Strike Back: Project Dawn
Encyclopedia
Strike Back: Project Dawn, as it is known in the United Kingdom (or just Strike Back in the United States) is a ten-part British-American action television serial, and is the second series of Strike Back
. However the only cast member to return from the original series was Richard Armitage
in the first episode. The main cast for the series includes Philip Winchester
, Sullivan Stapleton
, Amanda Mealing
, Eva Birthistle
, Michelle Lukes
and Rhashan Stone
. The series follows the actions of Section 20, a secret branch of the British Secret Intelligence Service
(MI6), particularly two of its officers, Michael Stonebridge (Winchester) and former American Delta Force operative Damian Scott (Stapleton). Section 20 leads a worldwide manhunt to find and capture Pakistani terrorist Latif, who is plotting an operation of his known as "Project Dawn".
Sky announced Strike Back would be returning for a second series after the first aired. They entered a co-production deal with the American premium cable network Cinemax
, who wanted to introduce new original drama series to the network. In order to prepare for their roles several main cast members spent a month training with former officers of the Special Air Service
and Special Boat Service
. Filming began in February 2011 and took place in Cape Town
, South Africa
and Hungary
.
The series began broadcasting on Cinemax in the United States on 12 August 2011, with the premiere being seen by nearly 1.1 million viewers, the highest ratings achieved by the network since 2005. It later began broadcasting on Sky1 in the United Kingdom on 21 August with higher ratings than that of the first series. Critical reaction of the series was generally favourable in the United States, however British reviewers were more mixed. Reviewers made comparisons to various other television dramas including 24
, Sleeper Cell
, Spooks
and The Unit
. In October 2011, Cinemax announced it has renewed Strike Back for another 10-part series.
(MI6), which is trying to stop Latif, a Pakistani terrorist, who is plotting "Project Dawn". John Porter (Richard Armitage
), the main character of the first series, is captured by Latif's men while trying to figure out Latif's plan. Section 20 sends Michael Stonebridge (Philip Winchester
) and Damian Scott (Sullivan Stapleton
) to find and rescue Porter and uncover Latif's plans. Their first lead sends the team to a hotel in India
, which is later seized by terrorists. Winchester said of the premise; "[Section 20] are trying to figure out whether or not he has his hands on WMDs or he knows where they are or whether it is a ploy to try and distract everyone from something else he is doing." The search for Latif also leads Section 20 to other worldwide locations, including Cape Town
, Sudan
, Kosovo
and Vienna
.
plays Sergeant Michael Stonebridge, a "by-the-book" former British Special Forces
soldier now assigned to Section 20 who is partnered with Scott to help track down a kidnapped Porter. Stonebridge works for Section 20 and is in charge of his team on the ground. Although the character is married, he has an affair with colleague Kate Marshall (played by Birthistle). Winchester describes Stonebridge as "dedicated, disciplined, always plays by the rules and often saves the day. Stonebridge directs his energy trying to protecting others," though as the story unfolds, the audience would see that Stonebridge "is not the knight in shining armour."
Sullivan Stapleton
plays Damien Scott, a former United States Delta Force
operative who is familiar with the antagonists of the second series, and an acquaintance of John Porter. He is recruited by Section 20 to help Sergeant Michael Stonebridge find and rescue the kidnapped Porter. Stapleton describes Scott as cocky, rebellious and arrogant, and that it was good to have somebody like him in Section 20 because "he is the one that usually goes in first and takes the bullets, whereas Stonebridge arrives at the last minute and saves the day." The actor opined that Scott is chosen for the dangerous role because he is daring and does not have any immediate family members who rely on him. Of Scott and Stonebridge's working relationship, Stapleton said "they have a professional respect for each other" but start to annoy each other. When the actor first read the script for Project Dawn, he saw himself for the role as Scott. Because Stapleton is an Australia
n actor, he had to speak with an American accent throughout the series. He was wary whether he did it right because he barely worked with Americans on the show, but believed he did okay when HBO, the network that operated Cinemax, was satisfied with it. Stapleton has signed up for another Strike Back series should it be commissioned.
Amanda Mealing
plays Colonel Eleanor Grant, a "smart, tough military leader who is skilled with a gun and diplomacy, but knows when to break a rule or two." She is the new head of Section 20, replacing Hugh Collinson from the first series. Mealing described Grant as "hard as nails," "very contained, very direct," and "very driven." Grant is also very distant from her team; "she commands so she is not their pal but, at the same time, the guys are like her family. They spend so much time together moving from place to place. But, in a kind of motherly way, she has to keep them in check and sometimes they need a firm hand." The actress called her role "the best role I've ever had," adding "when I'm doing action scenes like flying in helicopters, the hardest thing is to keep a serious face as all I want to do is scream for joy." She researched for her role by taking advice from a female officer in a similar high-ranking position as Grant is. One piece of advice Mealing was told from the officer was "you mustn't try to be one of the boys or they'll lose respect for you, but you've got to be in charge."
Eva Birthistle
plays Captain Kate Marshall, a "crack commando" who oversees Section 20's military personnel. She and Stonebridge have an affair. The actress was taken by the script, and although she was cast for the role, she had not done action in her past acting career, and felt it would be a "fun experience" to play the character. When Birthistle went through military training, her goal was "just to keep up with everybody and not give up, pass out, throw up or cry." Rhashan Stone
plays Major Oliver Sinclair, Grant's right-hand man who helps her gather intelligence. Mealing called their working relationship as "very strong" and "simpatico." Sinclair is the section's second-in-command. Michelle Lukes
plays Sergeant Julia Richmond, one of the newer recruits of Section 20. Lukes describes her character as "exceptionally bright and technically brilliant," with the ability to speak seven language. Jimi Mistry
plays the antagonist Latif, the terrorist mastermind behind Project Dawn. Richard Armitage
returns as John Porter, the protagonist of the original Strike Back series, in the first episode. Originally, Armitage's role in the series was not clarified when production was announced. In January 2011, the Herald Sun
reported he dropped out of the series because he would be playing Thorin Oakenshield
in The Hobbit films. However, it was later reported he would return for the second series in a secondary rather than primary role.
Strike Back began as a six-part series from Sky1, based on a book of the same name from former Special Air Service
(SAS) soldier turned novelist Chris Ryan
. It transmitted two episodes weekly from 5 to 19 May 2010. The first two episodes more than tripled Sky1's audience share in its timeslot in the past three months. On August 2010, Sky1 controller Stuart Murphy
commissioned a second series to consist of a longer run of ten episodes. Left Bank Pictures
continuedtheir role as the production company. In February 2011, it was announced that Sky entered a co-production deal with the American television network Cinemax
, as the network wanted to introduce new drama series. Strike Back became one of two television projects to be produced by British and American networks in 2011, the other being Torchwood: Miracle Day, which was produced between the BBC
and Starz.
Frank Spotnitz
, Richard Zajdlic, Tony Saint
and Simon Burke were contracted as the series writers, while Alex Holmes, Bill Eagles, Paul Wilmhurst and Daniel Percival serve as the series directors. Andy Harries
and Elaine Pyke were the show's executive producers, with Percival and Spotnitz working as Co-Executive Producers. In addition, Michael Casey, Trevor Hopkins and Sue De Beauvoir were the series producers, with Bill Shepard serving as co-producer. Spotnitz wrote the first episodes. He was approached to write for the series because the producers needed somebody to reimagine the show as Armitage was committed to The Hobbit in New Zealand
, by introducing two new leads. Spotnitz described the process; "We had this great format, this great world of 'Strike Back' and then we had to imagine who were the new characters who were going to drive the show in the second year." Before Project Dawn was even announced, the crew were scouting for locations in South Africa
, where the first series was shot, as well as investigating other parts of the world including the United States, South America, and Europe.
and went through intensive and rigorous military training by former SAS and Special Boat Service
(SBS) soldiers. Stapleton and Winchester had more training than Birthistle, who just wanted to make sure she could at least be a believable soldier. The actors were trained in several aspects including running, teamwork, and weapons. Mealing meanwhile, did not go through as much training as the other actors, but did spend mornings training with a commander for the SBS who is also a military adviser on the show.. Winchester recalled, "Sully and I would meet every morning at 6am. We would run to a chosen location and on the way we had to memorise street names and directions and then our trainers would say 'that car that you just passed what was the licence plate number?' Our trainers were ex-SAS guys who made us study everything in detail, for example, we learnt step by step how to enter a room in twos, then alone. At the same time, we had to be constantly aware of where our weapon was trained."
The physical trainers also had to ensure that not only do the actors look like soldiers before filming, but they had to remain that way throughout the shoot. In addition, Stapleton and Winchester had to lose and gain weight, respectively. Winchester had to be on a diet of 4,000 calories a day, which included taking protein shakes between meals. The actor described the diet as "a workout in itself," having found it "exhausting" eating more food than he was used to. In total, training took approximately one month.
Filming began in February 2011, and concluded in the late summer (from the Northern Hemisphere's persepctive). Filming largely took place in Cape Town
, South Africa, as well as in Hungary
and the UK. Among the separate locations the series takes place in, the New Delhi hotel in the first two episodes were shot in Cape Town, and the suburbs of Hout Bay
doubled as Mozambique
. Throughout the shoot the actors were allowed to perform the majority of their own stunts. Military advisors were on hand to teach the actors how to perform certain stunts, and to tell them what they did wrong during the take. The series includes a number of sex scenes, many of which were performed by Stapleton. In an interview with the British newspaper Metro, the actor stated "I've done my fair share of nude scenes in the past but not as much as this – not as risqué, anyway," adding that while he was used it, was always "a bit nervous running around in front of 50 people with no clothes on. The sex scenes were usually with an actress I'd just met, so it's like: 'How's it going? I'm Sullivan and this is me nude.' It's nerve-racking at first but you have as much fun as you can with it."
in 2005. It was also on-par with the pilot of the Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand
in 2010, which also aired on the same timeslot. In the United Kingdom, the series began broadcast on 21 August 2011. The first episode, airing at 9 pm was seen by a total of 616,000 viewers, with an audience share of 2.6 per cent. As far as overnight ratings are concerned, it performed better than the first episode of the previous series, which was seen by 398,000, and a 1.7 per cent audience share.
and Blu-ray Disc
, published by 2entertain, in the United Kingdom on 14 November 2011. It was released with an "18" British Board of Film Classification
(BBFC) certificate (indicating it is unsuitable for viewers under the 18 years old). Special features include Top Secrets: Making Strike Back: Project Dawn, Firearms Training and Scott Vs Igor Fight Scene featurettes, as well as broadcast titles
.
rated the series a 64 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews" from 12 critics. David Hinkley of the New York Daily News rated it four stars out of five, stating it is "a little cartoonish in the same way Seagal or Arnold Schwarzenegger action movies were cartoonish, exaggerating characters and action. But "Strike Back" also differs sharply and significantly in that the villains here aren't the random abstract caricatures from those films, like throwback Nazis or Jamaican druglords," adding that the villains give the series "an added level of intensity, because we have a more visceral sense of the potential consequences." Linda Stasi of the New York Post
rated it three out of four stars, summing up the series as; "Good action, good characters and, besides, it's the only show in the history of TV where the term, "[fucking prick]" is code. I mean, you gotta love that, no?"
Aaron Riccio of Slate Magazine
also rated it three out of four stars, stated "Strike Back isn't brilliant television, but it's plenty entertaining, and by fitting the action of 24 with the grit of The Unit
(and the nudity of Cinemax), it fills a .22 caliber hole in American television." However Riccio added that the downside to the series was that "not enough time is given over to the fractious "buddy-cop" relationship between the two main characters, Scott and Stonebridge, whereas quite a bit of time is spent with the villains." Hank Stuever of The Washington Post
called it "surprisingly stylish and addictive," adding "Fans of "24," which bowed last year, still ask me how to fill that void. They want just enough intelligence-agency hooey to make the unbelievable seem somewhat real. Until "Strike Back," I didn't have a good answer." Stuever lauded Scott and Stapleton's portrayal, stating he is "the real find here, a thoroughly unlikable loser" who "saves the show from a dour sense of duty," adding that Staplton "seems to have been created in a laboratory experiment that grafted Ewan McGregor
's personality and smile onto Hugh Jackman
's body — with more than adequate results."
Matt Fowler of IGN
rated it seven out of ten, noting that American viewers do not have to see the first series to be caught up, but added "British fans might lament the absence of Richard Armitage's John Porter who was the ass-kicking hero of the original series." Mike Hale of The New York Times
described the series as a "variation on "24" that offers reasonably competent action scenes, depressingly casual depictions of torture and death, and a comic-book conspiracy story line while also being an efficient nudity delivery system." Brent MacKnight rated the series five out of ten, calling it a "decent enough action yarn with slick production values," but was critical that the series was "more concerned with gratuitous nudity [...] each episode includes a lifetime's worth of breasts and butt cheeks–than creating a story with any substance, character, or emotional weight." Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
was more critical of the series, stating "At first, "Strike Back" seems like a highbrow series on the order of "[ Spooks
] ," but after a few minutes it "conforms to the Skinemax nickname with a graphic sex scene," with "multiple exclamations of the f-word and bloodshed galore." Owen summed "Strike Back shows off high production values and an intense, fast-paced story reminiscent of 24 or Sleeper Cell
that occasionally dips into the ridiculous [...] It's too bad the show's graphic nature, especially the bloodshed, is so off-putting as to make the series unwatchable."
stated "It's awesome! "everything that's capable of exploding explodes. What was a decent but unexceptional military action show is now Naked 24." Jonathan Angwin of CultBox rated it three out of five stars, called it "the body of Spooks with very little of the brains," adding that the series is "silly, immature, shocking, but undoubtedly entertaining and certainly not boring." Patrick Samuel of Static Mass also rated Project Dawn three out of five stars, stating that the main story was "an intriguing one with implications of a conspiracy deep within MI6," but was critical that the series mostly focused on Scott rather than the other main characters, the movement of the storyline, and that Scott and Stonebridge "seemed to be most inapt pair to lead missions as they blow their cover on several occasions, endangering others." However, Samuel praised the series' action sequences, saying that they "[did] not disappoint."
Paul Dean of Faded Glamour believed that Strike Back "remains pretty good at what it does - providing Sky viewers with their weekly Die Hard fix," adding "series two won't win any new converts, but it looks very much like it will continue to serve up the same pacey, unpretentious and unambiguous action as its predecessor." Jack Foley of IndieLondon rated it 2.5 out of five. Foley felt the death of Porter in the first episode was "striking" since Armitage was the "main reason for watching." The reviewer also believed that while the first series "offered a keen mix of Spooks and 24 that expertly blended top-drawer action with some emotional complexity and intrigue," the second series "already feels inferior to both by virtue of the fact that its brains appear to lie in its pants, or blown from Porter's head." Keith Watson of Metro stated that Project Dawn was merely "gung-ho nonsense."
Strike Back (TV series)
Chris Ryan's Strike Back is a six-part British television series based on the novel of the same name written by best-selling author and former soldier of the Special Air Service, Chris Ryan. It was produced by Left Bank Pictures for Sky1...
. However the only cast member to return from the original series was Richard Armitage
Richard Armitage (actor)
Richard Crispin Armitage is an English actor famous for his roles as John Thornton in North and South, Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood, and Lucas North in Spooks...
in the first episode. The main cast for the series includes Philip Winchester
Philip Winchester
Philip C. Winchester is an American actor. He is known for his roles in The Patriot, The Hi-Line, LD 50 Lethal Dose, Thunderbirds, CSI: Miami, King Lear, Flyboys, In My Sleep, The Heart of the Earth, and Shaking Dream Land.- Early life and career :Philip C...
, Sullivan Stapleton
Sullivan Stapleton
Sullivan Stapleton is an Australian actor, who has appeared in many television series but is best known from his roles in Satisfaction and The Secret Life of Us.-Career:...
, Amanda Mealing
Amanda Mealing
Amanda Jane Mealing is a British actress best known for playing Connie Beauchamp in the BBC One medical drama series Holby City.-Early life:...
, Eva Birthistle
Eva Birthistle
Eva Birthistle is an Irish actress, best known for her role in Ae Fond Kiss. She won the London Film Critics Circle British Actress of the Year award in 2004 and has twice won the IFTA Best Actress in a Leading Role award.-Biography:...
, Michelle Lukes
Michelle Lukes
Michelle Lukes is an English actress best known for playing Lisa Torres in the British daytime soap Doctors from 2009-2011.She has also had numerous stage roles for the National Theatre, RSC and Salisbury Playhouse....
and Rhashan Stone
Rhashan Stone
Rhashan Stone is a British-American actor, comedian, musician, composer, singer and playwright. He is best known for appearing in many BBC television comedy shows such as Desmond's and Mutual Friends. As well as his numerous television appearances, Rhashan is also an accomplished stage actor...
. The series follows the actions of Section 20, a secret branch of the British Secret Intelligence Service
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
(MI6), particularly two of its officers, Michael Stonebridge (Winchester) and former American Delta Force operative Damian Scott (Stapleton). Section 20 leads a worldwide manhunt to find and capture Pakistani terrorist Latif, who is plotting an operation of his known as "Project Dawn".
Sky announced Strike Back would be returning for a second series after the first aired. They entered a co-production deal with the American premium cable network Cinemax
Cinemax
Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...
, who wanted to introduce new original drama series to the network. In order to prepare for their roles several main cast members spent a month training with former officers of the Special Air Service
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
and Special Boat Service
Special Boat Service
The Special Boat Service is the special forces unit of the British Royal Navy. Together with the Special Air Service, Special Reconnaissance Regiment and the Special Forces Support Group they form the United Kingdom Special Forces and come under joint control of the same Director Special...
. Filming began in February 2011 and took place in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
The series began broadcasting on Cinemax in the United States on 12 August 2011, with the premiere being seen by nearly 1.1 million viewers, the highest ratings achieved by the network since 2005. It later began broadcasting on Sky1 in the United Kingdom on 21 August with higher ratings than that of the first series. Critical reaction of the series was generally favourable in the United States, however British reviewers were more mixed. Reviewers made comparisons to various other television dramas including 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
, Sleeper Cell
Sleeper Cell (TV series)
Sleeper Cell is a one-hour drama on the Showtime network that began airing on December 4, 2005. The tagline for the first season was "Friends. Neighbors. Husbands. Terrorists." and the tagline for the second season was "Cities. Suburbs. Airports. Targets." The series was nominated for an Emmy award...
, Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
and The Unit
The Unit
The Unit is an American action-drama television series that focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled after the real-life U.S. Army special operations unit commonly known as Delta Force...
. In October 2011, Cinemax announced it has renewed Strike Back for another 10-part series.
Series overview
Strike Back: Project Dawn follows Section 20, a secret branch of the British Secret Intelligence ServiceSecret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
(MI6), which is trying to stop Latif, a Pakistani terrorist, who is plotting "Project Dawn". John Porter (Richard Armitage
Richard Armitage (actor)
Richard Crispin Armitage is an English actor famous for his roles as John Thornton in North and South, Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood, and Lucas North in Spooks...
), the main character of the first series, is captured by Latif's men while trying to figure out Latif's plan. Section 20 sends Michael Stonebridge (Philip Winchester
Philip Winchester
Philip C. Winchester is an American actor. He is known for his roles in The Patriot, The Hi-Line, LD 50 Lethal Dose, Thunderbirds, CSI: Miami, King Lear, Flyboys, In My Sleep, The Heart of the Earth, and Shaking Dream Land.- Early life and career :Philip C...
) and Damian Scott (Sullivan Stapleton
Sullivan Stapleton
Sullivan Stapleton is an Australian actor, who has appeared in many television series but is best known from his roles in Satisfaction and The Secret Life of Us.-Career:...
) to find and rescue Porter and uncover Latif's plans. Their first lead sends the team to a hotel in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, which is later seized by terrorists. Winchester said of the premise; "[Section 20] are trying to figure out whether or not he has his hands on WMDs or he knows where they are or whether it is a ploy to try and distract everyone from something else he is doing." The search for Latif also leads Section 20 to other worldwide locations, including Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
Cast and characters
Philip WinchesterPhilip Winchester
Philip C. Winchester is an American actor. He is known for his roles in The Patriot, The Hi-Line, LD 50 Lethal Dose, Thunderbirds, CSI: Miami, King Lear, Flyboys, In My Sleep, The Heart of the Earth, and Shaking Dream Land.- Early life and career :Philip C...
plays Sergeant Michael Stonebridge, a "by-the-book" former British Special Forces
United Kingdom Special Forces
The United Kingdom Special Forces is a UK Ministry of Defence Directorate which also has the capability to provide a Joint Special Operations Task Force Headquarters...
soldier now assigned to Section 20 who is partnered with Scott to help track down a kidnapped Porter. Stonebridge works for Section 20 and is in charge of his team on the ground. Although the character is married, he has an affair with colleague Kate Marshall (played by Birthistle). Winchester describes Stonebridge as "dedicated, disciplined, always plays by the rules and often saves the day. Stonebridge directs his energy trying to protecting others," though as the story unfolds, the audience would see that Stonebridge "is not the knight in shining armour."
Sullivan Stapleton
Sullivan Stapleton
Sullivan Stapleton is an Australian actor, who has appeared in many television series but is best known from his roles in Satisfaction and The Secret Life of Us.-Career:...
plays Damien Scott, a former United States Delta Force
Delta Force
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is one of the United States' secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units. Commonly known as Delta Force, Delta, or The Unit, it was formed under the designation 1st SFOD-D, and is officially referred to by the Department of Defense...
operative who is familiar with the antagonists of the second series, and an acquaintance of John Porter. He is recruited by Section 20 to help Sergeant Michael Stonebridge find and rescue the kidnapped Porter. Stapleton describes Scott as cocky, rebellious and arrogant, and that it was good to have somebody like him in Section 20 because "he is the one that usually goes in first and takes the bullets, whereas Stonebridge arrives at the last minute and saves the day." The actor opined that Scott is chosen for the dangerous role because he is daring and does not have any immediate family members who rely on him. Of Scott and Stonebridge's working relationship, Stapleton said "they have a professional respect for each other" but start to annoy each other. When the actor first read the script for Project Dawn, he saw himself for the role as Scott. Because Stapleton is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n actor, he had to speak with an American accent throughout the series. He was wary whether he did it right because he barely worked with Americans on the show, but believed he did okay when HBO, the network that operated Cinemax, was satisfied with it. Stapleton has signed up for another Strike Back series should it be commissioned.
Amanda Mealing
Amanda Mealing
Amanda Jane Mealing is a British actress best known for playing Connie Beauchamp in the BBC One medical drama series Holby City.-Early life:...
plays Colonel Eleanor Grant, a "smart, tough military leader who is skilled with a gun and diplomacy, but knows when to break a rule or two." She is the new head of Section 20, replacing Hugh Collinson from the first series. Mealing described Grant as "hard as nails," "very contained, very direct," and "very driven." Grant is also very distant from her team; "she commands so she is not their pal but, at the same time, the guys are like her family. They spend so much time together moving from place to place. But, in a kind of motherly way, she has to keep them in check and sometimes they need a firm hand." The actress called her role "the best role I've ever had," adding "when I'm doing action scenes like flying in helicopters, the hardest thing is to keep a serious face as all I want to do is scream for joy." She researched for her role by taking advice from a female officer in a similar high-ranking position as Grant is. One piece of advice Mealing was told from the officer was "you mustn't try to be one of the boys or they'll lose respect for you, but you've got to be in charge."
Eva Birthistle
Eva Birthistle
Eva Birthistle is an Irish actress, best known for her role in Ae Fond Kiss. She won the London Film Critics Circle British Actress of the Year award in 2004 and has twice won the IFTA Best Actress in a Leading Role award.-Biography:...
plays Captain Kate Marshall, a "crack commando" who oversees Section 20's military personnel. She and Stonebridge have an affair. The actress was taken by the script, and although she was cast for the role, she had not done action in her past acting career, and felt it would be a "fun experience" to play the character. When Birthistle went through military training, her goal was "just to keep up with everybody and not give up, pass out, throw up or cry." Rhashan Stone
Rhashan Stone
Rhashan Stone is a British-American actor, comedian, musician, composer, singer and playwright. He is best known for appearing in many BBC television comedy shows such as Desmond's and Mutual Friends. As well as his numerous television appearances, Rhashan is also an accomplished stage actor...
plays Major Oliver Sinclair, Grant's right-hand man who helps her gather intelligence. Mealing called their working relationship as "very strong" and "simpatico." Sinclair is the section's second-in-command. Michelle Lukes
Michelle Lukes
Michelle Lukes is an English actress best known for playing Lisa Torres in the British daytime soap Doctors from 2009-2011.She has also had numerous stage roles for the National Theatre, RSC and Salisbury Playhouse....
plays Sergeant Julia Richmond, one of the newer recruits of Section 20. Lukes describes her character as "exceptionally bright and technically brilliant," with the ability to speak seven language. Jimi Mistry
Jimi Mistry
-Early life:Mistry, was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England to an Indian Hindu father and an Irish Roman Catholic mother. He was brought up a Roman Catholic and attended St. James' Catholic High in Cheadle Hulme before his family moved to Cardiff where he attended Radyr Comprehensive School...
plays the antagonist Latif, the terrorist mastermind behind Project Dawn. Richard Armitage
Richard Armitage (actor)
Richard Crispin Armitage is an English actor famous for his roles as John Thornton in North and South, Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood, and Lucas North in Spooks...
returns as John Porter, the protagonist of the original Strike Back series, in the first episode. Originally, Armitage's role in the series was not clarified when production was announced. In January 2011, the Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
reported he dropped out of the series because he would be playing Thorin Oakenshield
Thorin Oakenshield
Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, King Under the Mountain is a major character in The Hobbit and is mentioned in passing in The Lord of the Rings...
in The Hobbit films. However, it was later reported he would return for the second series in a secondary rather than primary role.
Development
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
(SAS) soldier turned novelist Chris Ryan
Chris Ryan
Sergeant ‘Chris Ryan’ MM is the pseudonym of a former British Special Forces operative and soldier turned novelist...
. It transmitted two episodes weekly from 5 to 19 May 2010. The first two episodes more than tripled Sky1's audience share in its timeslot in the past three months. On August 2010, Sky1 controller Stuart Murphy
Stuart Murphy
Stuart Neil Luke Murphy is the Director of Programmes for Sky1, Sky Atlantic, Sky2 and Sky3 and Director of Commissioning, Sky Entertainment Channels.-Early life:...
commissioned a second series to consist of a longer run of ten episodes. Left Bank Pictures
Left Bank Pictures
Left Bank Pictures is an English film and television production company. It was formed in 2007 by Andy Harries, formerly controller of drama, comedy and film at Granada Productions, and Francis Hopkinson and Marigo Kehoe...
continuedtheir role as the production company. In February 2011, it was announced that Sky entered a co-production deal with the American television network Cinemax
Cinemax
Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...
, as the network wanted to introduce new drama series. Strike Back became one of two television projects to be produced by British and American networks in 2011, the other being Torchwood: Miracle Day, which was produced between the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Starz.
Frank Spotnitz
Frank Spotnitz
Frank Spotnitz is an award-winning American television writer and producer, best known for his work on The X-Files television series.-Biography:...
, Richard Zajdlic, Tony Saint
Tony Saint
Antony David Saint is an English writer.-Early life:He had contact with the theatre through the People's Theatre in Heaton. Whilst at university he was guitarist in the courageous but ultimately unsuccessful rock band The Little Caesars.In 1993, he joined the UK Immigration Service where he worked...
and Simon Burke were contracted as the series writers, while Alex Holmes, Bill Eagles, Paul Wilmhurst and Daniel Percival serve as the series directors. Andy Harries
Andy Harries
Andrew D. M. Harries is a British television and film producer. After graduating from Hull University in the 1970s, Harries began his television career on the Granada Television current affairs series World in Action, before moving on to freelance work...
and Elaine Pyke were the show's executive producers, with Percival and Spotnitz working as Co-Executive Producers. In addition, Michael Casey, Trevor Hopkins and Sue De Beauvoir were the series producers, with Bill Shepard serving as co-producer. Spotnitz wrote the first episodes. He was approached to write for the series because the producers needed somebody to reimagine the show as Armitage was committed to The Hobbit in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, by introducing two new leads. Spotnitz described the process; "We had this great format, this great world of 'Strike Back' and then we had to imagine who were the new characters who were going to drive the show in the second year." Before Project Dawn was even announced, the crew were scouting for locations in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, where the first series was shot, as well as investigating other parts of the world including the United States, South America, and Europe.
Training
Before filming began, several of the main cast members were sent to a boot camp in South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and went through intensive and rigorous military training by former SAS and Special Boat Service
Special Boat Service
The Special Boat Service is the special forces unit of the British Royal Navy. Together with the Special Air Service, Special Reconnaissance Regiment and the Special Forces Support Group they form the United Kingdom Special Forces and come under joint control of the same Director Special...
(SBS) soldiers. Stapleton and Winchester had more training than Birthistle, who just wanted to make sure she could at least be a believable soldier. The actors were trained in several aspects including running, teamwork, and weapons. Mealing meanwhile, did not go through as much training as the other actors, but did spend mornings training with a commander for the SBS who is also a military adviser on the show.. Winchester recalled, "Sully and I would meet every morning at 6am. We would run to a chosen location and on the way we had to memorise street names and directions and then our trainers would say 'that car that you just passed what was the licence plate number?' Our trainers were ex-SAS guys who made us study everything in detail, for example, we learnt step by step how to enter a room in twos, then alone. At the same time, we had to be constantly aware of where our weapon was trained."
The physical trainers also had to ensure that not only do the actors look like soldiers before filming, but they had to remain that way throughout the shoot. In addition, Stapleton and Winchester had to lose and gain weight, respectively. Winchester had to be on a diet of 4,000 calories a day, which included taking protein shakes between meals. The actor described the diet as "a workout in itself," having found it "exhausting" eating more food than he was used to. In total, training took approximately one month.
Filming
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa, as well as in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and the UK. Among the separate locations the series takes place in, the New Delhi hotel in the first two episodes were shot in Cape Town, and the suburbs of Hout Bay
Hout Bay
Hout Bay is the name of a coastal suburb of Cape Town, South Africa with a mix of neighbourhoods from the very rich to the very poor. It lies in a valley on the Atlantic Seaboard of the Cape Peninsula and is twenty kilometres south of the Central Business District of Cape Town...
doubled as Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
. Throughout the shoot the actors were allowed to perform the majority of their own stunts. Military advisors were on hand to teach the actors how to perform certain stunts, and to tell them what they did wrong during the take. The series includes a number of sex scenes, many of which were performed by Stapleton. In an interview with the British newspaper Metro, the actor stated "I've done my fair share of nude scenes in the past but not as much as this – not as risqué, anyway," adding that while he was used it, was always "a bit nervous running around in front of 50 people with no clothes on. The sex scenes were usually with an actress I'd just met, so it's like: 'How's it going? I'm Sullivan and this is me nude.' It's nerve-racking at first but you have as much fun as you can with it."
Broadcast and ratings
Project Dawn began broadcasting on 12 August 2011 in the United States. The first telecast at 10 pm was seen by 567,000 viewers, while the 11 pm and midnight encores almost doubled viewership, adding 500,000, giving a total of nearly 1.1 million viewers. Although Cinemax is available in 16.7 million homes at the time of the broadcast, it was the best ratings performance for the network since a broadcast of the film TitanicTitanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
in 2005. It was also on-par with the pilot of the Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Spartacus: Blood and Sand is a Starz television series that premiered on January 22, 2010. The series is inspired by the historical figure of Spartacus , a Thracian gladiator who from 73 to 71 BC led a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Executive producers Steven S...
in 2010, which also aired on the same timeslot. In the United Kingdom, the series began broadcast on 21 August 2011. The first episode, airing at 9 pm was seen by a total of 616,000 viewers, with an audience share of 2.6 per cent. As far as overnight ratings are concerned, it performed better than the first episode of the previous series, which was seen by 398,000, and a 1.7 per cent audience share.
Home video release
Project Dawn was released on both DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
, published by 2entertain, in the United Kingdom on 14 November 2011. It was released with an "18" British Board of Film Classification
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
(BBFC) certificate (indicating it is unsuitable for viewers under the 18 years old). Special features include Top Secrets: Making Strike Back: Project Dawn, Firearms Training and Scott Vs Igor Fight Scene featurettes, as well as broadcast titles
Opening credits
In a motion picture, television program, or video game, the opening credits are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There...
.
In the United States
The American review site MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
rated the series a 64 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews" from 12 critics. David Hinkley of the New York Daily News rated it four stars out of five, stating it is "a little cartoonish in the same way Seagal or Arnold Schwarzenegger action movies were cartoonish, exaggerating characters and action. But "Strike Back" also differs sharply and significantly in that the villains here aren't the random abstract caricatures from those films, like throwback Nazis or Jamaican druglords," adding that the villains give the series "an added level of intensity, because we have a more visceral sense of the potential consequences." Linda Stasi of the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
rated it three out of four stars, summing up the series as; "Good action, good characters and, besides, it's the only show in the history of TV where the term, "[fucking prick]" is code. I mean, you gotta love that, no?"
Aaron Riccio of Slate Magazine
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
also rated it three out of four stars, stated "Strike Back isn't brilliant television, but it's plenty entertaining, and by fitting the action of 24 with the grit of The Unit
The Unit
The Unit is an American action-drama television series that focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled after the real-life U.S. Army special operations unit commonly known as Delta Force...
(and the nudity of Cinemax), it fills a .22 caliber hole in American television." However Riccio added that the downside to the series was that "not enough time is given over to the fractious "buddy-cop" relationship between the two main characters, Scott and Stonebridge, whereas quite a bit of time is spent with the villains." Hank Stuever of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
called it "surprisingly stylish and addictive," adding "Fans of "24," which bowed last year, still ask me how to fill that void. They want just enough intelligence-agency hooey to make the unbelievable seem somewhat real. Until "Strike Back," I didn't have a good answer." Stuever lauded Scott and Stapleton's portrayal, stating he is "the real find here, a thoroughly unlikable loser" who "saves the show from a dour sense of duty," adding that Staplton "seems to have been created in a laboratory experiment that grafted Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
's personality and smile onto Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
's body — with more than adequate results."
Matt Fowler of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
rated it seven out of ten, noting that American viewers do not have to see the first series to be caught up, but added "British fans might lament the absence of Richard Armitage's John Porter who was the ass-kicking hero of the original series." Mike Hale of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described the series as a "variation on "24" that offers reasonably competent action scenes, depressingly casual depictions of torture and death, and a comic-book conspiracy story line while also being an efficient nudity delivery system." Brent MacKnight rated the series five out of ten, calling it a "decent enough action yarn with slick production values," but was critical that the series was "more concerned with gratuitous nudity [...] each episode includes a lifetime's worth of breasts and butt cheeks–than creating a story with any substance, character, or emotional weight." Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
was more critical of the series, stating "At first, "Strike Back" seems like a highbrow series on the order of "
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
Sleeper Cell (TV series)
Sleeper Cell is a one-hour drama on the Showtime network that began airing on December 4, 2005. The tagline for the first season was "Friends. Neighbors. Husbands. Terrorists." and the tagline for the second season was "Cities. Suburbs. Airports. Targets." The series was nominated for an Emmy award...
that occasionally dips into the ridiculous [...] It's too bad the show's graphic nature, especially the bloodshed, is so off-putting as to make the series unwatchable."
In the United Kingdom
After the series premiered in the United Kingdom however, critical reactions were mixed. Jonathan Bernstein of The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
stated "It's awesome! "everything that's capable of exploding explodes. What was a decent but unexceptional military action show is now Naked 24." Jonathan Angwin of CultBox rated it three out of five stars, called it "the body of Spooks with very little of the brains," adding that the series is "silly, immature, shocking, but undoubtedly entertaining and certainly not boring." Patrick Samuel of Static Mass also rated Project Dawn three out of five stars, stating that the main story was "an intriguing one with implications of a conspiracy deep within MI6," but was critical that the series mostly focused on Scott rather than the other main characters, the movement of the storyline, and that Scott and Stonebridge "seemed to be most inapt pair to lead missions as they blow their cover on several occasions, endangering others." However, Samuel praised the series' action sequences, saying that they "[did] not disappoint."
Paul Dean of Faded Glamour believed that Strike Back "remains pretty good at what it does - providing Sky viewers with their weekly Die Hard fix," adding "series two won't win any new converts, but it looks very much like it will continue to serve up the same pacey, unpretentious and unambiguous action as its predecessor." Jack Foley of IndieLondon rated it 2.5 out of five. Foley felt the death of Porter in the first episode was "striking" since Armitage was the "main reason for watching." The reviewer also believed that while the first series "offered a keen mix of Spooks and 24 that expertly blended top-drawer action with some emotional complexity and intrigue," the second series "already feels inferior to both by virtue of the fact that its brains appear to lie in its pants, or blown from Porter's head." Keith Watson of Metro stated that Project Dawn was merely "gung-ho nonsense."
Episodes
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | U.S. air date | U.S. viewers (million) |
U.K. air date | U.K. viewers (million) |
|---|
External links
- Strike Back at Sky1
- Strike Back at CinemaxCinemaxCinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...