Underplayed Gems

The Paras (1983)

The Paras poster
Genre
documentary film
Country
United Kingdom
Length
1 season, 7 episodes
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How it feels

This documentary series follows a group of British Army recruits as they go through basic training for the Parachute Regiment in the early 1980s. The camera captures their daily routines, challenges, and the strict discipline of military life over several months.

observationalgroundedearnestdeliberateinformativeunadornedmatter-of-fact

What happens

The Paras is a 1983 BBC TV documentary series about British Parachute Regiment recruits of 480 (Training) Platoon undertaking their basic training at the Depot of the Parachute Regiment (Depot Para) at Aldershot Garrison between January and June 1982. The series was broadcast on BBC1 in March and April 1983. It was later repeated in 1984, with an update on the platoon members' lives in the last episode. Narrated by Glyn Worsnip, it was shot in the fly-on-the-wall style, giving the viewing public a unique insight to military life. Production of the programme started just prior to the Falklands War. The series was accompanied by a book of the same name written by the principal researcher Frank Hilton The series was accompanied by a score of military music written and arranged by Conn Bernard. Some of those recruits passing out in 1982 went on to have long and distinguished careers including Dean Ward and Rod Stoner. In addition one of the platoon staff corporals, Al Slater was later killed in Northern Ireland whilst a member of the SAS. This incident and some of this involvement in the SAS were described in two of Andy McNab's books Immediate Action and Seven Troop. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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