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Strike Back: Project Dawn

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Strike Back: Project Dawn
Genre
Written by
Directed by
  • Bill Eagles
  • Alex Holmes
  • Daniel Percival
  • Paul Wilmhurst
Starring
Opening theme"Short Change Hero" – The Heavy
Country of origin
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes3 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Sue De Beauvoir
  • Michael Casey
  • Trevor Hopkins
  • Bill Shepard
Production locations
Running time48 minutes approx
Production companyLeft Bank Pictures
Original release
Network
Release12 August 2011 (2011-08-12) –
present

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 serial television series, and the follow up series of Strike Back. However the only cast member to return from the original series was Richard Armitage in his cameo appearance. It was a co-production between British broadcaster, BSkyB (for Sky1) and American premium cable broadcaster, HBO (for Cinemax). 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), working to stop a Pakistani terrorist named Latif who plans to set in motion "Project Dawn".

Series overview

The second series focuses on former United States special forces operative Damien Scott joining Section 20 to stop an international terrorist organisation after John Porter is kidnapped.[1]

Cast and characters

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 track down the kidnapped Porter and bring him home.[2] Stapleton describes Scott as "cocky, rebellious and arrogant," adding "it is good to have someone like Scott [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. I think Scott is chosen for this dangerous role because he is daring and he has no immediate family who rely on him."[3] Stapleton also described Scott's working relationship with Stonebridge as "they have a professional respect for each other," though they started "[rubbing] each other up the wrong way."[3] When the actor first read the script for Project Dawn, he saw himself for the role as Scott.[3] Because Stapleton is in Australian 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 was satisfied with it. In addition, Stapleton participated in several nude scenes throughout the series. Stapleton stated in an interview with the British newspaper, Metro, "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."[4] Stapleton has signed up for another Strike Back series should it be commissioned.[5]

Philip Winchester portrays Michael Stonebridge.

Philip Winchester plays Sergeant Michael Stonebridge, a "by-the-book" British operative who partners with Scott to help track down a kidnapped Porter.[2] Stonebridge works for Section 20 and is in charge of his team on the ground, while Colonel Eleanor Grant is in overall charge of the Section. 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."[6] The actor has also said of playing his character on set; "there are days when we are running around shooting guns and some days we have to really involve ourselves in intense drama. It is a balancing act – the show almost becomes your life."[6]

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."[2] 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."[7] 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."[7] 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."[8] 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."[8] The actress did not go through as much military training as the other main actors, but spent mornings training with a commander for the Special Boat Service (SBS) who is also a military adviser on the show.[7]

Eva Birthistle plays Captain Kate Marshall, a "crack commando" who oversees Section 20's military personnel.[8] 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."[9]

In addition, Rhashan Stone plays Major Oliver Sinclair,[2] Grant's right-hand man who helps her gather intelligence. Mealing called their working relationship as "very strong" and "simpatico."[7] Michelle Lukes plays Sergeant Julia Richmond,[2] while Jimi Mistry plays the antagonist Latif.[2]

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.[5] However, it was later reported he would return for the second series in a secondary rather than primary role.[10]

Production

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 broadcast two episode a week from 5 to 19 May 2010.[11] The first two episodes more than tripled the audience share for Sky1 in its timeslot for the past three months.[12] On August 2010, Sky1 controller Stuart Murphy commissioned a second series to consist of a longer run of ten episodes. Left Bank Pictures would continue their role as the production company.[13] 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, the other being Torchwood: Miracle Day, which was produced between the BBC and Starz.[1]

Frank Spotnitz, Richard Zadjlic, Tony Saint and Simon Burke were employed as the series writers, while Alex Holmes, Bill Eagles, Paul Wilmhurst and Daniel Percival serve as the series directors. Andy Harries and Elaine Pyke became 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.[2] 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.[14] Filming began in South Africa on February 2011.[1] Shooting also took place in parts of Hungary and the UK,[5] and concluded in late summer.[2]

Release and reception

Release and ratings

Project Dawn began broadcasting on 12 August 2011 in the United States.[2] The first telecast at 10 pm was seen by 567,000 viewers, while the 11 pm and midnight encores almost doubled viewership, adding an additional 500,000, giving a total of over 1.1 million viewers.[15] 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 broacast of the film Titanic in 2005.[16] 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.[16] In the United Kingdom, the series began broadcast on 21 August 2011.[17] 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.[18] As far as overnight ratings are concerned, it performed better than the pilot from the previous series, which was seen by 398,000, and a 1.7 per cent audience share.[12] Project Dawn will be released on both DVD and Blu-ray Disc, published by 2entertain, in the United Kingdom on 14 November 2011.[19]

Critical reception

The American review site Metacritic rated the series a 64 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews" from 12 critics.[20]

Episodes

# Title Directed by Written by UK viewers
(million)[21] 		US viewers
(million) 		Original air date
1"Episode 1"Daniel PercivalFrank Spotnitz1.1371.067[15]12 August 2011 (2011-08-12)[n 1]
John Porter (Armitage) is kidnapped by Pakistani terrorist Latif, who is planning an operation known as Project Dawn. As Porter is only one of two people who can identify Latif, Section 20 head Eleanor Grant (Mealing) appoints Sergeant Michael Stonebridge (Winchester) to find the second man, dishonourably discharged Delta Force operative Damian Scott (Sullivan), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. When Scott is brought to London, Section 20 witness Porter's live execution. As the team mourn their loss, Scott realises that Porter used secret codes in the video, directing the team to a hotel in New Delhi, India. When Scott and Stonebridge arrive to surveil the hotel, terrorists arrive and hold everybody hostage and threaten to kill them one at a time unless someone named Mahmood reveal himself. Stonebridge and two of the hostages escape from the lobby and meet with Scott, who was upstairs having sex with a barmaid when the attack happened. However, they find themselves surrounded when one of the hostages turns out to be the leader.
2"Episode 2"Daniel PercivalFrank Spotnitz1.185TBA19 August 2011 (2011-08-19)[n 2]
Scott and Stonebridge evade the terrorists, but when they find Mahmood, who turns out to a woman, Scott is captured again. Mahmood reveals she knows the location of hidden weapons of mass destruction (WMD) the West wanted to plant in Iraq to vindicate the war. Scott is brought to the lobby, where the terrorists plan to drop a bomb should the Indian military storm the hotel. Mahmood meanwhile, is being escorted by the terrorist leader, assumed to be Latif (Scott admits earlier that he never actually saw Latif). Stonebridge rescues Mahmood and kills the leader. Scott fails to stop the bomb from dropping when the Indians storm the hotel, but Stonebridge arrives in time to catch it. Mahmood is later brought to Pakistani intelligence officer Jamal Ashkani (Mistry), who is revealed to be Latif; Mahmood is later found dead. After Scott is assigned to Section 20, it is revealed Porter's code was directed at Scott; he reveals to Stonebridge that Porter did not trust Section 20, believing it is embroiled in a possible conspiracy involving Latif and the WMDs. Scott and Stonebdrige decide to investigate the possible corruption.
3"Episode 3"Bill EaglesFrank Spotnitz1.098TBA26 August 2011 (2011-08-26)[n 3]
Section 20 set up base in Cape Town, South Africa when a gang lead by former Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) terrorist Daniel Connelly (Liam Cunningham), who is believed to be associated with Latif, rob an armoured truck, stealing a hard drive belonging to Kenneth Bratton's (David Butler) weapons company, which contain information regarding chemical weapons; Porter previously rescued Bratton from Iraq in 2003. Connelly also has Bratton's family watched in order to get him to cooperate. The gang hires Buckley, an American hacker, to hack into the hard drive. However, as Scott and Stonebridge give chase, Stonebridge is forced to kill him, and Scott must pose as Buckley to lead Section 20 to Connelly. When Scott meets the gang however, they capture him and send him to a farm where they strap a bomb to him. Stonebridge soon arrives at the farm, but as he is about to move in, the bomb detonates.
4"Episode 4"Bill EaglesFrank SpotnitzTBATBA9 September 2011 (2011-09-09)[2][n 4]
It is revealed that Scott is alive; Connelly had the bomb directed from his body as a test to see if he would call for help. When he passes, Scott is told he is to override the security system of a secure facility of Bratton's, with the help of the stolen hard drive and Major Oliver Sinclair (Stone). Meanwhile, Bratton calls Captain Kate Marshall (Birthistle) for help in his family's protection. Kate learns that Bratton's company was under pressure to plant VX nerve gas in Iraq. During the meeting, the two are kidnapped by Connolly's men. Stonebridge tracks her to the facility Scott was sent to hack into. Connelly gains access to a package of the VX before killing Bratton. Though Scott and Stonebridge capture Connelly and confiscate the VX, they find Kate rigged with a bomb. Though Connelly promises to disarm it if they let him go, he goes back on the deal and escapes, while Kate dies in the ensuing explosion. Grant later follows Connelly to Mozambique and kills him.
5"Episode 5"Alex Holmes[23]TBATBATBATBA
Section 20 tracks Garald Crawford (Iain Glen) to the Sudan. Crawford is a Royal Marine turned arms dealer with possible ties to Latif. When he is confronted by the section, he reveals he is shipping weapons to Latif, who kidnapped Crawford's daughter, and is willing to give them Latif if they rescue her.[22]
6"Episode 6"Alex Holmes[23]TBATBATBATBA
7"Episode 7"TBATBATBATBATBA
8"Episode 8"TBATBATBATBATBA
9"Episode 9"Daniel Percival[23]TBATBATBATBA
10"Episode 10"Daniel Percival[23]TBATBATBATBA

Notes

  1. ^ 12 August 2011 is the original US air date. CultBox lists the original UK air date as 21 August 2011.
  2. ^ 19 August 2011 is the original US air date. CultBox lists the original UK air date as 28 August 2011.
  3. ^ 26 August 2011 is the original US air date. CultBox lists the original UK air date as 4 September 2011.
  4. ^ 9 September 2011 is the original US air date. CultBox lists the original UK air date as 11 September 2011.

Refererences

  1. ^ a b c Hibberd, James (9 February 2011). "Cinemax orders '24'-meets-'Call of Duty' action series". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Seidman, Robert (21 July 2011). "CINEMAX Series 'Strike Back' Debuts Aug. 12". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  3. ^ a b c "Sullivan Stapleton Interview". BSkyB. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  4. ^ Williams, Andrew (12 August 2011). "Sullivan Stapleton: Strike Back has lots and lots of flesh in it". Metro. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  5. ^ a b c "Sullivan Stapleton lands lead role in HBO drama Strike Back". Herald Sun. The Herald and Weekly Times. 20 January 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Philip Winchester Interview". BSkyB. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  7. ^ a b c d "Amanda Mealing Interview". BSkyB. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  8. ^ a b c "This Week's TV; 'It's the best job I've ever had'". TV & Satellite Week. ICP Media: Page 6.
  9. ^ "Eva Birthistle Interview". BSkyB. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  10. ^ "Second Series For Sky1's Strike Back". tv.sky.com. British Sky Broadcasting. 10 February 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  11. ^ "Strike Back: The Story". BSkyB. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  12. ^ a b Deans, Jason (6 May 2010). "TV ratings: Timothy Spall gives fair wind to BBC4". guardian.co.uk. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  13. ^ Deans, Jason (2 August 2009). "Sky1 orders second series of Strike Back". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  14. ^ Oglethorpe, Tim (28 July 2010). "Global Strike action". The Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
  15. ^ a b Seidman, Robert (15 August 2011). "Updated Friday Cable Ratings: 'Storage Wars' Tops Primetime; 'Smackdown' Falls; 'Haven,' 'Thundercats' Steady & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  16. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (15 August 2011). "Solid Start For 'Strike Back' On Cinemax, Lifetime's 'Against The Wall' Inches Up". Deadline. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  17. ^ "Strikeback 2, Sky1 HD, Starts Sunday 21 August". BSkyB. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  18. ^ Laughlin, Andrew (24 August 2011). "Sky1's 'Strike Back: Project Dawn' opens with 600k". Digital Spy. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  19. ^ "Strike Back: Project Dawn". British Video Association. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  20. ^ "Strike Back: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  21. ^ "Weekly Top 10 Programmes (See relevant week ending August 21, 2011 onwards and scroll down to Sky1)". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  22. ^ "'Strike Back: Project Dawn' episode guide". CultBox. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  23. ^ a b c d "Series 2". Left Bank Pictures. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
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