For a series on 22 Regiment.... its quite good. Yet it has its flaws.
Anyone who has read books by Ryan, McNab, Horsefall (all aliases) and of coarse the legends of 'Paddy' Blair Maine, De le Billiere will enjoy it. Warning, don't expect too much! Firstly some of the technical stuff has been changed for the obvious reason that certain strategic data cannot be revealed on television. Chris Ryan has done a good job as technical adviser and protected the essentially secret and surprise tactics. Anyone who has followed the history of the Regiment or has served know what I mean.
The good thing is, there's no grandiose bravado and over pepped up scenes like in most movies about 'other' special forces...... that make it look like Batman and Robin are kitting up to save the world. The other good thing is, no one on this series is 'invincible' or comes across as a 'super-soldier'..... the directors got one thing right which most others don't get.... special assignment combat troops are not 'The Terminator'. they are flesh and blood, make mistakes, rely on each other..... in short, ordinary men, in extraordinary circumstances, performing the necessary. To those of you who didn't get that, well go watch "The Guns of Navarone" very carefully again.
One thing that most people should take from this series is what it shows in certain episodes. People are over eager to condemn good soldiers as senseless butchers who 'love to kill'. This may be true in some instances, but that's a limited exception. They do what they do because they're trained for it. Guys forgive me for the comparison but, people love Dobermans and rothweilers......despite the fact that they can rip a man apart. yet you have them as guard dogs. Same with special troops. We need them We can afford to condemn them in a self-righteous manner when the goings good. When we're the hostages, we thank God for having men more brutal and lethal that the terrorist. This comes out in the episode with the tribunal. Its easy to talk technicalities when you're safe and not the one looking down the wrong end of a barrel. Who dares wins, yet who hesitates, dies.
As for the characters, its only to be expected that they'll be like this, after all this is a series, not a documentary. So one may have to ignore the mushy stuff and the clichéd character portrayals etc... to comment on the actors would be fruitless.... they did the best job they could so live with it...
Although the traditional aspect of the Regiment were brought out, the close knit bond, closing off your emotions to death so that the job gets done, the difference between officers who look out for their men and the old school 'Ruperts', the devil's in the nightmares, the fear of going 'US' or 'unserviceable', the strain on the home front. These were the real aspects that were brought out. The romantic affairs etc....cest la vie.
One particularly fascinating scene was when the men line up and salute the out-going officer. That whole scene conveys so much as to what the heart of the SAS is about. Now that is the act of gentlemen soldiers. Scenes like that, speak more for the Regiment than the whole series itself.
The plots may seem unbelievable but some of them are very real situations which have come up during the history of the Regiment. The plots borrow heavily from Ryan's books, who in turn has taken the situations from past campaignes. Notice the lack of 'let's stop dooms-day' plots. That's because... they rarely happen. Hostage situations, airline hijacks, embassy sieges, and the various black-ops are part of the Regiments 'legends'.
The woman in the SAS was a nice idea but I wonder how many women can tackle the Brecan Beacons? If there are any, then perhaps 22 should reconsider because 'She dared, she should win'. And speaking of the Beacons... why weren't they shown in the episodes about selections?
In conclusion, it is a shame that the series was limited to the exploits of Red troop. It would have been nice to see both Red and Blue in action together or better still, to see more action from A B or D squadron. I'd love to see "Land of Fire" and "The Watchman" made into a movie! So.... when are they going to do that?
Cheers Gentlemen!!!
Anyone who has read books by Ryan, McNab, Horsefall (all aliases) and of coarse the legends of 'Paddy' Blair Maine, De le Billiere will enjoy it. Warning, don't expect too much! Firstly some of the technical stuff has been changed for the obvious reason that certain strategic data cannot be revealed on television. Chris Ryan has done a good job as technical adviser and protected the essentially secret and surprise tactics. Anyone who has followed the history of the Regiment or has served know what I mean.
The good thing is, there's no grandiose bravado and over pepped up scenes like in most movies about 'other' special forces...... that make it look like Batman and Robin are kitting up to save the world. The other good thing is, no one on this series is 'invincible' or comes across as a 'super-soldier'..... the directors got one thing right which most others don't get.... special assignment combat troops are not 'The Terminator'. they are flesh and blood, make mistakes, rely on each other..... in short, ordinary men, in extraordinary circumstances, performing the necessary. To those of you who didn't get that, well go watch "The Guns of Navarone" very carefully again.
One thing that most people should take from this series is what it shows in certain episodes. People are over eager to condemn good soldiers as senseless butchers who 'love to kill'. This may be true in some instances, but that's a limited exception. They do what they do because they're trained for it. Guys forgive me for the comparison but, people love Dobermans and rothweilers......despite the fact that they can rip a man apart. yet you have them as guard dogs. Same with special troops. We need them We can afford to condemn them in a self-righteous manner when the goings good. When we're the hostages, we thank God for having men more brutal and lethal that the terrorist. This comes out in the episode with the tribunal. Its easy to talk technicalities when you're safe and not the one looking down the wrong end of a barrel. Who dares wins, yet who hesitates, dies.
As for the characters, its only to be expected that they'll be like this, after all this is a series, not a documentary. So one may have to ignore the mushy stuff and the clichéd character portrayals etc... to comment on the actors would be fruitless.... they did the best job they could so live with it...
Although the traditional aspect of the Regiment were brought out, the close knit bond, closing off your emotions to death so that the job gets done, the difference between officers who look out for their men and the old school 'Ruperts', the devil's in the nightmares, the fear of going 'US' or 'unserviceable', the strain on the home front. These were the real aspects that were brought out. The romantic affairs etc....cest la vie.
One particularly fascinating scene was when the men line up and salute the out-going officer. That whole scene conveys so much as to what the heart of the SAS is about. Now that is the act of gentlemen soldiers. Scenes like that, speak more for the Regiment than the whole series itself.
The plots may seem unbelievable but some of them are very real situations which have come up during the history of the Regiment. The plots borrow heavily from Ryan's books, who in turn has taken the situations from past campaignes. Notice the lack of 'let's stop dooms-day' plots. That's because... they rarely happen. Hostage situations, airline hijacks, embassy sieges, and the various black-ops are part of the Regiments 'legends'.
The woman in the SAS was a nice idea but I wonder how many women can tackle the Brecan Beacons? If there are any, then perhaps 22 should reconsider because 'She dared, she should win'. And speaking of the Beacons... why weren't they shown in the episodes about selections?
In conclusion, it is a shame that the series was limited to the exploits of Red troop. It would have been nice to see both Red and Blue in action together or better still, to see more action from A B or D squadron. I'd love to see "Land of Fire" and "The Watchman" made into a movie! So.... when are they going to do that?
Cheers Gentlemen!!!