> I think the thing which we find most fascinating about the Sandbaggers
> is watching an intelligent and complex man essentially disintegrate under
> intense pressure. For all of you fans of UKish tv, it's a lot like
> watching Avon go crazy in Blake's 7, slowly becoming more and more
> paranoid and out of touch with reality.
I can't agree that either of the characters you mentioned was ever crazy
or disintegrated. Under pressure, yes, obsessed sometimes, and I'd
be the first to say that Burnside was a fanatic, a term that perhaps
I alone wouldn't even apply to Blake. To me, though, Burnside wanted
to accomplish A. It got increasingly more difficult to accomplish A,
so he cut corners, took risks, and tried to accomplish as much as he
did before with less resources. I'd just call him desperate at the
end because he's faced with what he perceives as a looming prospect of
failure. Failure isn't disintegration or craziness, though.
> Neil Burnside is one of the most fascinating characters in the media,
No argument there!
> We always wonder why American tv can't get the same quality of scripts
> and actors that UKish tv gets? (We have our own theories)
To paraphrase James T. Kirk, an archetype of American TV, the
American mindset doesn't believe in the no-win scenario. The
British mindset isn't burdened with that particular illusion and
their television reflects it.
-Micky