"Squadron" (1982) TV series

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Creators:

Alastair Balfour
Peter May
Joe Waters

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

19 October 1982 (UK)

Cast

Sally Knyvette	...	Jacqueline Welch (2 episodes, 1982)
Nadim Sawalha	...	General Kaan (2 episodes, 1982)

Runtime:

UK:50 min (10 episodes)

Country:

UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

1980's military thriller

I loved this when it was first broadcast just after the Falklands War. It focused on a fictional RAF squadron which was supposed to be some kind of Rapid Deployment Force. It was equipped with Harriers, Pumas, Helicopters and (briefly) Phantoms, not to mention a maverick Wing Commander(Malcolm Stoddart) who seemed to be constantly at war with his Group Captain (Michael Culver). Typically of 80's BBC productions, it was sometimes hampered by a lowish budget - I recall at least two episodes set in a fictional former British colony in Africa, which looked as if they had been filmed in North Wales. (The terrain there could perhaps pass for parts of South Africa, but it is far too green and damp to be convincing.) All of the other foreign deployments seemed to be filmed in Cyprus (although it could easily have been that gravel pit in England where they filmed most of Dr Who for all I know). It may not have aged well, but unless the BBC release it on DVD, we will probably never know.