of its technology can provide. Because of this reliance, Burnside labours to maintain the “special relationship” between the two intelligence services. His point of contact within the CIA is Jeff Ross, the CIA’s London station chief. Burnside and Ross are friends, but neither one will let their friendship get in the way of what each believes to be the best interests of their country.

A frequent character in the series is Sir Geoffrey Wellingham, the Permanent Undersecretary of State at the Foreign Office and Burnside’s former father-in-law. It’s never a bad thing to have friends in high places, and Burnside frequently turns to Sir Geoffrey for political assistance when needed. Despite the fact that Burnside’s marriage to his daughter failed, Sir Geoffrey seems to genuinely like Burnside. In many ways the mirror image of Burnside, Sir Geoffrey understands and respects Burnside’s decision to place the SIS before even his own marriage.

Burnside’s background is in operations, and his first loyalty is to the SIS in general and to his Sandbaggers in particular. He was a Sandbagger for seven years, and he has absolutely no patience for bureaucracy or politics. He automatically assumes that anyone who doesn’t have a background in operations doesn’t know what he’s doing, and it’s this attitude that repeatedly puts him at odds with C and the Deputy Director. While he often wins these battles and gets to run operations the way he wants to, he has also essentially committed career suicide, and will never be promoted above his current position.

The Sandbaggers is unlike any espionage series that’s ever appeared on American television. Although we do see Sandbaggers on missions overseas (often taking place in locales that look suspiciously like British rock quarries), the majority of most episodes take place in various SIS offices or the Ops Room in SIS headquarters. A typical episode will be about Burnside’s struggle to get the job done while at the same time having to work within (and often around) the constraints set him by his bureaucratic masters. Instead of gun battles and exotic locations, the viewer will see Burnside going from office to office in the SIS building having conversations with people. Sounds a bit tedious, doesn’t it? Surprisingly, it’s not at all. The writing is superb, with truly smart dialogue, and the drama comes in the form of the decisions Burnside has to make as the Director of Operations and his struggles to live with the consequences afterward. I’m not going to give anything away, but some of the decisions he has to make are truly shocking.

The Sandbaggers was created by Ian Mackintosh, a former naval officer. Mackintosh wrote all of the episodes of seasons one and two, and four of the seven episodes of season three. Although there is no evidence that Mackintosh was ever involved in actual intelligence work, the realism of the series, and the fact that one episode of season two was prevented from airing by government censors on the grounds it violated the Official Secrets Act, have led many to conclude that Mackintosh had a background in intelligence operations. Interestingly, he and his girlfriend disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1979 while traveling in a small airplane off the coast of Alaska, leading some to speculate that he must have still been working as an intelligence operative. The producers of the show hired other writers to finish the third season, then made the decision to end the series, as they didn’t believe anyone could write the series as well as Mackintosh did.

In the years since it first aired, The Sandbaggers has gained something of a cult following both here and in Britain. Fortunately the series is now available on DVD in the US, and I encourage anyone interested in Cold War espionage stories or just damn good drama to give it a try. If you enjoy the series and find you want more, you can give Greg Rucka’s Queen and Country graphic novels a try. Now available in collected volumes from Amazon, Queen and Country is essentially an unofficial sequel to The Sandbaggers, the main difference being that the agents are called “Minders” rather than “Sandbaggers.” Despite some rather dodgy art, the graphic novels are very well-written, and any fan of The Sandbaggers should enjoy them.

Next time, I’ll introduce you to one of my all-time favorite television series, Q.E.D. See you in a fortnight!

Author Info -  David is an Assistant District Attorney and former police officer living in Lawrence, Kansas, home of the University of Kansas. He wishes he could wear a barrister's wig and gown to court. Read more from this author

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