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The Sandbaggers
1978 · TV series · 51 min episodes · 3 seasons
Created by Ian Mackintosh
The Sandbaggers is a British television drama series about men and women on the front lines of the Cold War. Set contemporaneously with its original broadcast on ITV in 1978 and 1980, The Sandbaggers examines the effect of the espionage game on the personal and professional lives of British and American intelligence specialists.
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7 comments on Hacker News
I just wanted to mention at this opportunity that some British TV series from the late 70s, early 80s are absolutely brilliant and some of the best stuff I have ever watched. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Smiley's People, Danger UXB, Sandbaggers and Sherlock Holmes are some of my favorites.
If you like le Carre, British TV Series "The Sandbaggers" is in a similar vein. I've watched a bunch of episodes on youtube and they are great with a focus on dialog and schemes as opposed to action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhRH76fepKg
This thread is absolutely fantastic. It's hitting all the obscure spy thrillers. First sandbaggers now Len Deightons game set match. What next, Mr. Palfrey of Westminster? ?
That said, you're watching James Bond wrong. Watch it as a porno. There's a quick excuse for a plot, then you see the "spy" doing all sorts of cool and exotic stuff.
Same thing with movies like top gun, ignore the story and just watch it as an excluse to fly $50M planes near the edge.
I highly recommend, to the point of pain, the late 70s series British TV series “Sandbaggers”[1]
“ Special Operations doesn't mean going in with all guns blazing. It means special planning, special care, fully briefed agents in possession of all possible alternatives. If you want James Bond, go to your library. But if you want a successful operation, sit at your desk and think, and then think again. Our battles aren't fought at the end of a parachute. They're won and lost in drab, dreary corridors in Westminster, and hopefully in Oslo.”
[1] https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0077078/
(Edit: note that this is not John Le Carrè, but another military officer, Ian Mackintosh. But it’s obvious they share a common thread)
> Maybe there are just as many good tv shows these days.
Check out Top of the Lake, it's well-written, well-acted, & doesn't overstay its welcome. Season two just came out!
I think modern shows are dominated by 'must-see' spectacles or sensationalist attention-grabbers, because people watch them in droves and advertises will pay for slots. Weirdly, the modern BBC only makes shows like this, even though they don't rely on advertising.
Part of the charm of The Sandbaggers is that they clearly made it for pennies, so they had to make the characters and dialogue interesting to fill in for car chases + stunts + exotic locations + top-shelf actors (i.e. the complement of Bond films).
The Sandbaggers is amazing; I found it to be more memorable and "realistic" (not that I could know) than le Carré.
Also, all episodes are on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKg_t-Prhqk&list=PLmRu2axUu2LELJvHzRdnNbEZpZ-ApzpgX
People who like Le Carre will also enjoy this British TV show from the '70s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandbaggers