Talk:The Sandbaggers

message: I really think that critical evaluation should go after the information on Mackintosh - it's better to get all the background to the series out of the way before we talk about critical reactions to it. --khaosworks 22:55, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: The Ian Mackintosh section should not be placed so high up in the Sandbaggers article for three reasons: First, all the Ian Mackintosh stuff is speculative; there's a real shortage of hard facts in that section. Second, sections about aspects of the series as a whole should be placed above sections that focus narrowly on any one person associated with the series. (Thus "Appeal" outranks the Mackintosh section.) Third, and most importantly, Ian Mackintosh now has his own entry on Wikipedia.  UnHommeLibre 23:39, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Fair enough. Hold off on further edits for a bit and let me take a crack at sifting out some of the info. --khaosworks 23:42, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Format

message: New list of things that deserve at least a brief mention:
* Sue Holderness, and the other women of The Sandbaggers
* The wit in the dialogue -- HAS BEEN ADDED
* The praise that's been heaped on the actors
* The abundant abbreviations
* The complex multilayered plots -- HAS BEEN ADDED
* The respect the series shows for its audience, i.e. the presumption of intelligence in the viewer
* That the series took place all over the world but all its exteriors were filmed in and around Leeds, except for a few episodes filmed on location in Malta -- HAS BEEN ADDED
--UnHommeLibre 01:55, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Items to Add

message: Paragraph 6 currently ends with this sentence: "If the show had gone to a fourth series, it would have reportedly had Caine as head of the Special Operations Section and Burnside demoted and back in the field as a Sandbagger." 
Actually, in the bonus interview on Disc 1 of the Series 3 DVD set, Ray Lonnen says the plan was for Caine to become D-Ops and for Burnside to take Peele's job.
But the problem isn't so much who would have gotten which job; the problem is that -- unless Ian's notebooks suddenly turn up -- any discussion of a fourth series is simply too speculative to include in an encyclopaedic article. (Ray Lonnen's memory was hazy and there are no good sources for hard facts about what the real plan, if any, for Series 4 was.)
I recommend removal of the last sentence of paragraph 6.
--UnHommeLibre 01:55, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: This has been taken care of; thank you! --UnHommeLibre 02:30, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Series 4

message: I'm trying to think of a better first sentence.
How about this: "The Sandbaggers is a British television drama series about the personal and professional lives of men and women who work in espionage during the Cold War. It is set contemporaneously with..."
This has the advantange of including the women of the series -- heretofore neglected -- and acknowleding the show's two great themes of personal lives (e.g. Laura Dickens being afraid of romance, Jeff Ross trying to hook Burnside up with ladies) and professional lives (e.g. Burnside trying to get more pay for the Sandbaggers, Burnside worried about his prospects for promotion). --UnHommeLibre 02:30, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Well, most of those words are there now, but the new first sentence reads awkwardly. The phrase "concentrating on" is particularly inelegant. The first sentence can be improved to flow better, while still getting across all the important details and links. I'm just not sure how, exactly... --UnHommeLibre 02:52, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Hehe, "focuses on" isn't an improvement. :-) Thanks for trying though! --UnHommeLibre 03:23, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I've inserted a new two-sentence intro which flows pretty well. --UnHommeLibre 04:30, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Introduction Rework

message: At some point, someone should revise the paragraph about Queen and Country to expand on the huge extent to which Q&C borrows ("steals"?) whole scenes and dialogue from Sandbaggers episodes. The reivsed paragraph might also mention that Rucka intended it as a sort of quasi-sequel to the show. The paragraph might begin, "An unofficial sequel of sorts appeared in 2001 when..." or something like that. --UnHommeLibre 02:52, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Queen and Country

message: I'm not sure I agree with the part talking about how there was no implication of sex involving any of the Sandbaggers.  It was certainly implied that Burnside and Laura Dickens were romantically involved.  --Mzellers 07:03, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, but they never got a chance to sleep together. She emotional issues when it came to sex. They were heading that way, but not before she died. --khaosworks 07:45, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)

text: I recall a dialog where Burnside thanks Laura, saying he can finally sleep at nights, and she smiles and says usually it wouldn't be considered a compliment  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.126.62.150 (talk) 15:38, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

text: The agents speculate that Burnside and Dickens are sleeping together - but in the context I think that suggests that they weren't doing so, rather than that they were.124.197.15.138 (talk) 19:31, 19 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Burnside and Dickens

message: "The Sandbaggers inverts most of the conventions of the spy thriller genre. In sharp contrast to the "girls, guns and gadgets" motif established by Ian Fleming's James Bond, The Sandbaggers features very few action sequences, no flashy cars, and no high-tech gizmos."
As I understand it, in the original books, the character did not have gadgets anyway.
:They were of a much more limited nature then in the films. (StarkeRealm (talk) 09:00, 25 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: James Bond

message: Yes to merger.  Not enough notability or depth to Burnside to stand on own. Decoratrix 19:22, 20 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Merger

message: I added The Sandbaggers at the Internet Movie Database even though it appears already on the infobox, since it's common practice for films and TV series. Agreed? 77.126.62.150 (talk) 15:35, 26 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links - IMDB 

message: Can't the spoilers be moved to a separate section so that there is at least some chance of avoiding them?  It really sucks that I was skimming the article and see all the characters who will be killed off.  If it won't be changed at least readers could be warned: "Spoiler alert: Reading this article before watching the series potentially ruins the story for you." 75.23.44.17 (talk) 18:21, 12 November 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: The series is over thirty years old, it's a little late for spoilers. Kusonaga (talk) 14:17, 13 November 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Spoilers Suck 

message: What is Wellingham's daughter's name?  I want to say Bettina.  I think she appears once, and is named on that occasion, but can't find her in IMDb's cast lists; maybe I'm thinking of Lady W. —Tamfang (talk) 07:25, 16 February 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: Belinda. Wally Wiglet (talk) 00:33, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  the former Mrs Burnside 

message: Moving this here from the section titled, "Series premise":
:Why the group was called the Sandbaggers was not explained in the context of the show, but it may have to do with putting up sandbags as a defence against an incoming flood. To "sandbag" someone also means to coerce him through heavy-handed means or to thwart the efforts of another person (or entity).http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sandbag A sandbag can also be an improvised bludgeon or cosh, frequently a tube (such as a sock) partially filled with damp sand.
This is an exercise in speculation and OR.  The sole cited source is a dictionary which only confirms that the use of "sandbag" is correct in the second usage presented by the editor.  The presentation of three separate definitions of the term is irrelevant to the "series premise".  The simple fact is that the origin of the nickname "the Sandbaggers" is not explained in the context of the series... full stop.  All of the rest of this info is irrelevant to this article. 12.233.147.42 (talk) 23:12, 24 June 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Removed from "Series premise" 

message: :
Is her interest established?  In one episode she says to him, "Jeff doesn't know I'm here; that ought to tell you something."  Neil at first reads this as flirting but later twigs that her meaning is something else entirely.  Otherwise I don't recall evidence of anything beyond professional friendship. —Tamfang (talk) 18:46, 31 October 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Karen and Neil 

message: :
Some hint of why would be good.  Would "stuffed shirt" be inappropriate language? — Worth mentioning that in one brief scene he speaks fluent Chinese? —Tamfang (talk) 04:17, 31 March 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  the trouble with Peele 

message: In the cast it says "John Tower Gibbs (Dennis Burgess), "C" (series 3 only)", but I wonder if this should be modified as Gibbs first appears in the last episode of series 2, although he is only appointed at the end of the episode and has not yet taken office. Perhaps "John Tower Gibbs (Dennis Burgess), "C" (series 3 only, guest series 2)" might be one way of dealing with this. Dunarc (talk) 20:49, 30 August 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  John Tower Gibbs in cast section 

message: We have, in effect, two lists of episodes.  Arguments against incorporating the shooting locations into the main list? —Tamfang (talk) 23:09, 22 May 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  locations