36 replies to this topic

[B5Erik2]

Very few if any of you have seen it, but this show was so damn good, so brilliantly written that I thought I'd let all of you know about it.

It's called The Sandbaggers, and it was on British TV from 1978-1980. The show was created and written by Ian MacKintosh, who was himself involved in the intelligence business (although he never gave the full details, of course).

Think of The Sandbaggers as the real world, intellectual's version of James Bond. It shows that the spy business is mostly about the behind the scenes stuff, not what happens out in the field (although that is present in the series as well). The politics and in-fighting makes for some VERY dramatic stuff, and the Sandbaggers is a show with some rather wild twists and turns.

It was a VERY low bugdet show, with interiors shot on videotape, and exteriors shot on film. Despite the low budget (or maybe because of it) there is a realism to the show that is unequaled. The writing and acting are PHENOMENAL, and the show has a VERY dry, VERY British sense of humor from time to time.

This is something that I HIGHLY recommend to anyone who is remotely interested by my description of the show. The first two seasons are available on DVD (Season 1 has only 7 episodes, season 2 has only 6), and hopefully the third season will show up on DVD before too long.

[B5Erik2]

Reaction? Comments?

By the way, there are a couple of actors on The Sandbaggers who were in Bond movies (in small roles).

[flares]

B5Erik2 - I'm with you! check out www.opsroom.org

[Bryce (003)]

There's a show I've been waiting for A&E to put out on DVD. Their Saint & Avengers collections are top notch.

Great show. I used to watch it on a Canadian station that I could pick up in Seattle when I was in high school.

Yeah, it was more Jack Ryan than James Bond which was both different and cooler than all the other spy shows of the era.

Another favorite - I Spy (not the recent movie) I'm talkin' 60's, international locations, witty banter, Culp & Cosby. A "tennis pro" and his "trainer" traveling the world and saving it along the way. Good stuff!

[B5Erik2]

The Sandbaggers first two seasons are available on DVD. BFS Entertainment released them in 2001. Well worth buying.

I was going to list the link to opsroom.org, but I forgot. Glad someone else remembered!

[B5Erik2]

Has anyone else seen this show?

Freaking BRILLIANT!

[Citizen Bond]

The Avengers is the absolute best spy show ever. Sexy, smart, with sharp wit, and of course....Diana Rigg.

[B5Erik2]

The Sandbaggers is better. Trust me.

The Sandbaggers was such an intelligent show, and so realistic, that it has yet to be matched. It is the antithesis of Bond in a lot of ways. It deals with the details, it is down to earth, and shows the myriad of internal problems that intelligence organizations have, as well as the external risks and challenges involved. There is a fair amount of "action" on the show, but it is often low key and totally realistic. There are consequences for people's actions, and even the good guys aren't always all that "good."

But it is never boring. The dialog is SO sharp that you are riveted. It is VERY compelling drama with some sharp British wit and humor thrown in from time to time (the one-liners are REALLY biting, and often mean - but funny).

Do yourself a favor and check it out...

[taxman2001]

I think I remember The Sandbaggers.

In fact if it's the programme I am thinking of, it's haunted me since that final episode.

So can someone please confirm or deny that at the very end of the very last episode the hero is shot in the head and killed?

It's given me nightmares since 1980 ....

[B5Erik2]

Well, ONE of the "heroes" (such as they are, you wouldn't really call any of them "heroes," protagonists maybe) - WAS shot at the end of the final episode, but it was intended as a cliffhanger.

It wasn't clear if he was alive or dead. There were several other shocking developments in the final episode.

The show always took unpredictable - but in character - twists and turns. The show only stopped because the creator and writer Ian Mackintosh "died" in a plane crash. (The plane was never found....) That left that cliffhanger forever unresolved.

The character shot was the most likeable on the show - which was shocking, but not too much considering the other twists and turns the show took.

[JBond007]

Fortune Hunter

[Blofeld's Cat]

Of course I enjoyed hits like The Avengers, I Spy, The Man From UNCLE and Get Smart, but the show that got me "into" James Bond in the first place of a show called Search. Unfortunately it only ran for 2 years and it starred Hugh O'Brian of the Wyatt Earp TV series.

Plot summary on IMDB reads:

"World Securities", an international high-tech private investigation company, employs field operatives who are aided by implanted audio receivers and who carry tiny cameras and telemetry units which can be attached to tie tacks or rings. Each episode featured one of three (O'Brian, [Tony] Franciosa, [Doug] McClure) agents on a particular investigation, which usually had political elements. Meredith played the "director" of the investigations, as leader of the expert team who remained at headquarters monitoring and providing the agent with intelligence. Other experts included a computer hacker (such as they were portrayed in the early 70's), someone fluent as a translator in several languages, and a doctor.

It had the 3 Gs: gadgets, girls, and globe-trotting; all the things that attracted me to Bond. The show came out in Auctralia in 1974, and it was then that I went and saw my first Bond in the cinema, The Man with the Golden Gun only because I thought it reminded me of Search in many ways.

[Roebuck]

I remember 'Search' running on BBC1, but when I saw the pilot movie again a year or so back it was called 'Probe' (I've heard it talked about by both titles). All the technical support guys sat at NASA mission control style consoles in front of a huge screen. Everyone wore lab coats. Shame it's not repeated as it holds up better than a lot of adventure shows from the 70's.

The show I always had a soft spot for was Callan, though I suppose he was more of a government assassin than a spy

[B5Erik2]

I would highly recommend that if you want to see what the spy/espionage business is really like, order The Sandbaggers on DVD.

Not only is it the most realistic "Spy" series ever, it is also the best written, and possibly the best acted as well.

[marktmurphy]

I thought 'Spooks' was pretty darned good, myself. Series 2 now shoting, I believe.

[trs007]

Well, gang, based on these threads, I have just placed an order for the DVD Season 1 set. I am not curious to see what all the excitement is about.

[trs007]

Season 1- of Sandbaggers, that is.

[delfloria]

Always thought "Search" was basically a seventies take on "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.". (One of my favorites, obviously)

[daleblyth]

The Man Form Uncle was tops. Ian Fleming was to have written the pilot. However, due to legal complications all Ian contributed was the name "Napolian Solo" who was also a character from GF.

[Red Grant]

Originally posted by marktmurphy
I thought 'Spooks' was pretty darned good, myself. Series 2 now shoting, I believe.

I thought so too. When I saw it advertised I thought "ho hum, not another spy/x-files type rip off". But it was extremely well done and got realy good after a shaky start. I though the episode when (you know who if you've seen it) died was superb. It was a real surprise and one of the best bits of TV I've seen in a long time.

[trs007]

Well, having watched season 1 and ordered season two, I am now a Sandbaggers fan. This series is very well written, gripping and occasionally, the rapport between Burnside and his team makes Harry Palmer's boss seem quite lovable. Thanks for the recommendation, B%Erik2.

[B5Erik2]

Glad that you liked it. I really think that it was an amazing series. If a co-worker hadn't turned me on to it I might have never even known it existed.

Anyone who likes great drama, fantastic writing, and superb acting should check out The Sandbaggers (especially since it's available on DVD!)

[Fawn]

Sandbaggers. hmmmm. sounds a bit John Le Carre - ish. If so, sign me up!

[B5Erik2]

Actually, The Sandbaggers IS a little LeCarre-ish. Somewhere between Bond and LeCarre. Closer to LeCarre, really. GREAT stuff - and the third and final season will also be out on DVD in September!

[B5Erik]

The Sandbaggers was re-released on DVD a few years ago in partial season sets and then in a complete series set. I still can't recommend this show highly enough, especially for fans of Casino Royale and Skyfall (it doesn't have that kind of action, but if you like the more character driven stuff from those movies you'll love the Sandbaggers).

[jsteed]

The Sandbaggers was re-released on DVD a few years ago in partial season sets and then in a complete series set. I still can't recommend this show highly enough, especially for fans of Casino Royale and Skyfall (it doesn't have that kind of action, but if you like the more character driven stuff from those movies you'll love the Sandbaggers).

I've never seen the show, so I'll have to try to get the DVD's. Just found that Netflix has the DVD's, can't wait to watch. My favorite spy series is probably The Avengers, but also like The Man From Uncle and Dangerman.

[AMC Hornet]

I saw the series through three times since the early 80s, and I grabbed the DVD sets as soon as I saw them.

Must be getting time for run-through number five...

[Yellow Pinky]

For my money, the overall best espionage show on TV was "Callan," a very hard-edged John Le Carre-style spy show starring Edward Woodward as a professional assassin working reluctantly for a branch of the British Government's intelligence services called 'the Section'. It ran from the late 60s into the early 70s. It was a near perfect mix of behind the scenes political maneuvering (the chess game) and action in the field.

The next best for me is "Spooks" (MI-5 here in the US), which also mines that same blend of dark intellectual gamesmanship with edge of your seat action. All 10 seasons are excellent!

[Aisforauric]

There was a really superb 8-part BBC series in 1984 called 'Cold Warrior' which inexplicably has almost disappeared into obscurity. Here's one of the very few mentions I can find of it:

http://www.startrade...coldwarrior.htm

Anyone remember it?

[Yellow Pinky]

There was a really superb 8-part BBC series in 1984 called 'Cold Warrior' which inexplicably has almost disappeared into obscurity. Here's one of the very few mentions I can find of it:

http://www.startrade...coldwarrior.htm

Anyone remember it?

No, I've never heard of it, but it sounds like something I definitely would like!