The Last Post is, remarkably, an interesting watch.
On the surface, this series sounded downright dull. Military Police in one of the last bastions, of the fading UK empire. I watched the first episode as much out of a state of inertia, as genuine interest.
Suffice to say The Last Post captured my interest and held it beautifully. This is an engaging series with a emphasis on human interest blended capably with action scenes, that mirror in a faded way, current conditions in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.
Whats different is the prevailing sense of empire that blinds all but the most insightful British officers to the reality of life in Aden. There is still a rather naive view of empire as somehow benevolent and not oppressive, in spite of the torture of locals, the only accepted method of extracting information about resistance fighters. As one officer rightly points out to his commander "They hate us....".
Its a series with a very 60's vibe that has at its core a transition from the view of empire as a polite unassailable fortress, to one of open conflict and chaos.Its an interesting watch for this reason as the British forces operate almost as if they live in a transplanted "England". They go about their business with a certain "urbanity" with all the usual petty personal conflicts and intrigues, that does not reasonably reflect the danger they face.
I do not know where this series will go but thus far its started out with an interesting premise that could work very well or derail very badly. In any case so far its looking good. Eight out of ten from me.
