Tried watching this show but Philip Winchester with his realistic training and AMAZING acting spoiled me. I can't get into the old one..

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Ever wonder what “Strike Back” would look like without its almost comical blend of bullets, bombs and breasts?

Or why “Strike Back” wasted Richard Armitage (the “Hobbit” trilogy) on a tiny cameo in its premiere?

Both answers lie in “Strike Back: Origins” (10 p.m. Friday, Cinemax).

The original British series that aired before Cinemax got its exploitative hands on it, “Origins” stars Armitage, as a damaged special-forces soldier, and a decidedly British Andrew Lincoln (“The Walking Dead”).

The action drama is so much more straightforward, if someone walks in, it won’t feel like you got caught watching softcore porn.

— CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE

Richard Armitage plays a man who is haunted by a mistake he made at the start of a war, on “Strike Back,” on Cinemax.
Filling in the Blanks in the Tale of a Death
‘Strike Back’ Is Airing Season 1 for the First Time in U.S.

By MIKE HALE
Published: October 24, 2013

When “Strike Back,” Cinemax’s post-Sept. 11, globe-hopping counterterrorism series, began in 2011, something felt missing. In the premiere, a British special-forces soldier was kidnapped in Pakistan and executed, and people back in London were very upset, which made sense. But viewers were left wondering: Who was that guy? Why were we supposed to care so much about him?
Related

Television Review | ‘Strike Back’: In Between the Terrorist Threats, Plenty of Time for Hanky-Panky (August 12, 2011)
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What was missing, as it turned out, was the show’s entire six-episode first season. Cinemax had become a co-producer of “Strike Back,” with the Sky network in Britain, beginning with Season 2, so it simply acted as if the first season had never happened. An entirely new cast was hired, and the story started over again from scratch — with the exception of that brief farewell appearance by the ill-fated soldier who was, in fact, the lead character from Season 1.

Now that “Strike Back” has built a solid American audience across three seasons and become an underground favorite with fans of military adventure, colorful international locations and gratuitous premium-cable nudity, Cinemax is finally showing us those six missing episodes, relabeled as “Strike Back: Origins.” Beginning on Friday night, we can see what the fuss wasn’t about.

It turns out that we didn’t miss anything too crucial or exciting, though “Origins” is no worse than average among the class of shows — “24,” “The Unit,” “MI5” — that mix high-tech intelligence gathering with bloody commando action. Richard Armitage (Guy of Gisborne in the BBC “Robin Hood”) is sufficiently square-jawed and troubled as the hero, John Porter, who is haunted by a fatal mistake he made at the beginning of the Persian Gulf invasion. American viewers will note the presence (and native British accent) of Andrew Lincoln, now a star as Rick Grimes in “The Walking Dead.”

Cynics may note some elements in “Origins” — a high body count among the people on “our” side, less than flattering references to the United States — that became less prevalent after “Strike Back” became a half-American show. But the more interesting realization is that “Strike Back” became a better show — livelier, less heavy-handed — with the addition of Cinemax’s money and input. Score one for the Americans.
A version of this review appears in print on October 25, 2013, on page C13 of the New York edition with the headline: Filling in the Blanks In the Tale of a Death.

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Was soll man da noch sagen

But a lot is different. "Strike Back: Cinemax" is a buddy show, filled with light-hearted banter between Winchester and Stapleton, almost as much about their slow-burning friendship as about the missions they go on. "Strike Back: Origins" has a very recognizable co-star in Andrew Lincoln (Rick from "The Walking Dead") as the head of Section 20, but he's the boss and sometimes adversary of Armitage's John Porter, not his pal. This is a solo vehicle for Armitage, who has to work a lot in silence, and is playing a character far more psychologically damaged than either of his successors. "Origins" opens on the eve of the Iraq invasion, with Porter and Lincoln's Hugh Collinson on a mission that goes badly awry and destroys Porter's career, reputation and personal life. When he eventually wheedles his way into Section 20 in the present day, his co-workers are understandably suspicious of him, and it's clear throughout that his mind and heart never fully left that bloody spot in Iraq.

Because Porter is a man alone (though inevitably he gets paired with a local whose problems parallel his own), and because he's in the midst of so much inner turmoil, "Origins" is by design a darker show than what followed. "Strike Back: Australian Guy Playing American" certainly has its black moments, like Winchester's arc throughout the second American season, but the show's also not shy about putting Stapleton forward for a wisecrack or a naked romp with an attractive female guest star. Porter isn't a monk, but "Origins" cuts discreetly away before anything raunchy happens; Skinemax, this is not.

Having seen all 30 episodes of "Strike Back: We Might Just End An Episode With A Laughing Freeze Frame" and all six of "Strike Back: Origins," it's clear each version has distinct strengths and weaknesses. "Origins" is the more psychologically complex show, and feels slightly more realistic, even though Porter escapes certain death on numerous occasions. But "Strike Back: Nudity Clauses Are a Must" has a bigger scope and much stronger action sequences (I laughed with delight at a stunt in last week's episode where our heroes had to escape a moving van in heavy traffic), and though parts of it are cheesier than the Armitage version, the chemistry between Winchester and Stapleton is undeniable and a large part of the show's appeal now.

I wonder what this incarnation of "Strike Back" would be like if Armitage hadn't been cast as the lead dwarf. Would the new "Strike Back" more closely resemble the old, only with bigger action than before? Or would Porter have been assigned a partner he would slowly and begrudgingly come to like?



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Turns out the original British “Strike Back” series has a bit less blood, profanity and flesh than the subsequent version that has been roaring across late-night Cinemax the last three years.
That said, it may be an even better TV series.
“Strike Back: Origins,” which is what Cinemax has titled this quasi-prequel, tells a closed-end story in six parts. While it still oozes testosterone, it has a sharper focus and a sharper message.
The current, continuing “Strike Back,” which is heaps of fun, often plays like a never-ending comic-book adventure story in which good guys battle a stream of bad guys that will never run dry.
“Origins,” conversely, sticks to one tale with one flashback.
It also co-stars Andrew Lincoln, now better known as Rick Grimes on “The Walking Dead.”
Here he plays Major Hugh Collinson, who was among an elite unit of soldiers that rescued a hostage from Iranian militants on the eve of the 2003 U.S. invasion.
Unfortunately, two British soldiers were killed and another crippled during the rescue, which led squad commander John Porter (Richard Armitage) to resign.
Seven years later, Collinson is a star. Porter has lost his family and scrapes by on security gigs.
Then Iranians capture British journalist Katie Dartmouth (Orla Brady), and Porter recognizes a connection to the group his team encountered in 2003. He persuades Collinson to okay a rogue-style rescue which for Porter also carries an element of atonement.
If there’s less graphic violence and sex here than in the current “Strike Back,” there’s still plenty to make this another win for fans of action drama.
dhinckley@nydailynews.com


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Andrew Lincoln's Frau hat Richard den folgenden Spitznamen gegeben, ich hoffe mal aus Alliterationsgründen :

Andrew Lincoln's Frau hat Richard den folgenden Spitznamen gegeben, ich hoffe mal aus Alliterationsgründen :

Cracking start to the first series of Strike Back. Richard Armitage is brilliant.