Ultimate Force

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?

I'm not normally a fan of these SAS action dramas as there are far too many that have been poorly done......prime example...Strike Back. Here, however, we have almost believable characters and although there are a few stereotypes the writers have kept it pretty simple and avoided the usual cheap-n-easy ones. The women, unfortunately for most of these action shows, are usually portrayed as either over-the-top GUNG HO super-women that still have their perfect hair and makeup and look FABULOUS in Khaki. The women in this show are a little more down to earth. Another unwanted ( by me at least ) pitfall is the 'Love-connection' part of every action show that cannot but interfere with the essential story-line. Here they have minimized it so we don't have to be distracted by a scene in the bedroom every 15 minutes of action. We KNOW it exists in real life but just like cooking breakfast, we don't necessarily want to see it every second scene. I'm not normally a fan of Ross Kemp and true to form he's a little over the top and I would have preferred another actor taking the lead...not to mention that he's DECIDEDLY CHUNKY to be portraying an active SAS sergeant but he does the job well enough to make it almost believable. The strength of the show, however, for me, is the writing. Each episode is pretty much self-contained and although related to previous ones is on it's own. Some episodes are better than others naturally but for the most part they are both entertaining AND believable. Very watchable and I recommend it.

Just finsished watching the final episode of the second series. Set in an overseas country two things bother me... 1 The lead charecter kills his officer without a moments hesitation -in cold blood- for reasons that are self explanitory..But the other characters don't seem in the slightest bit bothered or concerned how his death might have happened. 2. The helicopters that arrive to collect them after their mission - from a locally based operation - have a 'G' registration - this is a UK registration for those not in the know.

Apart from this it's great fun and full of action that is enjoyable to watch.

Look forward to the third series.

We need a series like this. It does exactly what is says on the tin. Most of the situations are unbelievable but what do you expect from a show about the SAS? The production values are OK and the action is exciting without being silly (compared to made for TV American action movies). There are some stock characters but the script isn't laughable and the actors seem to care about what they are doing. As the new team member Jamie Draven portrays the right amount of innocence and brings a sense of duty to his role; his interactions with the rest of the cast are well thought out; you can see some chemistry between him and Alex Reid and I hope this is fleshed out in the next series. Although billed as such I never found Ross Kemp to be the star of the show and at times we aren't even supposed to like him; I am glad character is written this way and that his obvious mental scars dictate the person he is. This is in stark contrast to badly written imported shows where we are expected to believe that hardened battle veterans who are emotionally scarred and have shattered private lives are really nice guys who never do any thing wrong.

Some episodes are better than others; I actually thought the first episode was fairly weak but the second with the pressure group sniper story was excellent and allowed us to see flashes of how good the series could be.

I only got to see the first episode of the second series which took place on board a ship; the standout fight scene being that in the belly of the ship between Jamie Draven and the legionnaire, it was a tough no nonsense scrap and as exciting as the fight in the Bourne Identity.

Looking forward to the DVD.

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!