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mark-saxby
Reviews
The Shield (2002)
Great TV
I rate this as one of the absolutely best programmes on TV.
It seems it's a bit strong for most US tastes, perhaps we like things grittier in the UK, but this is a series that leaves me thinking at the end.
Vic's a bad cop, but he's a great cop, the character (and those around him) are all incredibly flawed, but totally credible and the whole look, feel, writing and acting in the series is of the highest level.
This is, without doubt, one of the most thought provoking and best produced TV series ever to come out of the US - It's just a shame so few people get to watch it.
The Unit (2006)
Not for the purist, maybe, but...
A previous review, from a former serviceman, said it was much harder to write about the military than cops, but I suspect he's never been a cop...
To a civy, this has a couple of things right about it that that poster (who I can understand might be miffed by incorrect details), seems to have ignored.
First off, 24 proved that lots of people kind of like tech speak. From my contact with forces people, they DO talk in acronyms a lot (As a computer industry worker, meaningless acronyms don't impress me much...).
Secondly, it's exciting. In the same way that real police work is 99% slow methodical sifting of evidence and cross checking, the real military world (even of special forces) would probably bore the average viewer to tears. Hours and hours of waiting for something to happen and then more hours of stealthy evasion wouldn't work in a 1 hour slot.
Thirdly, I think it manages the men out defending freedom/families at home worrying and waiting balance extremely well. The women aren't weak and foolish (again, my limited experience of military families suggests the women often get to be pretty self-reliant), but they have the same frailties and fears anyone might.
Sure, timelines and tactics are compressed or circumvented to get a storyline into a 50 minute programme and there are some fabrications to help the stories along (everyone living nearby, the CO doing the dirty with one of his men's wife - although I'm sure it's happened), but it deals with the action in an exciting and convincing way (for the casual viewer - A bit like a Tom Clancy novel reads), whilst attempting to deal with the impact of these things on people's lives.
The mil-sim and former military purists might not like it, but to the average viewer, it's (like 24 or The Shield) quality TV entertainment that leaves you thinking, at least a little, when it's over.
The Outsiders (2006)
Dreadful
Well, the paper said it would be fun, but it was, frankly, rubbish.
I'd agree Anna Madeley was the best thing in it, a very watchable woman (look out for her in the upcoming Mrs Beeton drama), but this was drivel (and I quite like fluff TV on the whole).
The 'plot' didn't make much sense, they shoehorned in every recent, clichéd plot device and the continuity was laughable - In fact, not continuity in errors, but stupid plot development. After Erica had been sent to retrieve Nathan from his hideout, we see her arrive, for her first day at the secret hideout (Obviously a few Man From Uncle DVDs still in Blockbuster's bargain bin...). She's given a book in Serbo Croat to translate, but a second later she's filing AND she knows how the filing system works...
God preserve us from a series, even if it would mean we'd see more of the lovely Ms Madeley...