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''The Sandbaggers'' is a British spy drama television series about men and women on the front lines of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. Set contemporaneously with its original broadcast on
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
in 1978 and 1980, ''The Sandbaggers'' examines the effect of
espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...
on the personal and professional lives of British and American
intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...
specialists. The series was produced by
Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
, based in
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
.


Premise

Neil D. Burnside (
Roy Marsden Roy Marsden (born Roy Anthony Mould; 25 June 1941) is an English actor who portrayed Adam Dalgliesh in the Anglia Television dramatisations (1983–1998) of P. D. James's detective novels, and Neil Burnside in the spy drama ''The Sandbagg ...
) is Director of Operations in Britain's
Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
(abbreviated 'SIS'), a.k.a. MI6, although that name is never used in the series. The series follows Burnside as he oversees a small, elite group of intelligence officers, the Special Operations Section, nicknamed "Sandbaggers", composed of highly trained officers whose missions tend to be politically sensitive or especially vital, such as escorting defectors across borders (or preventing defections from the UK), carrying out
assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
s, or rescuing operatives from behind the
Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...
. The series depicts
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
(CIA) and SIS have a co-operative agreement to share intelligence; a regular theme shows SIS as so underfunded that it has become dependent on the CIA. Burnside consequently goes to great lengths to preserve the " Special Relationship" between the CIA and SIS, most notably in the episode of the same name. Episodes frequently revolve around Burnside's frustration at trying to operate his directorate in the face of what he believes to be unwarranted bureaucratic and governmental interference, in particular from his Deputy Chief, Matthew Peele.


Series creator

''The Sandbaggers'' was created by
Ian Mackintosh Lieutenant Commander Hamish Ian Mackintosh, (born 26 July 1940; disappeared 7 July 1979) was a British Royal Navy officer, a writer of thriller novels, and a screenwriter for British television. Early life, education and family Born to Annie ( ...
, a Scottish former
naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
officer turned television writer, who had previously achieved success with the acclaimed
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
television series ''
Warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...
''. He wrote all the episodes of the first two series of ''The Sandbaggers'', but in July 1979, during the shooting of the third series, he and his girlfriend—a
British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
stewardess—were declared lost at sea after their single-engined
aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
went missing over the Pacific Ocean near
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
, following a radioed call for help. Some of the details surrounding their disappearance have caused speculation about what actually occurred, including their stop at an abandoned
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
base and the fact that the plane happened to crash in the one small area that was not covered by either U.S. or Soviet radar. Mackintosh disappeared after he had written just four of the scripts for the third series, so other writers were called in to bring the episode count up to seven. ''The Sandbaggers'' ends on an unresolved cliffhanger because the producers decided that no one else could write the series as well as Mackintosh had and chose not to continue it in his absence.
Ray Lonnen Raymond Stanley Lonnen (18 May 1940 – 11 July 2014) was an English stage and television actor. His most prominent roles include Willie Caine in the ITV cult classic Cold War-era spy drama series, ''The Sandbaggers'' (1978–80), and also as ...
, who played Sandbagger Willie Caine, indicated in correspondence with fans that there were plans for a follow-up season in which his character, using a wheelchair, had taken over Burnside's role as Director of Special Operations. Because of the atmosphere of authenticity that the scripts evoked and the liberal use of "spook" jargon, there has been speculation that Mackintosh might have been a former operative of SIS or had, at least, contact with the espionage community. This has extended to speculation that his disappearance was no accident or had to do with a secret mission he was undertaking. There is a possibility that Mackintosh may have been involved in intelligence operations during his time in the Royal Navy, but no conclusive evidence has surfaced. When asked, Mackintosh himself was always coy about whether he had been a spy. It is possible that this information prompted the thriller writer
Desmond Bagley Desmond Bagley (29 October 1923 – 12 April 1983) was an English journalist and novelist known mainly for a series of bestselling thrillers. He and fellow British writers such as Hammond Innes and Alistair MacLean set conventions for the genre: ...
to mention Mackintosh as an intelligence agent in his novel '' The Freedom Trap''. Whether or not Mackintosh had any experience in the world of espionage, the organisational structure of SIS depicted in ''The Sandbaggers'' is probably closer to that of the CIA than that of the SIS. There is no formal section of the SIS known as the Special Operations Section, as far as is publicly known, and there is no intelligence unit known as the Sandbaggers. However, the departures from accuracy in the show may have been deliberate, in order to avoid problems with the SIS under the Official Secrets Act. Ray Lonnen mentioned in an interview that one episode in the second series was vetoed because it dealt with sensitive information, which explains why the second series has only six episodes.


Production and story style

Most exterior filming was done in the city of Leeds and the surrounding
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
countryside. Additional exterior scenes were filmed in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. Interior studio scenes were shot on videotape. The series is grim, though laced with black humour, depicting the high emotional toll taken on espionage professionals who operate in a world of moral ambiguity. ''The Sandbaggers'' undercuts many of the accepted conventions of the spy thriller genre: in direct contrast to the "girls, guns, and gadgets" motif established by the
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
films of the 1960s and 70s, ''The Sandbaggers'' features ordinary people in an extraordinary line of work. There are very few action sequences, and the equipment available to the operatives is standard and often outdated. Neil Burnside is a harried spymaster who doesn't drink; Willie Caine is a
secret agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...
who abhors guns and violence, and is paid a basic civil servant's salary. On a number of occasions, the characters explicitly disparage the fictitious world of James Bond and the romanticized view of intelligence work shared by amateurs and outsiders. The plots are complex, multi-layered, and unpredictable: regular characters are killed off abruptly, and surprise twists abound. The
dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...
is intelligent and frequently witty. ''The Sandbaggers'' consists mostly of conversation: in a typical episode, Burnside moves from office to office speaking (and arguing) with his colleagues in
Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...
and in the
intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...
community. These are interspersed with scenes of the Sandbaggers operating in the field, or of the "Ops Room", where missions are coordinated and controlled.


Theme music

The title theme music, composed by jazz pianist
Roy Budd Roy Frederick Budd (14 March 1947 – 7 August 1993) was a British jazz pianist and composer known for his film scores, including ''Get Carter'' and ''The Wild Geese''. Early life Born in South Norwood, South London, Budd became interested in mu ...
, establishes its rhythmic undertone with the
cimbalom The cimbalom (; ) or concert cimbalom is a type of chordophone composed of a large, trapezoidal box on legs with metal strings stretched across its top and a damping pedal underneath. It was designed and created by V. Josef Schunda in 1874 in ...
, an instrument often associated with spy thrillers ( John Barry, for example, used the cimbalom in his scores for ''
The Ipcress File ''The IPCRESS File'' is Len Deighton's first spy novel, published in 1962. The story involves Cold War brainwashing, includes scenes in Lebanon and on an atoll for a United States atomic weapon test, as well as information about Joe One, the ...
'' and ''
The Quiller Memorandum ''The Quiller Memorandum'' is a 1966 British neo noir eurospy film filmed in DeLuxe Color, Deluxe Color and Panavision, adapted from the 1965 spy fiction, spy novel ''The Berlin Memorandum'', by Elleston Trevor under the name "Adam Hall", screen ...
''). From series 2 onwards, the theme contains an additional organ playing the same melody line. This version (or 'mix') was also used in the opening titles of episode 2 and episode 7 of series 1). Unusually for an episodic drama, ''The Sandbaggers'' is almost entirely devoid of incidental music. One notable exception is the last episode of series 1 (episode 7) where Burnside's feelings get the better of him for reasons the audience (by then) fully understand.


Filming locations

Collingstone House, located at 25
Savile Row Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...
in London, was used for the exterior shots of SIS Headquarters, the location of Burnside's office. Burnside lives in a flat in Frobisher House of
Dolphin Square Dolphin Square is a block of private flats with some ground floor business units near the River Thames in Pimlico, Westminster, London built between 1935 and 1937. Until the building of Highbury Square, it was the most developed garden square i ...
. Wellingham's office is located in the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...
on
Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...
. Many scenes take place outside Wellingham's office by the Robert Clive statue on King Charles Street. The 1960,
Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the General Motors ...
-designed
US Embassy The United States has the second most diplomatic missions of any country in the world after Mainland China, including 166 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, as well as observer state Vatican City and non-member countries Kosovo a ...
at 24 Grosvenor Square was used for exterior shots of Jeff Ross's office. In episode 2-02, "Enough of Ghosts," Wellingham is kidnapped outside the Hilton Hotel in Brussels, now called The Hotel. Willie and Mike also stay at this hotel while they are searching for him. In episode 2-03, "Decision by Committee," Burnside and Ross share a drink in the top floor lounge of the
London Hilton on Park Lane The London Hilton on Park Lane is a hotel situated on Park Lane, overlooking Hyde Park in the exclusive Mayfair district of London. It is tall, has 28 storeys and 453 rooms including 56 suites and a Michelin starred restaurant Galvin at Wind ...
. In episode 2-06, "Operation Kingmaker," Peele buys a suit from a Dunn & Co. store at 373 Strand. In episode 3-02, "To Hell with Justice," Edward Tyler stays at the Excelsior Hotel (now the Grand Excelsior) in
Floriana, Malta Floriana ( mt, Il-Furjana or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a Floriana Lines, fortified town in the South Eastern Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March ...
. The final dialogue between Tyler and Burnside takes place at the
Upper Barrakka Gardens The Upper Barrakka Gardens ( mt, Il-Barrakka ta' Fuq) are a public garden in Valletta, Malta. Along with the Lower Barrakka Gardens in the same city, they offer a panoramic view of the Grand Harbour. The gardens are located on the upper tier of ...
. In episode 3-06, "Who Needs Enemies," Burnside and Ross talk while walking through the
Horse Guards Parade Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London (at grid reference ). It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the monarch's official birthday, and the Beating Retreat. Hi ...
. In episode 3-07, "Opposite Numbers," the
SALT Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
conference in Malta takes place at the Grand Hotel Verdala in
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...
and the Malta Hilton in St. Julian's.


Cast

Neil Burnside (
Roy Marsden Roy Marsden (born Roy Anthony Mould; 25 June 1941) is an English actor who portrayed Adam Dalgliesh in the Anglia Television dramatisations (1983–1998) of P. D. James's detective novels, and Neil Burnside in the spy drama ''The Sandbagg ...
) Neil D. Burnside is the Director of Operations (D-Ops) of the British
Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
(SIS, also known as MI6). Himself a former Sandbagger and a former
Royal Marine The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
, Burnside has been D-Ops for only six months at the start of the series. He is arrogant and regularly finds himself at odds with his superiors. Sir James Greenley (
Richard Vernon Richard Evelyn Vernon (7 March 1925 – 4 December 1997) was a British actor. He appeared in many feature films and television programmes, often in aristocratic or supercilious roles. Prematurely balding and greying, Vernon settled into playi ...
), "C" (series 1 and 2) Burnside's chief superior (for the first two series) is Sir James Greenley, head of SIS, code-named "C". Owing to Greenley's diplomatic background, Burnside is initially wary of him, but over the course of the series, they develop a close relationship. John Tower Gibbs ( Dennis Burgess), "C" (series 3 only) In the third season, Gibbs replaces Greenley as "C". A former head of station with whom Burnside has an antagonistic relationship, Gibbs disapproves of Burnside and his method of operating. His appointment (along with a continued lack of funding) leads to increased tension within SIS. Matthew Peele (
Jerome Willis Jerome Barry Willis (23 October 1928 – 11 January 2014) was a prominent British stage and screen actor with more than 100 screen credits to his name. Willis had a leading role in the ITV drama series ''The Sandbaggers'' as Matthew Peele. He ...
), Deputy Head of SIS Burnside is often insubordinate and even openly hostile towards Peele, his immediate superior, who in turn treats Burnside as a truculent child. Peele is generally considered a nuisance by most characters, although he is briefly a candidate to succeed Greenley as "C" (because Burnside hates Gibbs more than Peele), and demonstrates tact and intelligence throughout the series. Sir Geoffrey Wellingham ( Alan MacNaughtan) Burnside's personal and professional life come together in Sir Geoffrey Wellingham, who is Burnside's former father-in-law and the Permanent Undersecretary of State at the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...
, which oversees SIS. They share an informal but sometimes antagonistic relationship which on occasion is tested to its limit, but also maintain an unspoken fondness and respect for each other. Willie Caine (
Ray Lonnen Raymond Stanley Lonnen (18 May 1940 – 11 July 2014) was an English stage and television actor. His most prominent roles include Willie Caine in the ITV cult classic Cold War-era spy drama series, ''The Sandbaggers'' (1978–80), and also as ...
), "Sandbagger One" Caine, a former
Paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...
, is head of the Special Operations Section. He shares a bond of friendship and trust with Burnside, and is not afraid to speak his mind. In "A Feasible Solution", Burnside describes Caine as "probably the best operative currently operating anywhere in the world". He is the only character besides Burnside to appear in every episode of the series. Jeff Ross ( Bob Sherman), head of London station, CIA The relationship between the CIA (which has more resources) and SIS (which has more freedom of action) is pivotal in multiple episodes, represented by the friendship between Ross and Burnside. They occasionally work at odds with one another, but are most often allies fighting their common enemies (the Soviets, and bureaucracy within their own agencies). Ross often tries to push Burnside into having some kind of social life, even setting him up with fellow agent Karen Milner in the second series, but these attempts always fail. Other characters Burnside's personal assistant Diane Lawler ( Elizabeth Bennett) has regular clashes with her boss but is fiercely loyal to him. She leaves SIS when she marries at the end of the second series, handpicking her replacement, Marianne Straker (
Sue Holderness Susan Joan Holderness (born 28 May 1949) is an English actress on both stage and screen having had appearances in '' Bless This House'' (1974), '' The New Avengers'' (1977), ''Canned Laughter'' (1979), ''The Sandbaggers'' (1980), ''The Cleopatr ...
). There are two other Sandbaggers at the beginning of the series: Jake Landy (David Glyder) and Alan Denson (Steven Grives). They are both killed and replaced for the first series by Laura Dickens (
Diane Keen Diane Keen (born 29 July 1946) is an English actress, known for her portrayal of Fliss Hawthorne in the Granada sitcom '' The Cuckoo Waltz'' and Julia Parsons on the BBC soap opera '' Doctors''. She also appeared in Nescafé advertisements from ...
), the only female Sandbagger, killed at the end of the first series. The second series opens with two new Sandbaggers: Tom Elliott (David Beames), who is soon killed, and Mike Wallace (
Michael Cashman Michael Maurice Cashman, Baron Cashman (born 17 December 1950), is a British actor, politician, and LGBT rights activist. A member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands from 1999 to 2014. ...
), who survives as Sandbagger Two until the end of the third series. Edward Tyler (Peter Laird) plays the SIS Director of Intelligence (D-Int), introduced in the first episode of the second series. Tyler and Burnside share a friendly relationship, but Tyler dies early in the third series and is replaced by Paul Dalgetty (
David Robb David Robb (born 23 August 1947) is a Scottish actor. Early life Born in London, the son of David Robb and Elsie Tilley, Robb grew up in Edinburgh and was educated there at the Royal High School, where he played Henry II in a school product ...
). Dalgetty, who appears in only two episodes, is openly antagonistic towards Burnside, manoeuvring to replace him as D-Ops, and is briefly scheduled to do so in "Who Needs Enemies" (S03E06), owing to a KGB plot. Sam Lawes (
Brian Osborne Brian Osborne (26 March 1940 – 8 July 2021) was an English actor. He was best known for his roles in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' and ''The Sandbaggers''. Osborne also had minor roles in six ''Carry On'' films as well the TV series ''Carry On L ...
), Brian Milton (Barkley Johnson) and Bruce (Paul Haley) are often on duty in the ops room.


Episodes

Each of the 20 episodes of ''The Sandbaggers'' runs just over fifty minutes without commercials, originally airing with commercial breaks that divided the episode into three acts. Animated bumpers similar to the end credits lead into and out of the commercial breaks.


Series 1


Series 2


Series 3


Reception


Critical review

Television critics' reviews of ''The Sandbaggers'' have been almost uniformly positive. In 1989, Walter Goodman of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' dubbed ''The Sandbaggers'' "the real stuff" for fans of the spy genre. He goes on to note, concerning the seventh episode ("Special Relationship"): "Although the issue of love versus duty is overdrawn and the tale, like others, is a bit forced in places, the Burnside character and the urgency of the story-telling make it work. Most of the ''Sandbagger'' episodes work." Similarly, critic Terrence Rafferty called ''The Sandbaggers'' "the best spy series in television history". ''The Sandbaggers'', television critic Rick Vanderknyff also wrote, "is many things American network television is not: talky and relatively action-free, low in fancy production values but high in plot complexity, and starring characters who aren't likable in the traditional TV way".


Broadcast history

* In the United Kingdom, Series One was broadcast nationwide on ITV in September and October 1978; Series Two, January–March 1980; Series Three, June and July 1980. ITV repeated ''The Sandbaggers'' once in the 1980s. In the 1990s, the cable/satellite channels Granada Plus and SelecTV showed repeats. * In
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
aired ''The Sandbaggers'' nationwide in the 1980s. * In
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, the
Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
aired ''The Sandbaggers'' nationwide in 1982. * In the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, ''The Sandbaggers'' was sold in
syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...
to individual
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
stations from the mid-1980s until the mid-1990s. * In Italy, the series was briefly shown on some local television stations in 1988. All episodes were dubbed in Italian. * In
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, Channel 1 aired ''The Sandbaggers'' (titled "The Selected") nationwide in the mid-1980s. All episodes were subtitled in Hebrew.


Merchandise


DVD

* All 20 episodes of ''The Sandbaggers'' are available in the North American market in
Region 0 DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to ...
NTSC-format DVD sets which were released by BFS Entertainment in August 2001 (Series 1 and 2) and September 2003 (Series 3). * All 20 episodes are available in the UK and European market in Region 2 PAL-format DVD sets, the first two series being released by Network DVD in August 2005 and May 2006 respectively. (Unlike the BFS DVDs, the Network DVDs include in each episode the "bumpers" which led into and out of advertisement breaks during transmission on commercial television. These bumpers display "End of Part One", "Part Two", "End of Part Two" and "Part 3" accompanied by a snippet of the theme music.)


Video

* The complete series is also available on
NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...
videotapes, in three sets. (Episode 7, "Special Relationship", was omitted from the Series One set and thus appears out of order on the Series Three set.) * Four episodes were released on two
PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
videocassettes in the mid-1980s, but these PAL tapes are out of print.


Books

* ''The Sandbaggers'' by Ian Mackintosh (Corgi Books, 1978) novelises "Always Glad to Help" and "A Feasible Solution". Out of print. * ''The Sandbaggers: Think of a Number'' (Corgi Books, 1980) is an original novel by "Donald Lancaster", a
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
for mystery writer William Marshall, who was commissioned to write it after Ian Mackintosh's disappearance. Out of print.


Legacy


''The Sandbaggers'' in America

Although not a huge ratings hit during its initial UK broadcast, ''The Sandbaggers'' generated a
cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
following when telecast abroad, most notably in the USA.
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
outlet
KTEH KTEH may refer to: * KTEH-LP, a low-power radio station (98.9 FM) licensed to serve Los Molinos, California, United States * KQEH, a television station (channel 50, virtual 54) licensed to serve San Jose, California, which held the call sign ...
in
San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
aired at least five runs of ''The Sandbaggers'' after it became "a local phenomenon"."Sandbaggers Back for More," Ron Miller, ''
San Jose Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidiar ...
'' 9 November 1990 American ''Sandbaggers''
fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...
produced
fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...
s,
website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...
s, and even a convention: Ray Lonnen was the guest of honour at "Sandbagger One" in
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
in 1992.


''Queen & Country''

Greg Rucka Gregory Rucka (born November 29, 1969) is an American writer known for the series of novels starring his character Atticus Kodiak, the creator-owned comic book series '' Whiteout'', ''Queen & Country'', '' Stumptown'' and '' Lazarus'', as well as ...
, novelist and creator of the comic book espionage series ''
Queen & Country ''Queen & Country'' is an American comic book published by Oni Press and written by Greg Rucka with various artists illustrating. It was inspired by the British ITV television series ''The Sandbaggers'' (1978–1980), which was created and prima ...
'', has said that the comic book is consciously inspired by ''The Sandbaggers'' and is in a sense a "quasi-sequel". In the comic book, the structure of SIS mirrors that seen in the television series, down to the division of responsibilities between Directors of Operations and Intelligence and the existence of a Special Operations Section known as the "Minders". The comic book also features a more modern and sophisticated Ops Room, and bureaucratic wrangling reminiscent of the television series. Several characters and situations in ''Queen & Country'' parallel ''The Sandbaggers'', including a fatherly "C" who is eventually replaced by a more political and less sympathetic appointee; a Director of Operations who is fiercely protective of the Special Section; a Deputy Chief antagonistic to the independent nature of the Minders; a rivalry with MI5; and a cooperative relationship with the CIA. In addition, several scenes and lines of dialogue are similar or allude to the television series. However, as the comic book takes place in the present day, the geopolitical situation is very different. In addition, the stories are more action-oriented and focus on the exploits of Minder Tara Chace rather than on Paul Crocker, the Director of Operations.


Bibliography

* Mackintosh, Ian. (1978). ''The Sandbaggers''. Corgi Children's.


See also

* List of The Sandbaggers characters * ''Warship'' *
Ian Mackintosh Lieutenant Commander Hamish Ian Mackintosh, (born 26 July 1940; disappeared 7 July 1979) was a British Royal Navy officer, a writer of thriller novels, and a screenwriter for British television. Early life, education and family Born to Annie ( ...
* Spooks


Notes


External links

*
The Ops Room (a fan site)


{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandbaggers, The 1970s British drama television series 1980s British drama television series 1978 British television series debuts 1980 British television series endings Espionage television series ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios Television series by Yorkshire Television English-language television shows