I ordered the whole series on DVD nearly a couple of years ago. Upon completing Soldier, Soldier in its entirety, I was blown away.
Having served in the United States Navy as an enlisted Aviation Electrician (while stationed in Naval Air Facility/NAF Atsugi, Japan), this show reminded me a lot about military life and a good deal of things I missed about it.
The camaraderie, the tragedies, the stress that comes along with long deployments (albeit somewhat different as i was part of two F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter squadrons in an Air Wing and aboard the forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington), and any other that I couldn't very much remember but had been indirectly fond about.
Must have been the regimented life, overall.
Season 2, which took the King's Fusiliers to Hong Kong, reminded me much of being in Japan and my two WESTPAC deployments where my carrier (nicknamed "Good Ol' G-Dub") landed in Perth, Australia; Sembawang area of Singapore; Pattaya Beach, Thailand; Manila, Philippines; and Busan, South Korea. This was all from 2009 and 2010. Not to mention that I also went to Guam twice (in 2010 and 2011 for Strike Fighter Air-to-Air Readiness Program/SFARP combat exercises with different US Air Force squadrons as well as those of other nations like Singapore). I was also in Japan when the Fukushima Prefecture tsunami and nuclear plant explosions happened, although I wasn't part of the relief efforts (hence, my emergency detachment to Guam that year). For that, watching Soldier Soldier helped me relive those memories in a rather bittersweet way.
Now, fast-forward 12 years later, I'm now looking to eventually put in an application packet to commission in the US Air Force Reserve (through the Officer Training School/OTS at Maxwell AFB, near Montgomery, Alabama) and become a Transport/Tanker Pilot at a Reserve squadron somewhere in the country. If I don't go the Air Force route, there's the Army National Guard (either in my home state or a more reasonably nearby inland state) where I can serve as a Warrant Officer (commissioning source at Fort Novosel, also near Montgomery, which was recently renamed "Fort Novosel" after a heroic Air Force colonel who later gave up his senior leadership position to become a Warrant Pilot during Vietnam) with the ultimate aim to fly the helicopter platform of my choice as a Pilot (looking at either Apache's or Chinooks for the most part). And, thus, as mentioned, this show just made me set an ultimate goal to get back into "The Grind" of military life, from enlisted to officer.
Anyway, onto the individual performances of the shining actors and actresses that should have gotten some kind of Oscar and/or Academy Award equivalent (from across the pond) each.
Robson Green as Fusilier David Tucker and Jerome Flynn as Corporal (later Sergeant, and then - SPOILER ALERT - demoted back to Corporal) Patrick Garvey are like the "Cheech and Chong" of this series.
Dorian Healy, the underrated hunk of the show from Season 3 to Season 4, is Captain/Major Kieran Voce, the company commander lording over the likes of Tucker, Garvey, and Wilton. Personality-wise, Healy was very much Tom Cruise (from his roles as Maverick in Top Gun and Lieutenant Dan Kaffee in A Few Good Men) and Jason Isaacs (Sergeant Frank Dillon in Civvies, Colonel Tavington in The Patriot, and Major Briggs in The Green Zone opposite Matt Damon) in one body.
Lesley Vickerage is Lieutenant/Captain Kate Butler, Kieran's best friend and, later, love interest is the embodiment of overlooked beauty in the show. Think Molly Ringwald (Breakfast Club) mixed with Jennifer Connelly (Penny Benjamin in the recent Top Gun: Maverick) in uniform. Sure, Green's Tucker and Rosie Rowells' Donna Tucker were the talk of the town. But, Vickerage's partnership with Healy is unmatched in this title. They were just lovely together.
Rob Spendlove's Warrant Officer (Sergeant Major) - later Lieutenant - Michael Stubbs is like R. Lee Ermey's (RIP) US Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from Full Metal Jacket but with a Stiff Upper Lip.
Can't say much for the other cast members who may have had bigger exposure than the aforementioned ones already. But, let's just say all of them were awesome in their own merry, little ways.
Soldier, Soldier - One of the best depictions of military life everywhere. UK, US, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Germany, France, wherever. Solid 10/10!
Having served in the United States Navy as an enlisted Aviation Electrician (while stationed in Naval Air Facility/NAF Atsugi, Japan), this show reminded me a lot about military life and a good deal of things I missed about it.
The camaraderie, the tragedies, the stress that comes along with long deployments (albeit somewhat different as i was part of two F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter squadrons in an Air Wing and aboard the forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington), and any other that I couldn't very much remember but had been indirectly fond about.
Must have been the regimented life, overall.
Season 2, which took the King's Fusiliers to Hong Kong, reminded me much of being in Japan and my two WESTPAC deployments where my carrier (nicknamed "Good Ol' G-Dub") landed in Perth, Australia; Sembawang area of Singapore; Pattaya Beach, Thailand; Manila, Philippines; and Busan, South Korea. This was all from 2009 and 2010. Not to mention that I also went to Guam twice (in 2010 and 2011 for Strike Fighter Air-to-Air Readiness Program/SFARP combat exercises with different US Air Force squadrons as well as those of other nations like Singapore). I was also in Japan when the Fukushima Prefecture tsunami and nuclear plant explosions happened, although I wasn't part of the relief efforts (hence, my emergency detachment to Guam that year). For that, watching Soldier Soldier helped me relive those memories in a rather bittersweet way.
Now, fast-forward 12 years later, I'm now looking to eventually put in an application packet to commission in the US Air Force Reserve (through the Officer Training School/OTS at Maxwell AFB, near Montgomery, Alabama) and become a Transport/Tanker Pilot at a Reserve squadron somewhere in the country. If I don't go the Air Force route, there's the Army National Guard (either in my home state or a more reasonably nearby inland state) where I can serve as a Warrant Officer (commissioning source at Fort Novosel, also near Montgomery, which was recently renamed "Fort Novosel" after a heroic Air Force colonel who later gave up his senior leadership position to become a Warrant Pilot during Vietnam) with the ultimate aim to fly the helicopter platform of my choice as a Pilot (looking at either Apache's or Chinooks for the most part). And, thus, as mentioned, this show just made me set an ultimate goal to get back into "The Grind" of military life, from enlisted to officer.
Anyway, onto the individual performances of the shining actors and actresses that should have gotten some kind of Oscar and/or Academy Award equivalent (from across the pond) each.
Robson Green as Fusilier David Tucker and Jerome Flynn as Corporal (later Sergeant, and then - SPOILER ALERT - demoted back to Corporal) Patrick Garvey are like the "Cheech and Chong" of this series.
Dorian Healy, the underrated hunk of the show from Season 3 to Season 4, is Captain/Major Kieran Voce, the company commander lording over the likes of Tucker, Garvey, and Wilton. Personality-wise, Healy was very much Tom Cruise (from his roles as Maverick in Top Gun and Lieutenant Dan Kaffee in A Few Good Men) and Jason Isaacs (Sergeant Frank Dillon in Civvies, Colonel Tavington in The Patriot, and Major Briggs in The Green Zone opposite Matt Damon) in one body.
Lesley Vickerage is Lieutenant/Captain Kate Butler, Kieran's best friend and, later, love interest is the embodiment of overlooked beauty in the show. Think Molly Ringwald (Breakfast Club) mixed with Jennifer Connelly (Penny Benjamin in the recent Top Gun: Maverick) in uniform. Sure, Green's Tucker and Rosie Rowells' Donna Tucker were the talk of the town. But, Vickerage's partnership with Healy is unmatched in this title. They were just lovely together.
Rob Spendlove's Warrant Officer (Sergeant Major) - later Lieutenant - Michael Stubbs is like R. Lee Ermey's (RIP) US Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from Full Metal Jacket but with a Stiff Upper Lip.
Can't say much for the other cast members who may have had bigger exposure than the aforementioned ones already. But, let's just say all of them were awesome in their own merry, little ways.
Soldier, Soldier - One of the best depictions of military life everywhere. UK, US, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Germany, France, wherever. Solid 10/10!