Black Hawk Down: The True Story (five)

Makeovers From Hell (ITV1)

RIDLEY Scott's film Black Hawk Down was so good at recreating the confused, chaotic heat of battle that it was impossible to tell what was going on as an American mission in Somalia went horribly wrong in October 1993. One dirt and blood-stained soldier looked much like another, making it even more difficult to follow.

Five's documentary, labelled The True Story, had the benefit of hindsight and the testimony of men who took part in a 30-minute raid that turned into a 15-hour running battle, leaving 18 soldiers dead in the most intense American firefight since the Vietnam War.

As the situation in Iraq continues to rumble on, it was a timely reminder of the consequences of one country getting involved in the future of another. The US military was helping a UN relief effort to end famine by delivering food and basic medicine to desperate Somalians rather than gunmen loyal to rival warlords.

The Americans launched raids into the city of Mogadishu that resulted in many Somalians being killed. The Somalians saw this as interference in their affairs. After US soldiers were killed, President Clinton ordered the deployment of an elite task force to track down and capture those responsible.

The mission went like clockwork until it was time to get out, and the downing of a Black Hawk helicopter was the signal for Somalians to take up arms. Nearly 100 soldiers became trapped in the city centre. What started as an assault turned into a rescue operation to get the Americans out.

Another Black Hawk crashed behind enemy lines. Injured pilot Michael Durant saw crew who'd survived the initial crash fighting for their lives. The point came where, he said, he accepted the fact that he was going to die. In "the most terrifying moment of my life", he watched as Somalians over-ran the site. Colleagues were beaten to death or torn apart. Amazingly, his life was spared and he was taken prisoner.

The full horror of what had happened was brought home when the soldiers finally reached the safety of a soccer stadium controlled by Pakistani peacekeepers. "The scene was overwhelming," recalled one. "There were bodies everywhere."

Strange how the once-ridiculed five gives us serious, intelligent documentaries while ITV1 offers Makeovers From Hell, a cheap and not very cheerful programme skimming over the surface of a serious problem - the dangers of trying to look your best.

An awful lot of time was wasted visiting sun bed shops to prove that they fail to give adequate warnings about the dangers of getting a tan this way. And while one applauded Dan for letting the cameras spy while he had an all-over body wax (or back, crack and sack as it's known in the trade), I suspect his friends won't be able to look him in the face again after seeing him naked, crouched on all fours, while a man billed as a "BSC expert" applied and ripped wax strips from his bum.

There were tales of hair dying that went wrong, piercings that resulted in infected ears, and the home waxing kit that left a girl permanently scarred. Compared to the horrors of war, though, this hardly seemed to matter

Published: ??/??/2003