SAS rogue troopers

[not-bono-ever]

I don’t usually watch this kind of SAS stuff because yeh. This however is easily consumable and is based on Ben mc book . Soundtrack works - never thought AC/DC would be used in a WW2 series. There’s a lot to OTT characterisation going on with this I assume.

We know in hindsight that Stirling was an opportunistic mentalist.

7/10 if you don’t want to be taxed too much and like guy Richie filums. 6/10 otherwise

 

[not-bono-ever]

ETA Nice to see the LRDG making an appearance. A far more interesting tale imo. They were loons

 

[Griff]

I really enjoyed the whole series, thought it was great.
A lot of talk about the music which divided people, but in my opinion it worked well.
Overkill and Wardance seemed appropriate.

 

[DotCommunist]

I'm trying to remember the name of the guy who devised the particularly gruelling training. Was instrumental in the early days. Had at one point been an admirer of the third riech in the 30s before realizing. A total spartan. Fuckin google is useless these days.

e2a
'Jock' Lewes

 

[Elpenor]

Keep meaning to catch this.

 

[platinumsage]

Dreadful. Cartoonish violence interspersed with mumbling dialogue and ridiculous high-volume trashy music.

 

[WouldBe]

Keep meaning to catch this.

Available on iPlayer.

 

[Petcha]

From the same guys who made peaky blinders, which shows. it was watchable. but not a patch on peaky.

 

[spitfire]

Enjoyable load of old bollocks. Great fun.

Not a documentary, although some people are a bit upset at the characterisation of Paddy Mayne, he was quite a lot less of a loose cannon in real life apparently.

I've never watched an episode of PB so no idea how it compares.

 

[Petcha]

Enjoyable load of old bollocks. Great fun.

Not a documentary, although some people are a bit upset at the characterisation of Paddy Mayne, he was quite a bit less of a loose cannon in real life apparently.

I've never watched an episode of PB so no idea how it compares.

PB is much darker and yes, more intelligent. They both have amazing soundtracks though (PB's opening credits are to Red Right Hand)

 

[a_chap]

 

[A380]

Didn’t watch peaky blinders. Did like this in a popcorn like way.

 

[Petcha]

If you haven't seen peaky blinders, then you're in for a treat. There's not much better. In my humble opinion of course but it somehow brought Birmingham onto the world stage

 

[UnderOpenSky]

We rather enjoyed this. I hope they do some more. Yes it can be a bit style of substance (but so was peaky), but it was still rather good.

 

[T & P]

From the same guys who made peaky blinders, which shows. it was watchable. but not a patch on peaky.

Not a patch on Peaky, but still a pretty good series about the subject in question. Not usually a big fan of special forces series, and my OH far less so, but she enjoyed it even more than me.

 

[stdP]

We've just finished watching this - my grandfather came back from North Africa with many a tale and the ones involving the LRDG were always great (they ferried him about a few times since as a fluent german and italian speaker he negotiated a few surrenders), so I've always had a passing interest in the subject. His assessment of them was that all of that time spent making a home out of the vast, barren, inhospitable wasteland had driven them completely barmy but that they always had the best stuff to barter with. He didn't meet any SAS, but the word was always that they'd been barmy before they were even let loose in the desert.

I wasn't going to watch this initially (I also share the distaste some others expressed above for special forces dramas) but the historian's review of it in the Graun swayed me in to thinking it might be worth a punt. I wasn't expecting my partner to be interested in this at all but the combination of (mostly accurate) history, recklessness, unreconstructedly gleeful violence, some surprisingly apropos rock'n'metal and a bevvy of not entirely unattractively unkempt men proved irresistible. I'm sure plenty of gammon generals will get their y-fronts in a twist about the presence of colonial troops or the fairly front-and-centre homoeroticism around Mayne.

I agree that Mayne seems to have been somewhat misrepresented in the dramatisation; he was from a fairly well to-do family and whilst he was certainly rambunctious he wasn't quite the almost feral beast he is in the show. But Jack O'Connell's performance is magnetic to watch and even knowing some of the events aren't true (such as the whole "recruited from jail" prelude) didn't detract from the bloodthirsty fun of it all.

FWIW, Ben Macintyre (on whose book the dramatisation is based on) also did a BBC documentary called Rogue Warriors which they've also put back in to circulation; well worth a watch for a sometimes slightly less cartoony account (but be warned it'll let you know which bits of the series aren't true).

SAS: Rogue Warriors

The remarkable story behind an extraordinary fighting force.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[not-bono-ever]

ah, its not rogue troopers is it....... 2000AD

 

[Elpenor]

My friend informs me his great uncle is portrayed in this

 

[JimW]

The rouge warriors were one of the most highly decorated units.

 

[spitfire]

A riposte to the SASRH portrayal of Mr Mayne.

SAS hero is 'turned into someone he wasn't' in new BBC series, family…

archived 7 Dec 2022 07:25:26 UTC

archive.ph

 

[Elpenor]

My friend informs me his great uncle is portrayed in this

Having watched a bit of this it seems my mates relative is Eoin Mcgonical (Mayne’s Irish mate who dies in an early episode)

I’ve known him over 20 years but somehow he never mentioned this

 

[seeformiles]

Just started the new series and, while it’s enjoyable hokum, Jack O’Connell’s accent is really annoying and all over the place. I say that as someone born in Newtownards and whose Dad knew Paddy Mayne after the war. Apparently he was a total cunt and never adjusted to civilian life. My dad said he would come into a pub and, if Mayne was there, he’d ask the barman how many drinks he’d had to see if it was safe as he’d try and fight the whole pub after a certain amount of drink and it was better to get offside before it happened.

 

[marty21]

Enjoyed the 1st series and will no doubt binge this new one as well. The book is excellent but then I read a lot of WW2 stuff so I'm an easy mark for that sort of stuff.

 

[Petcha]

I fucking loved it. It gets increasingly more deranged. Binged it in one booze fuelled sitting. Some class Nazis in there which is always a winner. Can't wait to see what happens next.

And the soundtrack... I mean, the Swingers?! Amazing.

 

[Petcha]

Just started the new series and, while it’s enjoyable hokum, Jack O’Connell’s accent is really annoying and all over the place. I say that as someone born in Newtownards and whose Dad knew Paddy Mayne after the war. Apparently he was a total cunt and never adjusted to civilian life. My dad said he would come into a pub and, if Mayne was there, he’d ask the barman how many drinks he’d had to see if it was safe as he’d try and fight the whole pub after a certain amount of drink and it was better to get offside before it happened.

It does say at the very beginning, something like, this is very loosely based on the truth.. they're not doing a baby reindeer

 

[bellaozzydog]

It’s bollocks innit, entertaining but bollocks

Having said that, Paddy Maines trust/family have spent years trying to close down the rumour that Paddy was more Sacred band of Thebes than who dares wins. Which seems a bit “quaint” in 2025

 

[spitfire]

Just started the new series and, while it’s enjoyable hokum, Jack O’Connell’s accent is really annoying and all over the place. I say that as someone born in Newtownards and whose Dad knew Paddy Mayne after the war. Apparently he was a total cunt and never adjusted to civilian life. My dad said he would come into a pub and, if Mayne was there, he’d ask the barman how many drinks he’d had to see if it was safe as he’d try and fight the whole pub after a certain amount of drink and it was better to get offside before it happened.

Yeah the accent was grating on me as well, English actor...I don't know Northern accents as well as I do further south but it didn't sound right to me.

Still good crack though.

 

[seeformiles]

Yeah the accent was grating on me as well, English actor...I don't know Northern accents as well as I do further south but it didn't sound right to me.

Still good crack though.

It’s like he’s trying to do an exaggerated version of every N.I. accent and it shows - worse when the English accent bleeds through it all. Given that so many Irish accents are specific to towns and cities (e.g. Strabane is distinct to Antrim or Belfast - or Dublin to Cork in Eire), there’s no way that was an Ards accent. Makes me wonder why they couldn’t have found a N.Irish actor to play the part? Add to this that he was part of a wealthy family and very well educated, it just doesn’t ring true.

All that aside, it’s very enjoyable nonsense

 

[spitfire]

It’s like he’s trying to do an exaggerated version of every N.I. accent and it shows - worse when the English accent bleeds through it all. Given that so many Irish accents are specific to towns and cities (e.g. Strabane is distinct to Antrim or Belfast - or Dublin to Cork in Eire), there’s no way that was an Ards accent. Makes me wonder why they couldn’t have found a N.Irish actor to play the part? Add to this that he was part of a wealthy family and very well educated, it just doesn’t ring true.

All that aside, it’s very enjoyable nonsense

Absolutely. You get different accents from one end of the DART to the other!

North Co Dublin
Proper Dubs in the city centre
South Co Dublin

 

[Chilli.s]

S1 is a right festival of false beards, real Aint Arf Hot Mum style