deeweext
I always seen special forces like the elite, but after seeing season 1-3 I honestly think this either shows SAS in a very bad way, or that SAS is seriously nothing more than a bunch of bullies. In various episodes, they shot random civilians, in their own countries, even people who has nothing to do with the trouble, hell, even in third season someone surrenders, drop their weapon and raises their hand, they just shoot them. Not to mention the CONSTANT 'Rules? Naaaa' attitude. I REALLY liked the series, and really enjoyed the action, good variation in episodes, based on somewhat limited story and enough action to keep a high paste. But as far as this idealization that SAS is the worlds best, I hope this is as fictional and far away from the real SAS as possible, if not, I feel pity for them.
Mark Hale
The main "Character" in ITV's "Ultimate Force" is tough, purposeful and quietly-spoken SAS Sergeant Henno Garvie. Garvie is played by actor Ross Kemp who (since first appearing in the long-running BBC soap opera "EastEnders" as tough, purposeful and quietly-spoken hardman Grant Mitchell) has made a career out of, er, playing tough, purposeful, quietly-spoken characters. Given the chance, Kemp is a good actor. He happily sent himself (and his role in "Ultimate Force") up in the Ricky Gervais comedy series "Extras", probably because just for once he hadn't been typecast. It's a shame that he doesn't get the chance to play anything other than brooding monosyllabic hulks in almost every TV drama he appears in.Well, actors have to pay the bills just like the rest of us, don't they? Ross Kemp might dream of playing King Lear at the Old Vic, but in the meantime he has a mortgage, household expenses etc etc. That's probably why he's stuck with "Ultimate Force" for so long.I think that a lot of people view "Ultimate Force" in the "So Bad It's Good" category of TV entertainment, which is why it has such a high score on IMDb. Personally I think that the series takes itself too seriously to offer even that dubious honour. Technically inaccurate, populated by stock soap opera characters and predictably plotted, every episode of "Ultimate Force" is a waste of life. I have been sad enough to watch it a couple of times when I was too lazy to get off the sofa and it is (I have to admit) perfect soil for couch potatos.Ultimately, we are responsible for allowing rubbish like "Ultimate Force" to be made. One of its co-creators is "Chris Ryan", a pseudonym for an ex-SAS veteran of the 1991 Gulf War. "Ryan" was a member of the famous Bravo Two Zero patrol, the only one out of eight to avoid death or capture in a hellish 183 mile-long trek out of the Iraqi desert. To evade capture and survive alone for 5 days with minimal food and water, in one of the worst winters ever recorded, was enough to grant "Ryan" hero status both within the SAS and to the general public.Unfortunately, his survival against impressive odds didn't seem to be enough to secure a book deal or TV rights to his story, so "Ryan" went on to pepper his tale with firefights, hand-to-hand combat, the destruction of Iraqi fighting vehicles and the death of at least 200 Iraqi soldiers. Curiously though, he failed to mention any of this mayhem during his official debriefing. Perhaps he was so happy to be back in Hereford that he temporarily forgot about blowing up all those armoured personnel carriers, riddling all those Iraqi soldiers with M16 rounds, slitting a sentry's throat and killing another with his bare hands? Who knows? Anyway, the public expects soldiers to go out and blow things up, so that's what "Ryan" gave them in his book and the subsequent TV drama "The One That Got Away". He also used the plot device of internal conflict in his story, making allegations that one particular member of the Bravo Two Zero patrol not only compromised it but was generally unmotivated and unfit to serve in the SAS. "Ryan"'s version of events has caused this patrol member's family a lot of distress. The man in question died of exposure in the Iraqi desert after becoming separated from "Ryan", so he never had a chance to defend himself against some pretty strong accusations. Perhaps "Ryan" should have entitled his book "The One That Got Away With It"?Ultimately, the viewing public prefers its soldier heroes dipped in gore, armed to the teeth, loaded up with ready quips and capable of superhuman feats, pitted against enemies who may as well have "EVIL" tattooed on their foreheads. "Ultimate Force" presents us with such heroes, men who can take gunshot wounds with little more than a grimace and a shrug, whose accuracy with any given projectile weapon is truly amazing, along with the stock Black Hats (Former Soviets, Arabs, South Americans, South East Asians and rogue US/UK operatives) all cowardly, corrupt, vicious, venal and astonishingly poor shots. It's hardly a recommendation for Western Civilisation that "Ultimate Force" is so popular when it is so far removed from the reality of modern warfare. "Chris Ryan" may have sold out on his previous acts of courage to help create such a clichéd crock as "Ultimate Force" but it's the lazy, undemanding attitude of plebs like you and me that keep getting this pro-violence propaganda commissioned series after series. Henno Garvie and the rest of the "Ultimate Force" gang are about as far away from real heroes as it's possible to be. The next time I'm stuck on the sofa and "Ultimate Force" starts, I'm going to make a heroic effort to get up, turn off the TV and go and do the washing up.
Michael Dillon
This is surely the greatest show that i have ever seen, and most likely; the greatest you will ever see too! WOW.. Ross Kemp should win like a Nobel prize for this one! Or like a Grammy or something... Hammer fist! In the episode i was lucky enough to see of this grade A show, Ross went into Columbia (which was clearly filmed in england) with his superbly macho buddies (even the girl) and shot loads of people for seemingly no reason, Great! Then he hit some guy in the face and shouted Hammer fist! Fantastic... I don't understand this show fully, i believe the plot is just too deep for my comprehension, but the action makes up for the lack of understanding.
