"Ultimate Force" (2002) TV series 2002-2006

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Creators:

Rob Heyland
Chris Ryan

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

16 September 2002 (UK)

Genre:

Action | War

Plot:

This action adventure series follows the exploits of Sergeant Henno Garvie and his colleagues who make up Red Troop...

Plot Keywords:

SAS | SAS Drama | Soldier | Counter Terrorism | Army

Cast

Ross Kemp	...	SSgt. Henry 'Henno' Garvie / ... (21 episodes, 2002-2006)
Miles Anderson	...	Col. Aidan Dempsey / ... (10 episodes, 2002-2006)
Jamie Draven	...	Cpl. Jamie Dow (10 episodes, 2002-2003)
Christopher Fox	...	Cpl. Louis Hoffman / ... (9 episodes, 2003-2006)

Runtime:

49 min (11 episodes) (seasons 1-2) | 70 min (4 episodes) (season 3) | 74 min (pilot episode)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:15 | Australia:MA | Australia:M (some episodes)

Filming Locations:

Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK

Company:

Bentley Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: In the last episode of the second season, where the team have to go into a former Russian Republic to rescue Colonel Dempsey and a minister, Caroline tells the boys to load up the Land Rover and they are shown putting their gear into a Land Rover Discovery. Later when she and Jamie are driving into the country, they are driving a Chrysler Jeep Cherokee.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Cpl. Ricky Mann: They love it, they do. They love it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Extras: Ross Kemp (#1.2)" (2005)

Does exactly what it says on the tin.

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.