>>>
Actually The Anna Weisman episode was out of character for Burnside.
That
was the episode written by an "outsider" and probally was the proof
to the
producers that they couldn't continue the series without MacKintosh
and
keep up the same quality. It was a good episode and all, but I would
have
to say that was out of character for Burnside. One can rationalize
and say
that in this case or in that situation Burnside could be more
compasionit.
As well as saying he was doing it more out of loyalty to Weisman as
well
as being able to damage the Soviet Union, than human rights. But
still it
was a bit of a stretch for the character so it felt out of place
compared
to the rest of the episodes.
>>>
I disagree. As I remember, Burnside saw the human rights
issue as a "valuable weapon" in the fight against the
Soviets. He was challenged on this several times
throughout the ep (by people who thought he was going
soft, or whatever), and he maintained this position
throughout. I don't think he showed any more compassion
or loyalty for Anna than he had toward other characters in
the series -- and he displayed no sympathy for the "human
rights" issue itself.
What put this episode out of place, relative to the series,
was the writer's obvious empathy toward the Anna
Wiseman character and her struggle. Putting her radio
speech over the show's closing theme was the most
extreme example of this.
Please keep in mind that I haven't seen this episode in a
while, so I'm working from my not-very-good memory.
Mark S. Long