I stumbled across this early in series 1 while late-night channel hopping and rapidly grew to love it, other members of the family have accumulated along the way and it's now (early series 3) become required viewing. The sharply observed writing careers recklessly across the full range of comedy styles while a solid cast of identifiable characters bicker and connive their way through a lethal tour in some miserable outpost. The unsentimental approach leaves you with a strong suspicion that any member of the cast might be explosively written out at any time (probably in a blackly hilarious way), giving it a tension the likes of MASH and Dads Army would never have aspired to (although the description of this as "Dads Army for our time" is spot on).For my money series 3 has faltered a little at the start, hopefully it will find its footing again and maintain the standards of the first two.

After the endless grey and dreary BBC content along comes two great shows in a row; Luther and Bluestone 42. Fast, funny and dynamic, the show's recipe of gallows humour mixed with full on combat and a touch of compassionate insight surprises and challenges the viewer's insight into modern warfare as perceived by the British.I cannot praise the series enough, Bluestone 42 is Dads Army for the 21st century.If I was honest the only flaw is the little Scots guy, none of us can understand him and he doesn't seem to gel with the rest of the cast.Particular praise goes to the captain, padre, corporal Mills and corporal Lynda Bird. Supported by colonel Carter and Faruq.

One might have thought the war in Afghanistan wasn't a likely source of laughs but this BBC comedy attempts to prove otherwise. The titular Bluestone 42 is a mine clearance unit lead by Captain Nick Medhurst; an officer who, when he isn't defusing mines, is trying to seduce the new padre; an attractive blonde called Mary. The rest of the team is comprised of a couple of Scots who mock just about everything, a female signals operator, a corporal who is forever the butt of others jokes and another corporal who is incredible keen and precise in all he does. They get in a variety of situations; some deadly others involving larking around back at base.I was initially unsure whether this would be any good; fearing it would either be puerile or just in poor taste… as it turned out it was a little bit of both at times but that didn't matter as it was genuinely funny and had a likable cast of characters. It wasn't afraid to shock either… in the opening episode an American travelling with them was shot and killed and the team continued to joke about his boasting about his time in Fallujah. There is a good dynamic between the team which felt believable and the cast do a fine job. It must be noted that most things here are strictly played for laughs; there is no deeper meaning like in M*A*S*H; that doesn't mean there aren't tense moments though; the final episode featured an edge of the seat scene where it looked as if a major character might be blown up by a car bomb. It must also be noted that the characters use realistically robust language that might offend some viewers. Over all I'd heartily recommend this and was pleased to learn that a second series is promised.

Bluestone 42 captures the modern British Army in every way, the black humour, profanity, wind-ups, and day-to-day life is all spot-on.Apart from the slightly less than realistic scenery, I can't fault Bluestone 42 - the production team have clearly done their homework pretty well and have listened to their technical advisers. There have been very few technical glitches and overall the production is very convincing.The humour is superb, each of the four episodes so far has been equally gripping and entertaining and results in a show which I'm sure will be loved by the soldiers it portrays so well. There is so much bad comedy these days, thank goodness Bluestone 42 delivers.I don't know if Chopendoz has even watched the same Bluestone 42 as me as his review is so far off of the mark. Please ... ... please ... ... please BBC, commission series 2 ASAP.Bluestone 42 is superb!Update 24/44/2013:It was announced at the end of Episode 8 on 23/4/2013 that a second series has been commissioned, excellent news.