User Reviews

Had zero expectations going in. After all, British TV is known to be proactively non-violent and politically correct, a land where knives (yet alone guns!) are the root of all evil, and every show has to showcase at least one mixed-race or same-gender couple. And instead found a solid show with great writing, great scripts, and genuine suspense.

Dramatic licence has been taken with a capital D (and L) here, despite the consultant on the series being Chris Ryan, formerly of the SAS. It does feel as though the production opted out of reality and instead borrowed heavily from a number of previous action films and series, adding the voguish cliches of multi-ethnic troops, tough-talking female and 'new man' sentiments.

The reviews have almost universally criticised the writing and the on-screen violence. I can't argue with the former, despite being a fan of Rob Heyland since the excellent 'Between the Lines'. Rob: integrate your jokes and make them feasible references for young men in their twenties, please! I'd say the violence is not gratuitously explicit, considering it's a series about the death-or-glory boys, but to show a character able to walk, talk and perform physical tasks after extreme torture is a little unbelievable and, dare I say it, irresponsible.

Notwithstanding, I watched it. As a vehicle for Ross Kemp it is perfect, and the other central cast members are a talented - and yes, very attractive - ensemble of actors. It was also refreshing in a world awash with soaps and so-called relationship dramas to focus on something plot-driven. I've heard a rumour it's been recommissioned, so it would seem that I and a few million others (mostly young men, according to the ratings demographic) aren't wrong. Here's hoping the next series ups the credibility and keeps the pace. After all, Who Dares Wins, eh?

Like the summary says.. WOW!

It's about a young guy, Jamie Dow who started out as a thief stealing cars from the age of 12 to 18. When sentenced, the judge was told that he'd just been accepted for the Royal Legistics Corps.

From there he worked hard and made it into the SAS. When asked why he did it he says that he 'wanted to see if I could make it'.

The show is basically about the SAS and the situations they find themselves in.

Not for the faint hearted but a very good show. Ross Kemp plays the ultimate Sergeant, the typical hard guy needed to be there. He's still very fair but doesn't let his feelings get in the way of things. Underneath he's a real pussycat, and looks after his command with his life.

The supporting cast is very well picked and compliments the show perfectly.

Last comment.. it's lovely to see an almost unknown actor Jamie Draven being given the chance to shine, and he takes every opportunity. One of the films you will have seen in is 'Billy Elliot' as Billy's brother.

I hope they do more than the 6 episodes as I would love to see more of Jamie and the guys.

I loved 'Ultimate Force' - it gave us action, suspense and good story lines. The main characters were developed enough without getting in the way of the action; which really was what I wanted to watch. Jamie Draven was absolutely brilliant and had some of the better storylines; whereas Ross Kemp was good in the role but just a legal / authorised version of Grant Mitchell. Please give us a second series - I can't wait!

Where to start. As a big fan of the SAS, I've watched countless documentaries, & after finding this immediately knew I had to watch. As a whole it's a decent show worth a watch at least once, however; series 1 & 2 were by far the superior as it lost its way in series 3 & only slightly brought it back for series 4. Series 1 & 2 showed a varied selection of different Operations with the SAS assault scenes filmed perfectly, probably due to the input of Chris Ryan, but series 3 relied heavily on typical action style shootouts with bullets flying everywhere as opposed to the normal SAS precision. Series 4 however went slightly back to the old format of the show, but on a whole not a bad show if you enjoy the SAS or any form of military drama.

It's surely one of the best action series of recent years - it has a lot of action, the right characters and a good cast! The first two seasons were good - you felt it was Chris - former SAS man who turned author of some action adventure books 'advised' them on story and character. Than there was a change of 'cast' and the plots started to slip in 'too much of I have seen this before' action... a shame really as the series could have gone a long way... Perhaps they wanted to make it too 'up to date' thinking they could temper with the concept. But as they say - never change a winning team not even when you 'dare to win'! And as there are no rumors of a new series to be made it's clear that the success of this series has started to lose steam as did the characters and plots!

Just finished watching this entire series. Started out great and finished poorly. By the time season 4 came along they got a bit silly and not as edgy as the beginning.episodes.Way too many cast makeovers with no warning or full explanations.

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.

Ultimate Force is a well made action/drama series that certainly pushed to boundaries as what can be shown on TV. It is well made, both in terms of drama and in terms of the action scenes. The ideology is sometimes fairly hard to stomach when -apart from normal commando routine- the SAS take the law into their own hands. That's beyond the realism of a commando unit and I sometimes found that hard to stomach. The format changed from 45 minutes episodes in the first two seasons to feature length episodes in seasons 3&4. With the exit of some popular characters a new twist was added: the troop was joined by a female soldier, Becca. This has been criticised as political correctness but one has to bear two things in mind: after the switch to a 60/90 minutes format additional elements to supply drama were needed and Becca's arrival fulfilled this need. Secondly, Ultimate Force is not a documentary but a drama series loosely based on the SAS, it was never meant to be anything but fiction. In fact Becca works fine as a character and her arrival is precisely not a point in case about feminism. Overall, from my point of view, the standard of writing got much better in seasons 3&4 as the new format allowed for more depth of character and more interesting / evolving story lines as opposed to the first two seasons where plots usually just revolved around one particular incident. All in all, it's rather entertaining and well made.

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.

If you want to see character development and soapy plots, then I'm afraid you've come to the wrong place. If it's action you're after, then Ultimate Force is for you.

Former Eastenders hardman Ross Kemp plays the tough Sergeant in this show about the notorious Special Air Service, one of the most secretive regiments in the British Army. This is a show about one thing only-action and plenty of it!

The SAS are one of the most elite forces in the world, having seen action in places such as Oman and Iraq during the Gulf War. They are a highly trained regiment who go in, do their job with the minimum of fuss and causing as little damage as possible, and then they leave. This show did a great job portraying the S.A.S. Whilst some of what happened in this show may not be what the S.A.S. gets up to in real life, it is still a fantastic show which portrays the S.A.S. how they deserve to be portrayed-as courageous soldiers. This was a very good show which I hope gets a second series.

Who Dares Wins?

It seems that the one Jamie that everyone seems to talk about is Jamie Draven.. well there was also another Jamie on the show.. Jamie Bamber.

Playing the 'Rupert' Dotsy he was superb. He's only been in the biz a short while but already he's clocked up an impressive resume.. from Hornblower as Archie Kennedy through to such plays as the Scarlet Pimpernel and in Poirot.

He's not only a talented actor but also very intelligent (and cute of course). (He went to Cambridge and has a 1st Class MA Honors in Modern Languages.. well he can speak three of them). If you ever have chance to see him in a stage production then go.. You'll not regret it. I've just seen Dr Faustus and believe me it was amazing, so much so I had to see it twice.

Jamie's stage presence and acting ability is overwhelming. Not only that.. he's a nice guy to. It's hard to think that the two can go hand in hand nowadays. Or maybe I'm just a cynic.

At the moment you can catch him in Battlestar Galactica (the new one) as Apollo. He is at ease with characters from sci-fi to drama productions.

Just one last thing, if you ever get the chance to see him or meet him, don't pass up the chance. You won't be disappointed.

Suspension of disbelief is required when watching this series. Lots of guns, explosions and shock horror, a LADY in the SAS, who would have thought it ;-). Maybe they watched GI Jane and thought it would be good for viewing figures.

I am sure there will be people out there that have been in the armed forces who will tear shreds into this series claiming it is not true to life, unrealistic, too gun-ho etc.....But... this is entertainment and cheesy entertainment at that. Ross Kemp is very watchable as the leader of the SAS unit, leading them into hijacked planes and excursions in South Africa.

this show shows us the real exploits of the S.A.S its got primary sources of evidence as the writer of 'Ultimate Force' is Chris Ryan, a former S.A.S hero who fought in the gulf war! i have series 1 and 2 on DVD and on the special features it shows Chris Ryan and a team of experts teaching the actors (Ross Kemp, Jamie Draven etc) how to fire real guns properly, commands when in a firefight and took them on actual hikes so they learn the experience first hand. This is why the shoe is so brilliant because they have picked a 5 star list of actors who make their roles look so real! It also shows that in the S.A.S it isn't guns blazing 24-7! there's tactics, comes, ICT etc. a career for everyone which i would highly recommend

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.

One of my favourite programs as it's well acted on a shoestring budget. It could do with a few new seasons.

ultimate force is a program created by rob Heyland and ex SAS trooper Chris Ryan, Chris was part of a Iraq operation code named bravo two zero when his other troop members were either killed or captured he managed to escape to the border so having Chris Ryan as military adviser sets the show up to be great before we even see it. the program follows 22regiment special air service (sas) as they carry out there operations.

and it doesn't disappoint either with Ross Kemp playing heno Garvy a harsh taticed staff Sergeant and Jamie Daven playing the new trooper in the first episode the troop is deployed to a bank robbery where an bitter ex-flying squad officer has taken the bank manager and his family hostage in order to steal millions of bound worth of euroes.

the show is a cracker and a must to see great!

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.

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.

All the episodes are great. And the boxset is really good. Nice realistic action through out the series. Lots of action and explosions what more could you want. If you are a Ultimate force fan please check out my site :) www.ultimateforce.org. The series portrays the S.A.S quite well I think. Some bits might be a little corny but over all its pretty good. If you are into army films, war films, sas films or just action films, this box set is for you. I have series 1 and 2 on DVD and on the special features it shows Chris Ryan and a team of experts teaching the actors (Ross Kemp, Jamie Draven etc) how to fire real guns properly, commands when in a firefight and took them on actual hikes so they learn the experience first hand. www.ultimateforce.org

ultimate force being about the SAS (special air service) follows the red troop regiment in different stories each episode or a story continued. Starring Ross Kemp who plays the role of Sgt Henry Garvie extremely well the 4 series are explicitly violent (as you would expect them to be) and are very well depicted with none of the explosion every second crap you find in Schwarzenegger blockbusters.

All the weaponry are exact with no 'space age' laser gun nonsense. I feel ultimate force is one of the best TV series ever made and the cast and crew should come back together to make a few more series since I have seen just about every episode.

Thanks for reading and,

Who dares wins.