I don't know if this is actually an active list--I haven't seen any
posts since I joined a week ago. I just wondered if everyone agreed
with me that Burnside was, fundamentally, heroic (if tragically so)--
sacrificing personal happiness and the comfort of an unburdened
conscience for his ideal of duty. I was also wondering if everyone
else enjoyed as much as I did the friendship/suspicion/manipulation
interaction between Burnside and his ex-father-in-law.
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I'm still out here... I think one of my reasons for liking the show was its
character interraction: Neil with the secretaries, Neil with the Sandbaggers,
Neil with Ross, Neil with his ex-father-in-law. As for your hero remark, I
would probably agree. His obsession for his job seemed to stem just as much
from his lack of a healthy personal life as as from his dedication to
political principles. Have a look at the list archives to see some great old
discussions on the morality of Neil's tactics. "Would you want to work for
him?" is a great thread.
Something I'm still dying to know is what happened to Burnside after the last
episode. Personally, I mean. After trying to bust up the talks, his career
seemed in the bin; but after Caine's misfortune in Malta, would Neil have
*felt* anything? Opinions, anyone?
tim keirnan