The Sandbaggers

1. First Principles

Sep 18, 1978 · 60 min

In Westminster there stands a drab building, peopled by ambitious men wielding great power in total secrecy, Among its staff are Neil Burnside and Willis Caine, for whom the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) is not just a way of life, but life itself. Neil Burnside, the Director of Operations SIS, objects to sending his best agents, the Sandbaggers, on a mission into Russia for Norway's Secret Service.

2. A Proper Function of Government

Sep 25, 1978 · 60 min

When Sir Donald Hopkins, a top government advisor, is unexpectedly seen in Vienna, it is suspected that he intends to defect. The Sandbaggers are sent to Vienna to keep tabs on him. Meanwhile, an East African dictator has been executing British citizens, and SIS has put together a proposal for his assassination.

3. Is Your Journey Really Necessary?

Oct 2, 1978 · 60 min

Alan Denson threatens to quit the Sandbaggers after a rough, unauthorized assassination mission near the Soviet border, so Burnside applies pressure to Denson's fiancee.

4. The Most Suitable Person

Oct 9, 1978 · 60 min

There has never been a woman in SIS's Special Operations Section, but with only one Sandbagger left to him, Burnside faces a crisis. The Training School can offer no one... except the enigmatic Laura Dickens. Sandbagger One Willie Caine goes to Gibraltar to investigate the murder of an SIS agent, and the new potential Sandbagger Laura Dickens goes to Morocco to get more clues in the case.

5. Always Glad to Help

Oct 16, 1978 · 60 min

Laura Dickens is assigned to find out where an Arab sheik's sympathies lie, while Burnside clashes with Deputy Chief Matthew Peele and the Ministry of Defence over a covert scuba-diving operation.

6. A Feasible Solution

Oct 23, 1978 · 60 min

Caine and an agent fresh out of field school, go to Cyprus on the trail of some missing rocket scientists, while Neil lets his romantic guard down at home.

7. Special Relationship

Oct 30, 1978 · 60 min

Laura Dickens is the most qualified agent for a risky mission in East Berlin and Burnside has to double-deal to make sure her presence there won't pose other security risks as well.

1. At All Costs

Jan 28, 1980 · 60 min

The head of the Bulgarian Secret Service asks to meet with Sandbagger Tom Elliott in Sofia, but Burnside doesn't like it and intends to give Elliott backup whether his bosses approve or not.

2. Enough of Ghosts

Feb 4, 1980 · 60 min

Permanent Under-Secretary of State Sir Geoffrey Wellingham goes missing in Brussels and the Sandbaggers are dispatched to find him, for Burnside's sake as well as Wellingham's.

3. Decision by Committee

Feb 11, 1980 · 60 min

On an airline flight back from Sri Lanka, Caine and CIA covert-action agent Karen Milner run into trouble during their stop in Turkey, and Burnside runs into bureaucratic opposition when trying to help them.

4. A Question of Loyalty

Feb 18, 1980 · 60 min

Sandbagger Mike Wallace runs afoul of the local SIS station while on a risky mission in Warsaw, and Burnside risks his own career to show him support by sending him on a subsequent mission to Stockholm.

5. It Couldn't Happen Here

Feb 25, 1980 · 60 min

In the wake of the assassination of one U.S. senator, the Sandbaggers are assigned to bodyguard another, while Burnside gets wind of a traitor in the British cabinet.

6. Operation Kingmaker

Mar 3, 1980 · 60 min

When there's talk of getting a new 'C', Burnside decides to back Peele for the job, believing him more malleable than the other most likely candidate, whom Burnside once clashed with.

7. Opposite Numbers

Jul 28, 1980 · 60 min

Burnside is opposed to an East-West arms treaty being negotiated in Malta, so he and the Sandbaggers conspire to scuttle the talks by encouraging a Soviet double agent to defect.