Sandbaggers

This is probably the best TV series I have ever seen.

I also accidently stumbled upon the series while watching PBS. It caught my attention and I could not quit watching. My favorite episodes are "Decision by Committee" and "Who Needs Enemies". I particularly liked Burnside's dedication to his principles and also, the dedication of his fellow Sandbaggers to him. Anyone who admires the theme of "competence versus political influence" will enjoy this series. Glad to see that all of the series is now available on DVD.

If you love this show, and there's no reason why you shouldn't, don't despair that only three seasons (about 18 episodes) were made. The Sandbaggers continues in more modern-day missions in the comic book "Queen and Country," by Greg Rucka. Now there's no Burnside or Willie, but it's pure Sandbaggers. Apparently Rucka was a huge fan of the show and wanted to continue the idea of a realistic special operations unit, where paper-pushing is more prevelant than gun fights and no one -- NO ONE -- is safe. I'm pretty sure you can find the books on Amazon.

I completely agree with the astute reader comments. This was a brilliant show. Good 'spy' drama without gun fights and fiery explosions.

Even the British portrayal of the American agent -- slovenly, incessantly eating and talking with his mouth full, crude -- nice one Brits!

I rate this English drama show right up there with I, Claudius and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

Just proves what the Brits and Japanese know -- riveting drama doesn't require car chases and cleavage.

Thank you London and PBS!

A previous commenter noted that the series seemed to end abruptly and wondered if our British friends were holding out on us. The reality is that the series was supposed to continue for at least another season, but there was one problem: the producer/writer of the series died at the end of the first season. This was one of those rare situations where the originator of the series also wrote all of the episodes. That intimacy with the characters and the ability to weave various plot lines over multiple episodes was one of the characteristics that made Sandbaggers so enjoyable. But it also made it vulnerable to disaster because only the producer/writer knew all the plot lines he had planned for the second season. Most of that was in his head. With few notes to go on, the production company staff found it impossible to figure out what to do with the series, so the second season was never produced. It's a tragedy because Sandbaggers was so wonderfully done. We can only guess whether Willie survived and how Burnside dealt with his ex-wife.

Brilliant series : well-written and well-performed. Sophisticated plots that didn't strain credulity and rarely ended up neatly resolved. The best spy/international intrigue series ever produced, in my book.