
grantss
Joined Nov 2003
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grantss's rating
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grantss's rating
Season 1 of SAS Rogue Heroes was fantastic: a wonderful mix of history and action, aided by a rock soundtrack and modern dialogue. Despite all the modern day aspects, other anachronisms and general style-for-effect it worked brilliantly, the plot was quite tight and showed well the helter-skelter world of battle and the formation of the SAS.
Season 2, on the other hand, is cartoonish. It abandons any pretence of substance, historic accuracy or basic plausibility and goes all-out on style-for-effect and extremeness. I know this series is not meant to be 100% historically accurate but the writers could at least make it realistic. Basic military things are messed up, things that 5 minutes of research could easily have rectified.
The over-the-top behaviour of the SAS is amped to the max in the interests of making them out to be undisciplined, insubordinate, loutish rebels.
Even the production values suffer: so much fake-looking fake equipment.
The end result is a clumsy, haphazard, cliché-filled plot that is gung ho and cartoonish in the extreme.
I'm not sure I'll be back for Season 3.
Season 2, on the other hand, is cartoonish. It abandons any pretence of substance, historic accuracy or basic plausibility and goes all-out on style-for-effect and extremeness. I know this series is not meant to be 100% historically accurate but the writers could at least make it realistic. Basic military things are messed up, things that 5 minutes of research could easily have rectified.
The over-the-top behaviour of the SAS is amped to the max in the interests of making them out to be undisciplined, insubordinate, loutish rebels.
Even the production values suffer: so much fake-looking fake equipment.
The end result is a clumsy, haphazard, cliché-filled plot that is gung ho and cartoonish in the extreme.
I'm not sure I'll be back for Season 3.
Mid-1943. The Allies have driven the Axis out of North Africa and are now planning their next move - the invasion of Axis-held Europe. With the desert war over it appears that the SAS no longer has a use, prompting the top brass to consider disbanding the unit. The unit's predicament is not helped by their commander, Paddy Mayne's, unruly behaviour. Help comes from an unexpected source.
Season 1 of SAS Rogue Heroes was fantastic: a wonderful mix of history and action, aided by a rock soundtrack and modern dialogue. Despite all the modern day aspects, other anachronisms and general style-for-effect it worked brilliantly, the plot was quite tight and showed well the helter-skelter world of battle and the formation of the SAS.
Season 2 tries to start in the same vein but Episode 1 overdoes the unruliness and indiscipline, trying to be edgy and extreme just for the sake of it, resulting in a plot that is implausible and clumsy - far from tight. It is watchable but disappointing after what came before.
Here's hoping that in subsequent episodes the tone and quality settle down to what we had in S1, rather than the current extremeness for the sake of extremeness.
Season 1 of SAS Rogue Heroes was fantastic: a wonderful mix of history and action, aided by a rock soundtrack and modern dialogue. Despite all the modern day aspects, other anachronisms and general style-for-effect it worked brilliantly, the plot was quite tight and showed well the helter-skelter world of battle and the formation of the SAS.
Season 2 tries to start in the same vein but Episode 1 overdoes the unruliness and indiscipline, trying to be edgy and extreme just for the sake of it, resulting in a plot that is implausible and clumsy - far from tight. It is watchable but disappointing after what came before.
Here's hoping that in subsequent episodes the tone and quality settle down to what we had in S1, rather than the current extremeness for the sake of extremeness.
There's always a worry with later seasons of TV shows that this season will be the season too far, that the show should have quite while it was ahead instead of lasting another season even after the good writing had dried up.
No such concerns with Slow Horses, however.
If I had any fears of the quality dropping off from this season they were quickly allayed within the first two episodes. The show is as good as ever: sharp, intelligent plot, solid direction and production, fantastic performances.
The final episode does feel slightly rushed though, like two episodes of plot development were crammed into one, but that would be the only negative.
No such concerns with Slow Horses, however.
If I had any fears of the quality dropping off from this season they were quickly allayed within the first two episodes. The show is as good as ever: sharp, intelligent plot, solid direction and production, fantastic performances.
The final episode does feel slightly rushed though, like two episodes of plot development were crammed into one, but that would be the only negative.