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'The Taking of Harry' is Channel 4s attempt at explaining the events which might occur if Prince Harry, second son of the Prince of Wales, was kidnapped by the Taliban. These hypothetical docu-dramas turn up on English television from time to time and in the past we've been subjected to such pap as 'The Execution of Gary Glitter' and various disaster scenarios involving tidal waves and bird flu epidemics. In this particular offering we are asked to believe a scenario whereby 'Harry Wales' is downed by a speculative rocket attack while flying over Helmand province in Afghanistan. Obviously this piece was inspired by the recent news that Prince Harry has made it known that he intends to serve another tour of duty in Afghanistan. Soldiering is a tradition amongst the Royals in Britain: King George the sixth having fought at the Battle of Jutland in the first War and Prince Andrew, Harry's uncle, served as a helicopter pilot in the Falklands in 1982. The public profile is thus enhanced by emphasizing this 'solidarity' with the real people of Britain by showing the royals standing shoulder to shoulder with geezers from various council estates all over the United Kingdom. Although it has to be said that the fact Harry had four bodyguards protecting him at the expense of UK taxpayers slightly sets him apart. It seems that once a kidnapping (of a British national) is reported either within the United Kingdom or abroad, it is dealt with by Scotland Yard, headquarters of the Metropolitan police in London. For such a high-profile figure as Harry Wales, the government would then implement COBRA (cabinet office briefing room A) to coordinate the official strategy and keep in contact with negotiators in theatre. The depiction of the members of COBRA was particularly cringe-inducing with Prime Minister seemingly a loose amalgam of plain-speaking John Major, hooray Etonian David Cameron with perhaps a dash of Tony Blair after Lady Diana bought it. Then you had a Theresa May-like foreign secretary urging the stiff upper-lippers to simply pay the ransom demanded by the insurgents and get Harry 'back to blighty' and prevent the standing government going down in history as the administration who had royal blood on their hands. My favourite had to be the Sandhurst trained military type Mike Reeves, Head of UK Special Forces, played with Terry Thomas-like nonchalance, as if this kind of occurrence was very careless indeed. There is a real danger with stuff like this that the balance between the 'documentary, side of the piece and the drama aspect can become bothersome. I assume that channel 4 were attempting to project the notion of a 'serious piece' as opposed to a sensation-seeking ratings-grabber, that's why the drama side of things is seriously lacking and full of stereo typical assumptions. I found that I was invariably cringing with embarrassment at the awful dialogue: 'It's the f**king co-pilot!' exclaims an SAS operative, in typical earthy salt-of-the-earth squaddie fashion during a rescue attempt in the wrong location, while at the same time being quite interested in the hypothetical
procedure that might be implemented should such a scenario occur. However I had misgivings that some of the supposed policy decisions would be the same in the case of Harry as they would be with any member of the rank and file. Of course I understand that a public face would have to be maintained for the sake of the government's popularity and safety of troops fighting in the area, but the programme did not explore the possibility of senior royals becoming involved to pressurize the politicians. Then again the royals would be anxious to maintain the 'stiff-upper-lip' stereo-type associated with us Brits and carry on with civic engagements and what not. Perhaps this was an opportunity missed by the film-makers to question what official procedure would do. All we were given was spoon-fed facts without any independent analysis other than a few comments by members of the public played by actors. Our understanding of the Taliban was given scant regard. We were informed that far from being a cohesive force they were a loose collection of militant villagers, opportunist criminals and tribal warlords all held together with the desire to make a fast buck at the expense of allied soldiers and foreign journalists. It was one of those programmes that will always come in for criticism but one you just had to watch for the comedy value and the factual content as well. I question whether the UK public would be any more or less concerned about the abduction of a royal compared to a normal soldier, but then that depends on your point of view. I welcome any opinions regarding this piece or the programme itself in the form of comments, thank you.
When I finished watching the TV documentary dealing with this subject I just had to jot a few thoughts down. I'd love to find out what you think of my attempt and would heartily welcome any comments at http://www.everetro.com/media/harry/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Leech
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