Review S03E03-Unusual Approach

[michaellevenson]

Peele and Wellingham are in Rhodes at a conference. C believes Burnside could do with a holiday and sends him to Rhodes too as a bodyguard. This infuriates Neil who believes C hates his guts and would put him up against a wall and cheerfully drive a bus at it. But he has to go.
Geoff Ross sees this as an opportunity to screw SIS, with Willie Caine acting as temporary Director of Operations he asks Willie for a big favour. The CIA have a man injured in Russia, in a southern coastal town , Ross tells Willie the guy is Bob Cheever, a guy who saved Burnside's life in Vietnam. Willie is not too keen as the last sandbagger sent into Russia never came back,( Jake Landy s01e03), but he gets advice from C. Ross has been authorized to offer SIS, a blank cheque for the rescue, whatever they want from the CIA.
Willie " the reason I've taken this as far as you sir, is because it involves Cheever, who saved Mr Burnside in Vietnam"
C " I see, you wouldn't like Mr Burnside to come back to discover you had done nothing to repay the debt. But if I turned it down?"
W " yes sir, I believe the CIA have passed it to us because it's so dodgy. And wish to avoid the likelihood of two CIA officers lost in Russia"
C " but passed with an enormous carrot, this blank cheque business"
W " but if I'm caught..."
C " you? Wallace will have to go, at present he is our only sandbagger. You are D Ops"
W "it's because of Cheever I'm prepared to have a go. But it would be unfair to offload it onto Wallace"
C " are you saying you lack confidence in him, because if you are he has no place in Special Section and we'll get rid of him"
W " no he's a fine officer"
C " okay, brief Wallace and get the CIA input from Ross"
Meantime in Rhodes Burnside, Peele and Wellingham are poolside at their hotel. They have been warned off getting too friendly with the bevvy of bikini clad beauties, the KGB are on the prowl with their agents , females, looking to target conference delegates.
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We have a dedicated Sandbaggers section on IMDF, where I go over briefly all the episodes, here I'll expand an episode, in some detail. Background: 1970's spy drama in the Callan mould. This series deals with a fictional mi6 , known as SIS. Roy Marsden stars as Neil Burnside, Director of...

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[michaellevenson]

Ross has provided the false passport and clothes for Cheever and Mike Wallace is sent to Russia, but Willie comes up with a brainwave,
W " why not send you in from the north?"
Mike " the north? there's a thousand miles of Russia to the north"
W " so nothing to a plane, you fly down to Kraznadow thirty miles from Sakumi where Cheever is, take a hire car. And bring Cheever out the same way"
Ross " he's injured"
C " so ,Mike will clean him up bandage him. The Russians will never expect this route"
Later in Willie's or more accurately Burnside's office,
Ross, " got to play the smart guy yes! Not satisfied with doing Burnside's job"
W " I told you ,we played it straight last time, it cost us a sandbagger"
R " Jesus Christ!! God knows what the folks back home will say when I tell them"
W " good, perhaps they can do the job, we don't want it"
R " well Willie when your little scheme goes haywire we're going to have a CIA operative on Russian tv admitting he was sent in to kill a General"
W " Mike will get him out"
R " he'd better"
W " or what?"
R " don't play tough with me Willie, if you were that tough you'd be doing the job yourself"
W ( to secretary) Marianne " please escort Mr Ross out, he's leaving now"
Its only after Mike has long left and so too Ross , that Willie looks in detail at Cheever's description and details that Ross provided. They don't match the Bob Cheever that Willie knows.
C " so Ross must have got the idea of using SIS after realising that Mr Burnside wasn't going to be here?"
W " yes, he had no idea I had met Cheever three years ago here in London, before Ross's time. He used Cheever's name to put pressure on us to do the job"
C " in a word Caine, we've been suckered,"
W " I know sir"
C " my fault, I shouldn't have let D Ops go. Everything going ok?"
W " well everything is going fine, the papers passed inspection at Moscow and Kraznadow, Wallace should make contact in Sakumi on time. All we don't know is who he'll find there. It is also possible Sir that they're letting him through because he'll lead them to Cheever or whoever"
C " is that possible?"
W " can't be ruled out Sir"

 

[michaellevenson]

In Rhodes Burnside has been approached by a female saying she's from Greek intelligence, Christina Stratos, apparently on holiday. Burnside amused that the KGB are putting this girl up against him. Two can play at that game. He claims he is happily married, with two kids, ideal blackmail victim..After sharing a meal she suggests her room here in the hotel.
Christina " room 321. if you will give me five minutes to get ready"
B " I can give you the whole night.....comrade. I'm not married or have children. You've targeted the wrong man"
Meantime, in a twist it IS Cheever in the bolthole, injured, shot in the shoulder.
Mike pulls a gun as soon as he enters the flat,
M " hands up, who are you?"
Ch " Bob Cheever, I knew your Neil Burnside pretty well , we had a tough time together in Nam"
M " who is the CIA man in London?"
Ch " Geoff Ross"
M " description?"
Ch " mid thirties, a bit scruffy"
M " okay you're Cheever, so why would the CIA give me a set of bogus papers and passport"
Ch "the clothes you got will fit me, but the passport is of a different guy ,yes, so if you got through , OK, and I'll use my own passport, but if not and the Russians found the passport they'd sure as hell be looking for a guy who wasn't me. And when your capture came through they'd send Bill or Hank from across the border to get me in the confusion of your arrest"
M " hell I was expected to get caught"
Ch " well that's a little harsh, let's say your arrival is a bonus, it's nothing new giving one agent a dummy run to clear the path for another"
M " no wonder Ross wasn't best pleased I came in from the north"
Ch " the north? Perhaps you're right, maybe he was expecting you to get caught. We'll make it son, and I'll screw the company on your behalf"
A little Ross concocted scheme.
Mike and Cheever arrive by car at a roadblock, Russian soldiers approach. Mike hands them a brown envelope with the passports in. The soldiers start giggling and pass the envelope around laughing. Mike , in French apologises and hands another envelope over. The soldiers check the passports and wave them through.
Cheever opens the first envelope and sees porno pictures.
Ch " son you are a genius "
M " it was Sandbagger one's idea. How's the shoulder, will you be able to get by at the airport "
Ch " yeah, so long as they don't ask me to tap dance "
At HQ,
C " Ross mustn't get away with this Caine"
W " he won't sir, time to recall Mr Burnside sir?"
Burnside packing his suitcase happy to be going , leaving Peele and Wellingham for a further few days in Rhodes. No need to worry about the KGB, local SIS man Philip Skinner tells Burnside,
" we're in the clear they're going for the Dutch"
B " a KGB beauty had a go at me though"
S "surprised she had the chance with Christina keeping you busy"
B ( with a sinking feeling) " who is she?
S " Greek intelligence, she's on holiday"
B " I see". Burnside smiles ruefully at the missed opportunity.
At the poolside Burnside says his goodbyes to Peele and Wellingham, Christina Stratos brushes passed in a huff.
P " hello Neil, you've not been forcing your attention on her I hope"
B " as a matter of fact she spent the time talking about you"
P " me?"
B " yes sir , seems she prefers the more mature man"
Wellingham " I wonder if she has a sister?"
B " or a mother!"
8/10