In a new Netflix documentary series, three former special forces officers (two from the US and one from the UK) train with elite military units and law enforcement around the world. They may or may not engage in actual operations with the units they train with. But they learn about the tactics and strategies they use.
TOUGHEST FORCES ON EARTH: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Initial shot: A caravan of military vehicles crosses the Jordanian desert.
The essence: In the eight-episode series. The toughest forces on Earth, three former special forces officers train with elite military units and law enforcement around the world. Dean Stott is a former officer in the SBS, a British special forces unit. Cameron Fath was a US Army Ranger and Ryan Bates is a former Navy SEAL.
In the first episode, the trio trains with King Abdullah II’s Royal Special Forces in Jordan. In two desert exercises, each of the hosts leads a team of Jordanian officers in a game of cat and mouse; One team follows the other two as they try to hide behind rocks and use the terrain to their advantage. The next day, the drill shows how they would react to an ambush while traveling in armed vehicles in the open desert.
The three hosts then go to a state-of-the-art counterterrorism training center, where they participate in a drill in which they find terrorists hiding in a building. The next day, the drill consists of confronting the hijackers of a plane while protecting the hostages. Eventually, the trio returns to the desert and participates in a drill in which they have to invade a compound and drive out rebel forces who have the ability to escape through a tunnel system.
What shows will it remind you of? The toughest forces on Earth It is from the same producers as Inside the toughest prisons in the world, and the two shows share similar vibes. Also remember Fox. Special Forces: the toughest test in the worldjust minus the reality competition element and the C-list celebrities.
Our opinion: The toughest forces on Earth is as testosterone-driven as any show on Netflix; It’s essentially about the three hosts visiting different elite forces, whether military or police, and participating in training exercises. Do they carry out real operations? Maybe; In the second episode, they work with the Jungle unit of the Colombian National Police and, after their training, accompany the unit to what appears to be a real cocaine bust. But who knows how that was organized and whether the hosts are ever in any real danger.
There isn’t much context in the Jordan episode about the origin of the king’s special forces unit (it is mentioned that King Abdullah II was in the special forces before ascending the throne) and there is a cursory reference to the fact that they are a stable country surrounded by unstable territories and nations. But the show is less about context and more about operations and how the hosts fit into the units they’re training with.
We also wanted to see more about the officers in the unit, rather than seeing them helping the hosts. It may vary from episode to episode, but we only see a brief glimpse of the hosts engaging in some sort of conversation with any of the unit’s officers about their reasons for joining the military or about their special forces training or anything remotely personal.
Hosts should take a bit of a backseat to allow the people who are actually in the unit to take center stage and highlight the tactics and methods they use. Yes, the hosts have a lot of personality, but we wish the producers would see fit to give more screen time to the people the hosts trained with.
Sex and skin: None.
Parting Shot: The Jordanian unit sends its new “brothers” using a “VIP” means of transportation: a caravan of camels.
Sleeping star: The men and women of the units the hosts train with are the sleeping stars, for what they do every day to protect their respective countries.
Most pilot line: Cameron Fath doesn’t really profile physically as a special forces guy; He is short and somewhat skinny. And there is more than one joke about his relatively small stature. He seems to be in a good mood about it, but we’re sure he’s been dealing with short pranks since basic training.
Our call: TRANSMIT IT. So it is, The toughest forces on Earth It’s well done; We just wish there was some context and lore to go with all the tactics and weaponry.
Joel Keller@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and technology, but make no mistake: he’s a couch potato. His writings have appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.comFast Company and other places.
