The Fourth Arm

Classic BBC series from 1983 which over 12 episodes details the recruitment, training and ultimate fate of a group of volunteers for a commando mission in German-occupied France. I didn't expect my interest to be sustained, but many of the characters are likeable and one could not help become concerned for their fates. The mission itself is less interesting, probably because the Germans involved are not plausible characters by comparison, and their decisions suffer from some bad writing to move the plot to a conclusion.

All of the performances are fine, with special mention for Paul Shelley and Neil Stacey as the officers involved, and Susan Kyd, Angela Cheyne and Carole Nimmons as the female volunteers. A word too for Eve Polycarpou, as Portalis, whose fate demonstrates much of the horror of it all.

All in all, The Fouth Arm is in the best tradition of BBC wartime drama like Secret Army and Colditz - it's narrative seems slow-burning because it's a different kind of story-telling from a different era, but it is not any the less thrilling for that. Recommended.

Good to see the role of "Major Bradley" (from Secret Army) getting a second chance at more screen time in The Fourth Arm.

The show itself is allright - but many things could have been much better...there's too much episodes for it's own sake.

It would make a great 3 episode remake.