60) Soldier of Fortune Inc
60) Title- Soldier of Fortune Inc
Year- 1997-98
Character- Christopher ‘CJ’ Yates
Synopsis- A special ops team made up of military specialists go undercover to thwart various baddies, in the name of the US of A.
Medium- Rip of a dodgy VHS copy
Entirety or episode?- Entirety
Overall verdict- SOF is what it is. It’s a 90s American Jerry Bruckheimer show about special ops soldiers, so don’t expect it to be particularly forward-thinking in terms of ‘foreigners’ or equality and diversity. It also covers some pretty dark themes, although most of the really bad stuff (torture etc) occurs off-screen. That said, it’s actually a lot better than most shows of the time period in terms of, well, not being a complete bag of poop. Whilst there are some huge nope moments (lesbians as a punchline, some really choice racist dialogue, numerous rape threat storylines, I could go on) it’s an easy watch, it’s fun and fast and has a cast of really likeable characters who you’ll grow to love (yeah, even Benny Ray, who’s a total dudebro.) It’s also cheesy af, which ups its fun quota by a huge amount. I enjoyed it a lot.
Screen time- Main character
Accent- Cockney (and occasionally Irish!)
Mark’s character- I may be biased, but CJ is by far and away the best thing about SOF. He’s another character that Mr S absolutely inhabits. It’s also nice that he’s probably the most uncomplicatedly nice character in Mark’s back catalogue – he’s a legit action hero. He’s also the comic relief, which means that he not only gets all of the best lines, but is also the most relatable. Also, the fact that he’s often portrayed (I think unfairly) as the most ‘cowardly’ or ‘the weak link’ also makes him the most nuanced and relatable character of the crew. His backstory with his brother is genuinely upsetting and Mr S puts in a typically excellent performance in a lot of very highly emotional scenes. In short, CJ is frankly adorable (despite being a badass ammunitions expert). He’s a chirpy cheeky chappy, enthusiastic, full of bravado and bullshit, always has a (terrible) joke ready (so the others can tell him to shut up) and is absolutely loyal and (almost) fearless in the face of danger. And he really, really hates Libyans.
Highlight- I’ve made copious notes, so there’s really too much to list here, but here’s a few.
CJ knows ‘every lyric of Fleetwood Mac’ (he’s also into Nine Inch Nails!)
CJ in Broken Play, dealing with PTSD. He looks absolutely terrified in the flashbacks and it’s devastating. How he cradles that gun because he’ll kill himself before they’ll take him alive again, oh my heart.
CJ “Do you like cake?” And he damn well baked that cake, too!
CJ spinning drumsticks at the start of ‘Collateral Damage’.
Teddy Bear’s Picnic: the earworm that won’t quit.
CJ building a defibrillator ffs and refusing to give up on Chance.
Honorary mention for Mother in ‘Hired Guns’ <3
Every time CJ starts to tell a joke and everyone tells him to shut up. “What was the punchline?” “You know I make it up as I go along.”
Every time CJ shows that he’s actually a whole league more intelligent than anyone gives him credit for.
Rewatch?- Yes, but I wish they’d release it on DVD to buy, as it’s impossible to find and the quality of the VHS rip I bought is dreadful!
Apologies for the quality of the caps!
