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The Worst Episodes of The Sandbaggers

Every episode of The Sandbaggers ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of The Sandbaggers!

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...
Genre:Drama
Network:ITV1
Episodes
20
Avg. Rating
8.5
S1
S2
S3
S4
E1
E2
E3
7.8
8.9
8.4
8.6
8.7
8.8
8.1
8.8
8.4

Filter By Season (3)

  • Sometimes We Play Dirty Too
    7.7/10(40)
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    #1 - Sometimes We Play Dirty Too

    Season 3 Episode 5

    Aired 7/7/1980

    When a British intelligence source is killed in an accident in Prague, Caine is sent in to find out what really happened while Wallace and Burnside look for clues at home.

    Director: Peter Cregeen

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • First Principles
    7.8/10(86)
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    #2 - First Principles

    Season 1 Episode 1

    Aired 9/18/1978

    Neil Burnside, the Director of Operations for Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, objects to sending his best agents, the Sandbaggers, on a mission into Russia for Norway's Secret Service.

    Director: Michael Ferguson

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • My Name Is Anna Wiseman
    8.0/10(45)
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    #3 - My Name Is Anna Wiseman

    Season 3 Episode 4

    Aired 6/30/1980

    Burnside tries to get approval to plant a woman in the Soviet Union as a long-term double agent, but he neglects to mention that her real mission is short-term human rights propaganda.

    Director: Michael Ferguson

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Is Your Journey Really Necessary?
    8.1/10(65)
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    #4 - Is Your Journey Really Necessary?

    Season 1 Episode 3

    Aired 10/2/1978

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

    Director: Derek Bennett

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Always Glad to Help
    8.3/10(53)
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    #5 - Always Glad to Help

    Season 1 Episode 5

    Aired 10/16/1978

    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.

    Director: David Reynolds

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Opposite Numbers
    8.3/10(41)
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    #6 - Opposite Numbers

    Season 3 Episode 7

    Aired 7/28/1980

    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.

    Director: Peter Cregeen

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
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  • The Most Suitable Person
    8.4/10(58)
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    #7 - The Most Suitable Person

    Season 1 Episode 4

    Aired 10/9/1978

    Sandbagger One Willie Caine goes to Gibraltar to investigate the murder of an SIS agent, and potential new Sandbagger Laura Dickens goes to Morocco to get more clues in the case.

    Director: Michael Ferguson

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • All in a Good Cause
    8.4/10(46)
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    #8 - All in a Good Cause

    Season 3 Episode 1

    Aired 6/9/1980

    CIA Head of London Station Jeff Ross asks for Burnside's help when Ross' marriage is in trouble, but then Burnside starts to suspect that the KGB and MI5 have an interest in that marriage as well.

    Director: Peter Cregeen

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Unusual Approach
    8.4/10(48)
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    #9 - Unusual Approach

    Season 3 Episode 3

    Aired 6/23/1980

    'C' orders Burnside to go on a working holiday in Rhodes, and while he's gone, Ross asks Caine for some risky backup in the USSR, but as Acting D.Ops., Caine would have to send Wallace.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • A Feasible Solution
    8.5/10(52)
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    #10 - A Feasible Solution

    Season 1 Episode 6

    Aired 10/23/1978

    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.

    Director: Michael Ferguson

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • It Couldn't Happen Here
    8.5/10(45)
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    #11 - It Couldn't Happen Here

    Season 2 Episode 5

    Aired 2/25/1980

    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.

    Director: Peter Cregeen

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • A Proper Function of Government
    8.6/10(68)
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    #12 - A Proper Function of Government

    Season 1 Episode 2

    Aired 9/25/1978

    The Sandbaggers may be sent to Vienna to keep tabs on a possible defector, while Burnside tries to get official approval to assassinate an African dictator.

    Director: Michael Ferguson

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • A Question of Loyalty
    8.6/10(47)
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    #13 - A Question of Loyalty

    Season 2 Episode 4

    Aired 2/18/1980

    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.

    Director: Michael Ferguson

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Enough of Ghosts
    8.7/10(50)
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    #14 - Enough of Ghosts

    Season 2 Episode 2

    Aired 2/4/1980

    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.

    Director: Peter Cregeen

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Who Needs Enemies
    8.7/10(39)
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    #15 - Who Needs Enemies

    Season 3 Episode 6

    Aired 7/14/1980

    When a rival for Burnside's job gets hold of a CIA document that describes Burnside as a divisive influence, SIS upper management contrives to promote Burnside ``sideways'' to Madrid.

    Director: Peter Cregeen

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Decision by Committee
    8.8/10(49)
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    #16 - Decision by Committee

    Season 2 Episode 3

    Aired 2/11/1980

    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.

    Director: Michael Ferguson

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • To Hell with Justice
    8.8/10(45)
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    #17 - To Hell with Justice

    Season 3 Episode 2

    Aired 6/16/1980

    SIS Director of Intelligence Edward Tyler meets a suspicious woman while on holiday in Malta, so Burnside secretly sends the Sandbaggers to keep an eye on him.

    Director: Peter Cregeen

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • At All Costs
    8.9/10(50)
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    #18 - At All Costs

    Season 2 Episode 1

    Aired 1/28/1980

    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.

    Director: Michael Ferguson

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Operation Kingmaker
    8.9/10(44)
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    #19 - Operation Kingmaker

    Season 2 Episode 6

    Aired 3/3/1980

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Special Relationship
    9.1/10(55)
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    #20 - Special Relationship

    Season 1 Episode 7

    Aired 10/30/1978

    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.

    Director: Michael Ferguson

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0

Worst Episodes Summary

"Sometimes We Play Dirty Too" is the worst rated episode of "The Sandbaggers". It scored 7.7/10 based on 40 votes. Directed by Peter Cregeen and written by N/A, it aired on 7/7/1980. This episode scored 0.1 points lower than the second lowest rated, "First Principles".