Ultimate Force (2002–2006)

This action adventure series follows the exploits of Sergeant Henno Garvie and his colleagues who make up Red Troop, a crack SAS team. Stopping the release of a lethal anthrax mutation, ... See full summary »

Creators:

Rob Heyland, Chris Ryan

Stars:

Ross Kemp, Miles Anderson, Jamie Draven

Cast

Series cast summary:
Ross Kemp	...	SSgt. Henry 'Henno' Garvie (21 episodes, 2002-2006)
Miles Anderson	...	Col. Aidan Dempsey (13 episodes, 2002-2006)
Jamie Draven	...	Cpl. Jamie Dow (12 episodes, 2002-2003)
Christopher Fox	...	Louis Hoffman (11 episodes, 2002-2006)
Danny Sapani	...	Cpl. Ricky Mann (10 episodes, 2002-2005)
Alex Reid	...	Capt. Caroline Walshe (9 episodes, 2002-2003)

Storyline

This action adventure series follows the exploits of Sergeant Henno Garvie and his colleagues who make up Red Troop, a crack SAS team. Stopping the release of a lethal anthrax mutation, infiltrating an anti-capitalist group set on assassination and a life-or-death bank siege are among the missions facing the troopers as they put their lives on the line at the sharp end of Britain's most elite fighting force. Henno's reputation is at stake when an operation goes wrong in the complex political jigsaw of Northern Ireland. There is a tragedy on a combat survival weekend and the team find their skills, stamina and close-knit bond pushed to the limit when they are sent to hunt out a suspected war criminal in Bosnia.

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Plot Keywords:

sas | sas drama | soldier | counter terrorism | army | 

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Genres:

Action | War

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 September 2002 (UK)

Also Known As:

Nepokolebljivi

Filming Locations:

Hereford, Herefordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bentley Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

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.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Referenced in Extras: Ross Kemp (2005)

User Reviews

Great Show until Season 3

I really enjoyed the first couple of seasons of the show, but season 3 and 4 wandered off into a fantasy land. The action seemed to be cartoon-like. It was also bizarre that season 4 seemed to focus on Americans as bumbling fools and/or untrustworthy enemies. Perhaps it was the zeitgeist of the day, or more likely a desperate attempt to salvage a very limited show that had run out of ideas. At any rate, it didn't save the show from cancellation. The other problem probably facing the show was that political correctness in the UK doesn't really allow for "bad guy profiling," so they needed to pick an enemy that isn't going to sue them or protest in the streets. So that leaves out the various Muslim nations, North Korea, Japan, the French (one supposes) and pretty much leaves the good old US of A.

The effort to salvage the show also led the producers to ever bigger stunts of daring do, ultimately requiring some pretty unconvincing Green Screen effects. Prior to season 4 the show was respectable because the actors did a pretty decent job of moving and coordinating tactically

I especially found humor in the episode where Red Team was on joint ops with the Green Berets. The Green Berets were portrayed as clueless and clumsy victims of friendly fire, who were badly in need of saving by the SAS. Being a UK show, I have no qualm with Red Team always being portrayed as the cool kids in every episode. On the other hand, if the show's creators actually felt confident then they wouldn't have to go that way, would they?

Make no mistake, the badged members of SAS are awesome, but there are other awesome special-operators out there as well. No sense making a spitting contest out of the question of superiority. All one big happy family.