Ultimate Force

I really enjoyed the first couple of seasons of the show, but season 3 and 4 wandered off into a fantasy land. The action seemed to be cartoon-like. It was also bizarre that season 4 seemed to focus on Americans as bumbling fools and/or untrustworthy enemies. Perhaps it was the zeitgeist of the day, or more likely a desperate attempt to salvage a very limited show that had run out of ideas. At any rate, it didn't save the show from cancellation. The other problem probably facing the show was that political correctness in the UK doesn't really allow for "bad guy profiling," so they needed to pick an enemy that isn't going to sue them or protest in the streets. So that leaves out the various Muslim nations, North Korea, Japan, the French (one supposes) and pretty much leaves the good old US of A.

The effort to salvage the show also led the producers to ever bigger stunts of daring do, ultimately requiring some pretty unconvincing Green Screen effects. Prior to season 4 the show was respectable because the actors did a pretty decent job of moving and coordinating tactically

I especially found humor in the episode where Red Team was on joint ops with the Green Berets. The Green Berets were portrayed as clueless and clumsy victims of friendly fire, who were badly in need of saving by the SAS. Being a UK show, I have no qualm with Red Team always being portrayed as the cool kids in every episode. On the other hand, if the show's creators actually felt confident then they wouldn't have to go that way, would they?

Make no mistake, the badged members of SAS are awesome, but there are other awesome special-operators out there as well. No sense making a spitting contest out of the question of superiority. All one big happy family.

Dealing with the lives and missions of a small group of soldiers in Britain's most elite Army unit, the SAS, this is definitely one of the best British action / drama series for years. Although there's a definite nod towards `political correctness' in that this fictional SAS unit has a multi-ethnic make-up, plus a female member (in the real world, no women serve in the SAS), the series on the whole succeeds in striking the perfect balance between strong storylines, gritty realism, exciting action scenes, personal drama and the occasional touch of humor. The quality of the stories is also consistently good, and so far (after two series of six episodes each) I'd say that there hasn't been one single `weak' episode. Only perhaps the odd episode that's been `less good' than the others.

But last night – after watching the finale of Series 2 – I was left disappointed. Now I've never served in the military so I don't pretend to be an expert on these matters, but as a layman I've always thought that one of the series' main strengths is that it seems pretty realistic with regard to its portrayal of Army life and the kind of missions that UK special forces troops perhaps get sent on in real life etc. etc. However, the end of last night's episode left something of a bitter aftertaste, simply because the series' main character, Sergeant `Henno' Garvie (ably played by Ross Kemp of `Eastenders' fame) gunned down in cold blood his troop CO, Captain McElwaine, for no other reason than the latter had been shagging the wife of one of his men. The killing was done in cold blood and using a captured AK47 rather than Henno's own weapon to make it appear that the Captain had been killed by enemy fire – thus instantly transforming the Henno character into nothing more that a cold-blooded murderer. True, soldiers are trained to kill without hesitation if necessary. But I find it inconceivable that - given the (on the grand scale of things) relatively trivial nature of the Captain's `offence' - these would be the actions of an experienced, senior NCO in Britain's most elite military unit. And I found the actions of the rest of the squad (including their Colonel, who they'd just freed in a daring rescue mission) almost equally bizarre – namely dumping the (admittedly unpopular) dead Captain's body in a freezer full of beer and cracking jokes over it. Unbelievable. I hope that this is not the end of the series and that it will be back. Firstly because that last night's closing scenes notwithstanding, it's been such a great show up to now and secondly it would be a pity to end the whole thing on such a negative note – there definitely needs to be some character redemption!! Still – it's great that all six episodes of Series 1 are now available to buy on DVD, because this series is a must for anyone who enjoys hard-hitting action and / or military drama that pulls no punches.

The series was actually based on the books by Chris Ryan, who has acted as a story consultant for the whole series, and has actually appeared in a few episodes. Truth be told we don't really know what the SAS do or where they are, but I would guess that Chris Ryan has a pretty good idea!

The first episode was tricky, trying to establish new characters in a series is never easy. But I felt that as the series progressed it settled down into a good solid drama, and I'm very pleased to hear that a second series has been commissioned.

Jamie Draven especially has been one to watch - he is consistently excellent and certainly tones down the 'Kemp Effect' considerably. Actually, far from being a star vehicle for Kemp, the original screenplays were written from the persepctive of Jamie Draven's character, Kemp was shoehorned in as a later addition.

On the whole I think it is an excellent ensemble cast, Tony Curran brings a hard, gritty edge to his character, whilst Elliot Cowan provides a lot of the laughs. I'm certainly looking forward to series 2 with some relish!

Dramatic licence has been taken with a capital D (and L) here, despite the consultant on the series being Chris Ryan, formerly of the SAS. It does feel as though the production opted out of reality and instead borrowed heavily from a number of previous action films and series, adding the voguish cliches of multi-ethnic troops, tough-talking female and 'new man' sentiments.

The reviews have almost universally criticised the writing and the on-screen violence. I can't argue with the former, despite being a fan of Rob Heyland since the excellent 'Between the Lines'. Rob: integrate your jokes and make them feasible references for young men in their twenties, please! I'd say the violence is not gratuitously explicit, considering it's a series about the death-or-glory boys, but to show a character able to walk, talk and perform physical tasks after extreme torture is a little unbelievable and, dare I say it, irresponsible.

Notwithstanding, I watched it. As a vehicle for Ross Kemp it is perfect, and the other central cast members are a talented - and yes, very attractive - ensemble of actors. It was also refreshing in a world awash with soaps and so-called relationship dramas to focus on something plot-driven. I've heard a rumour it's been recommissioned, so it would seem that I and a few million others (mostly young men, according to the ratings demographic) aren't wrong. Here's hoping the next series ups the credibility and keeps the pace. After all, Who Dares Wins, eh?

This is probably the most entertaining drama series that has been on tv for a long while. The important thing to remember with it though, is that it is supposed to be entertaining and not a documentary, something that many people seem to have missed when reviewing it, therefore some of the storylines are going to be a bit far fetched and some characters will not seem realistic. It is the mix of characters though that make the programme so great. Ross Kemp is hard as nails and to quote Colonel Aidan Dempsey (Miles Anderson) is "the best soldier, in the best regiment in the best army in the world". Ricky Mann (Danny Sapani) is the comedian in the troop and Pete Twamley (Tony Curran) is the archetypal lary scotsman. All of the other characters add their own ingredients to the recipe to create the best dinner you will ever eat. Buy the first series boxset, you'll love it you will, you'll love it.