Soldier Soldier

A very good representation of Army life, obviously well researched. I feel all characters are well represented with good actors playing appropriate characters. Because it is a series you can watch as much or little or as much as you like but i find you can't stop watching all of it, and you will return for more. Perhaps I'm biased because I watched the original series on TV. I find that despite being made in 1991 none of the series is outdated (apart from the slothing :-) ) The story lines are thought provoking, for example in the first episode you see an Irish Lady who comments about the British Soldiers being sick of Ireland with a reply saying that they only do six months and you should try having two sons on opposite sides of the divide. It portrays family life very well not just the highs but the low points also. It lets you make your own mind up about army life. COming from a military family I feel Lucy Gannon has it spot on.

I enjoyed this series very much! It had it all - drama and fun! The character were not at all stupid and the story line were good to very good... It was in fact even more than 'just showing army life' it was about people living together - having their good and bad moments. No character was totally evil and no character was totally good. They were just humans making the best of it for themselves - often dealing with difficult situations.

Although it was about the army (British army) - it was never an over the top and it never made them look bigger than live. It were - as we call them overhere - Tommies soldiering on... all right, sometimes they made a muddle of it. But they did their best and that resulted often in a good outcome! It also didn't shy away of the 'darker side' of army life. It wasn't afraid to deal with issues of soldiers who couldn't deal with the stress of their job. And that made a nice balance. But what I loved most about it was 'it's British-ness' - their so typical sense of humor to tackle difficult things, their great feeling of reality, being able to look at themselves in a realistic way often amiss in other army series/movies. And to be honest about themselves. And this made this series enjoyable to watch - even if you were non-British living on the otherside of the 'pond' as it were! My ancestors lived for four years with the British army - in the mud and dirt of Flanders Fields - and the stories they told us the younger ones co inside with the way this series shows British soldiers. I can understand that the UK is proud of them - despite they are not perfect! Or perhaps just because of that!?! If you ever come across this series on video or DVD - do watch it! I'm sure you will have many hours of pleasure watching them dealing with day to day life in the army...

"Soldier, Soldier" is the story of Company A of the United Kingdom's regiment, the "King's Fusiliers". The story revolves around a small group of men and their wives in the regiment. We have Sgt. Wilton who is married to Joy. Joy has adjusted to Army life and taken on the job of creating activities for the wives and children of the regiment, so they won't feel isolated from their husbands and fathers. Then there is Corporal Garvey, who is lonely for a wife. He develops a relationship with Corporal Nancy Thorpe, who is a member of the military police. The relationship was doomed from the start. Both want to advance in the military, but Garvey wants what Wilton has, a stable family with a wife and children. Nancy would be happy to give these things to Garvey, but not in the middle of her sargents training. The relationship of Fusilier Dave Tucker and his wife Donna is very stormy. Both were born and raised in Newcastle. Both had troubled childhoods. Tucker joined the army to get away from the poverty. In the end, the Army became his only family. Donna, his wife, was a "party girl". When she saw Tucker flash his new Army pay, she set her eyes for him. He fell in love, she didn't. From that point, she hated Army life. Through out his troubled Army life, Tucker fought to stay in, but Donna did everything she could to try to get him out. After finding Donna with another man, Tucker went "Absent Without Leave" and faced a court martial. Donna was ecstatic, but when he was sentenced to 6 months detention instead of being kicked out, she left him. After hitch-hiking several rides back to Newcastle, Donna realized she had no where to go. She returned to the regiment and with the help of Joy Wilton learned to adapt, though it was still a rough road. The entire series is filled with wonderful and diverse characters; some the viewer learn to love, ie: Col. Dan Fortune and Major Tom Cadmean. Others; like Capt. Davison; the viewer will learn to hate.

This is wonderful series and I recommend it to everyone who wants strong acting and great stories.

I have never served in the Army. However, a good friend of mine was an NCO in the army and he tells me that this series was the most accurate portrayal of army life he had ever seen. I trust his word entirely.

The series was good. There were not many over the top battles or anything like that in the series. There was an occasional foray into the battle zone but most of the episodes dealt with the officers personal lives, their relationships and their feelings about modern army life. Other episodes featured truly entertaining training exercises. There were a fair few moral dilemmas in the series as well. In season 2 a character by the name of Major Cochrane was accused of assault whilst in Hong Kong. The episode dealt with his feelings towards the accusation and his attempts to sort out the mess he was in.

There were some good episodes full of action. In another season 2 episode Lieutenant Colonel Fortune was involved in a helicopter crash and that episode was entertaining. Some of the episodes featuring action were a little bit over the top but enjoyable all the same.

The actors did a good job throughout this series. Miles Anderson did a good job as Lt. Col. Fortune in the first and second series and he was one of my favourite characters in the whole series. A lot of the other actors and actresses did a good job and were very convincing in their roles.

Highly recommended. I wish this series was still going on.

Speaking from experience, I find that the show touches both the heart as well as the mind-set of military life. The characterization is fantastic, if not somewhat stereo-type but nonetheless good. Highly recommended.