Strike Back ep 7

http://tvovermind.zap2it.com/cable/cinemax/tvovermind-exclusive-clip-tonights-strike/95571

TVOvermind Exclusive - Clip From Tonight's Strike Back

Written By Jon Lachonis
September 30th, 2011 - (2 days ago)

If you're already excited for tonight's episode of Strike Back on Cinemax, here's something to make your wait a little bit more agonizing. TVOvermind has scored an exclusive sneak peek for tonight's episode of Strike Back When Stonebridge (Phillip Winchester) and Scott (Sullivan Stapleton) head up a Section 20 sponsored hostage exchange the situation takes a turn for the worst and the group find themselves trapped deep within enemy territory, with no hope of rescue. Check out the clip and tune in tonight, September 30th, at 10:00 ET/PT for Episode 7 of Strike Back.

Episode #7
Debut: FRIDAY, SEPT. 30 (10:00-10:45 p.m. ET/PT)
Other CINEMAX playdates: Sept. 30 (midnight) and Oct. 1 (9:00 p.m., 11:50 p.m.) and 4 (12:45 a.m.)
Written by Simon Burke; directed by Paul Wilmshurst.

Section 20 negotiates the release of five European Union officials taken hostage by Kosovoan weapons, drugs and human trafficker Hasani (Mel Raido), intending to exchange the hostages for Hasani’s cousin Rama (Zsolt Nag), who is in a Vienna prison for attacks on U.S. and British targets. One of the hostages is undercover MI-6 terror expert John Allen (Adrian Rawlins), identified by Crawford (Iain Glen) as Latif’s (Jimi Mistry) inside man. When the exchange in rural Kosovo doesn’t go as planned, Stonebridge (Philip Winchester) and Scott (Sullivan Stapleton) are stranded with the hostages and surrounded by Hasani’s forces. Guest stars include David Haig, Annabelle Wallis and Gillian Hanna.

http://www.craveonline.com/tv/previews/175328-exclusive-strike-back-episode-7-preview

Exclusive 'Strike Back' Episode 7 Preview

Damien Scott and Michael Stonebridge escort a dangerous prisoner into Kosovo.
By Blair Marnell
September 30, 2011
3

In last week's episode of "Strike Back," the unlikely team of Section 20 operative Michael Stonebridge (Philip Winchester), known terrorist weapons supplier, Gerald Crawford (Iain Glen) and a cab driver named Jacoub (Abdul Salis) pursued the Janjaweed marauders into the desert to save Crawford's daughter, Dr. Clare Somersby (Laura Haddock) from Tahir (Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaje).

Elsewhere, Damien Scott (Sullivan Stapleton) was treated for his life threatening wounds, but he was unable to escape the soldiers loyal to a corrupt local official. Fortunately, Col. Eleanor Grant (Amanda Mealing) came into Dafur and she personally helped Scott break free before they procured a helicopter. Out in the desert, Crawford was fatally injured just prior to a final showdown with the Janjaweed. But before he died, Crawford passed on the name of the British intelligence officer working with Latif (Jimi Mistry); Section 20's most wanted terrorist.

In this exclusive clip from the seventh episode of "Strike Back," Section 20 sends a recovered Scott and Stonebridge on a mission to exchange a European terrorist named Rama (Zsolt Nag) to his cousin, Hasani (Mel Raido) in the heart of Kosovo in return for five European Union hostages... including John Allen (Adrian Rawlins), the man identified by Crawford as Latif's inside man.

Our second clip of the week finds Scott and Stonebridge desperately looking for a vehicle to escape the unfriendly territory. Unfortunately, the closest car is in a heavily guarded drug lab. But that's never stopped Stonebridge and Scott before!

Don't miss the seventh episode of "Strike Back" this Friday night on Cinemax!

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/10/02/bdquostrike_backbdquo_episode_7_expect_the_unexpected/#

Strike Back Episode 7: Expect the Unexpected
Thompson on Hollywood
Strike Back‘s heroes are far from perfect; reviewer David Chute admires their resilience in responding to the unexpected.

“Is this normal?” asks an appalled European Union hostage in Kosovo at the midpoint of Episode 7 of Strike Back. It’s an obvious question, after the third or fourth wrenching plot reversal has turned everything upside down yet again; when everything is right on the verge of going irretrievably FUBAR. Section 20 operative Damien Scott (Sullivan Stapleton), in a grace-under-pressure, “come to think of it” sort of way, says, “well, yeah.” For Scott and his comrade in arms, Michael Stonebridge (Philip Winchester), this life-threatening swirl of menace, this sense of being trapped inside a cyclone, is just another day at the office.

Dropped from the sky into chaotically corrupt and crime-ridden post-Serbian Kosovo, Stonebridge and Scott have been charged with the rescue of five EU officials who have been grabbed off an airport bus by Hasini (Mel Raido), a criminal thug with political clout whose influence has seeped into every corner of his tattered country. The list of his entrepreneurial ventures, when it’s read off, includes not only such global staples as weapons and drug smuggling but also the trendier horror of trafficking in human organs. Which places Hasini pretty close to the top of the list of the Ten Most Vile.

Mulling over the surreal amorality of what they will be facing on the ground, Stonebridge and Scott are frankly contemptuous of their handlers’ fanciful insistence on a “clean and surgical operation.” The partners consult briefly: do they have any intention of honoring the elaborate protocols negotiated for exchanging the hostages for the carefully guarded prisoner they picked up in Austria, Hasini’s weasely cousin Rama (Zsolt Nag)? Are they actually going to march trustingly through a pre-arranged set of negotiated procedures, an approach that all but guarantees that some of the scummiest and least reliable men on the face of the earth, will gain exact information about their whereabouts? Glances are exchanged. Heads are shaken. “No fucking way.”

Some fans of Strike Back have complained that too many things get screwed up during the average episode. Prisoners escape; exchanges turn into betrayals; highly trained special-forces dudes get bushwhacked and clobbered with two-by-fours. The question is, should we on that basis doubt the competence of our heroes or celebrate their resourcefulness, their speedy resilience in responding to the unexpected? It’s seemed obvious to me from the start that the show is about men and women whose job it is to walk straight into the messiest and most uncontrollable situations on earth, and somehow survive and bring off a mission. To expect any plan, no matter how carefully worked, to go off without a hitch in this context seems ludicrous. A great deal of the believable rough texture of the show grows out of that harsh reality.

Precautions can be taken to mitigate the cock-ups endemic to missions in lawless war zones – such as, in this case, taking out the sniper positioned strategically over the exchange point (glurk, argh) and replacing him with one of your own. In a case like that, as in many others, what matters most is who the person is who’s watching your back, and whether you can trust them. It makes perfect sense that Episode 7 is also about the growing cohesion of the partnership of Stonebridge and Scott. They rubbed each other the wrong way in the early innings but now, more often than not, find material in their differences for the kind of cheerful insult humor that guys the world over use as a bonding mechanism. The key is that they’ve shared experiences of battling through chaos that not even their own commanders know first hand, bone deep, the way they do.

Glances exchanged. Heads shaken. “No fucking way.”

[Photo: Egon Endrenyi/Cinemax; Philip Winchester, David Haig, Dorian Lough, Adrian Rawlins, Gillian Hanna, Sullivan Stapleton and Annabelle Wallis in Episode 7 of Cinemax’ Strike Back.]

http://www.buzzfocus.com/2011/09/30/exclusive-strike-back-episode-7-preview-clip-scott-and-stonebridge-stage-assault/

Exclusive: Strike Back Episode 7 Preview Clip – Scott and Stonebridge Stage Assault
By Bags H. : September 30, 2011


After last week’s exciting South Africa episode, all hands are on deck at Section 20 to continue the hunt for Latif (jimi Mistry).

Check out this new clip from Strike Back Episode 7. Now that Scott (Sullivan Stapleton) is “all healed up” from the attack on Tahir (Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaje), he’s back with Stonebridge staging a rescue mission. This video captures the dry wit of their combat-duo relationship.

In Episode 7
Section 20 negotiates the release of five European Union officials taken hostage by Kosovoan weapons, drugs and human trafficker Hasani (Mel Raido), intending to exchange the hostages for Hasani¹s cousin Rama (Zsolt Nag), who is in a Vienna prison for attacks on U.S. and British targets. One of the hostages is undercover MI-6 terror expert John Allen (Adrian Rawlins), identified by Crawford (Iain Glen) as Latif¹s (Jimi Mistry) inside man.

When the exchange in rural Kosovo doesn¹t go as planned, Stonebridge (Philip Winchester) and Scott (Sullivan Stapleton) are stranded with the hostages and surrounded by Hasani¹s forces. Guest stars include David Haig, Annabelle Wallis and Gillian Hanna.

Click on thumbnails below to preview stills from this week’s episode of Strike Back:

http://www.craveonline.com/tv/reviews/175514-strike-back-107-episode-7

STRIKE BACK 1:07 'Episode 7'

Stonebridge and Scott embark on a dangerous hostage rescue in Kosovo, only to end up trapped in enemy territory.
By Blair Marnell
October 03, 2011

Writer: Simon Burke

Director: Paul Wilmhurst

Previously on "Strike Back"

In their continuing mission to track down the terrorist known as Latif (Jimi Mistry), Section 20 went after Gerald Crawford (Iain Glen), Latif's weapon supplier. But when Damien Scott (Sullivan Stapleton) and Michael Stonebridge (Philip Winchester) captured Crawford, he claimed that he was forced to bring weapons to the African warlord, Tahir (Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaje) in exchange for the safety of his daughter, Dr. Clare Somersby (Laura Haddock). During a botched attempt to recover Clare, Scott was shot and badly wounded while Tahir made his escape with Clare.

While being treated for his life threatening wound, Scott and Major Oliver Sinclair (Rhashan Stone) were arrested by troops loyal to a corrupt government official; forcing Col. Eleanor Grant (Amanda Mealing) to personally see to their release. Out in the desert, Crawford claimed that Latif had a spy inside British intelligence but he refused to give up the name until his daughter was safe. Stonebridge and Crawford eventually freed Clare, but Tahir's men caught up with them and Crawford was fatally wounded. But before he died, Crawford gave the name to Clare to pass on to Stonebridge.

In the aftermath of the firefight, Grant and Scott arrived by helicopter and took Stonebridge, Clare and Crawford's body to safety. And Stonebridge told Grant that he had the information from Crawford.

Story:

In Kosovo, five European Union representatives including, John Allen (Adrian Rawlins), Rob Bailey (Dorian Lough), Mrs. Heath (Gillian Hanna), Dana Van Rijin (Annabelle Wallis) are taken hostage by a terrorist/heroin kingpin, Hasani (Mel Raido). In Vienna, the real star of the show, Sullivan Stapleton's ass makes its first appearance of the hour while Scott has a sexual encounter with a very pretty young woman named Marianna (Natalia Avelon). However, their time together is cut short when Scott is called into Section 20. Along the way, Scott and Stonebridge have some funny banter about Scott's latest conquest before they learn about the hostage situation.

Col. Grant orders them to escort European terrorist, Agim Rama (Zsolt Nagy) to his cousin Hasani in exchange for the five hostages. Making the situation critical to Section 20 is the fact that John Allen was the man identified by Crawford as Latif's spy inside British intelligence. Their priority is to get Allen out safely. As they pick up Rama, Scott dryly notes that it is very convenient that Allen changed his travel plans just when they were closing in on him. Before they leave, Scott notes that they should expect trouble ahead. Sure enough, an assassination attempt is made on the armored truck holding Rama.

Scott and Stonebridge take out the attackers after they bomb the truck, one of whom dies on impact and the other commits suicide by cyanide pill. At the rendezvous point, Grant is pissed until Scott and Stonebridge reveal that they stuffed Rama into the trunk of their own car because they suspected treachery. On the plane ride to Kosovo, Scott sells Stonebridge on the idea that they should deal with the mission unconventionally to avoid more betrayal. On the ground, only Scott greets Donoghue (Peter O'Meara), the American escort from the KFOR peacekeeping force who gives Scott a jeep and the location of the extraction point while Stonebridge makes his own way to the hostage exchange.

Stonebridge takes out a sniper lying in wait while Scott uses a gun hidden in Rama's pants. However, the mission goes haywire when another sniper takes out Rama before the exchange is made. Stonebridge provides cover for Scott and the hostages as they make their way back to the jeep and drive off. Stonebridge has to run when Hasani's men close in on him. Scott picks him up moments before Stonebridge's pursuers catch up to him. But their jeep is running out of fuel and when they get to the rendezvous point, Donoghue isn't there with the promised escort. With no other options, Scott and Stonebridge continue driving until they run out of gas.

Forced to go on foot, it soon becomes clear that most of the hostages won't be able to make an extended walk. Scott also takes the time to hit on Dana, who seems receptive to his advances. The only vehicles within walking distance are under heavy guard at a heroin plant. Scott and Stonebridge leave the hostages behind as they stage a two man assault on the complex and nearly get overwhelmed by the sheer number of men out to kill them. Just when the only viable vehicle is destroyed, Donoghue shows up with the KFOR peacekeeper troops. The hostages also come out of the woods and join them.

Back at Section 20, Grant and Sinclair voice their distrust of Scott. And it turns out that Marianna was a military asset working directly for Grant to spy on Scott. Marianna presents her report in person and Scott passes because he didn't spill any secrets and wasn't too weird in bed. Back in Kosovo, Scott gets the back of the truck to himself with Dana as they begin making out. But when they arrive back at the peacekeeper base, Hasani is there waiting for them with Donoghue's forces clearly working with them. As Donoghue's men disarm Scott, he angrily calls Donoghue a "piece of s***."

Breakdown:

It's good that even the characters in "Strike Back" expect betrayal at every turn. When Donoghue finally showed up, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and end the episode on a cliffhanger. Otherwise this would have been the first single episode story of the entire season.

The chemistry between Stonebridge and Scott has finally gotten to the point where the banter between them is easy and even really funny when they start mocking each other. Stonebridge actually got the best joke of the hour by building up Scott's latest girl and then asking if he remembered to deflate her when he was finished. Scott and Stonebridge clearly trust each other, as shown by their willingness to keep their true plans between themselves and the way that they back each other up during the missions. This is the complete dynamic we've been waiting to see from them all season. Up until now, there wasn't a fully formed bond between them.

The one thing that was really off-putting about this episode was that Sinclair and Grant are suddenly distrustful of Scott. Grant even sent in a female operative to test Scott and make sure he wasn't a security risk. That was a little extreme, but not as bizarre as Grant wanting to know if her operative found Scott attractive. That only confirms that "Strike Back" takes place in an alternate universe in which all women are automatically drawn to Scott. Even Dana the hostage girl is making out with Scott by the end of the episode. At this rate, I wouldn't be shocked if he beds the older hostage, Mrs. Heath as well.

There is actually an interesting mystery in this episode that isn't fully explained. Someone is going through a lot of trouble to make sure that Scott and Stonebridge can't make the exchange, first with the assassination attempt on Rama in Vienna and during the second attempt at the hostage exchange that did kill Rama. My initial suspicion was that Hasani had his cousin killed, but he seemed genuinely remorseful when he saw his body. That means there is another faction in play and the audience is being kept in the dark about who they are what their goal is.

As usual, the action sequences were very entertaining, particularly during the first assassination attempt in Vienna. The firefight at the Heroin plant was also well handled. The show does get a little unbelievable when Scott had numerous men shooting at him and doesn't even get scratched. Who taught those soldiers to aim? Cobra troops? Stormtroopers?

Regardless, "Strike Back" continues to outshine every other action series on TV. It's not "24," but it's the next best thing.

Crave Online Rating: 7.5 out of 10.