I'm asking this over here instead of the CE to get the opinions of outside of those that dare go into the arguing abyss of CE....
Did anyone watch this new show from FX last night?
I taped it and just got done watching it. I thought it was a good intro to all the characters. I thought it was refreshing (if you can put it that way) to get a view of the actual war and the simplicity of the fact that the soldiers ain't over there arguing back and forth whether we should have gone into iraq or not (like we do back home), they're just there to do their job and hope to stay alive.
Has there ever been a show dramatizing war while the same war was still going on?
That sounds just bizarre, but considering current trends in TV not surprising.
I'm curious as to who is consulting on the program, anyone know?
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Originally posted by kuri:
Has there ever been a show dramatizing war while the same war was still going on?
That sounds just bizarre, but considering current trends in TV not surprising.
That is a really good question. Times are certainly different. We have enough films valorizing Vietnam Vets by now that the mindset of protesting returning soldiers is a foreign concept. Probably not a bad thing. The thing that disturbs me about this series (I haven't seen it, BTW) is the jingoism. Yet another way to make the war popular for the countless minions who are just now coming to their senses about the war. Unless the show actually depicts an honest perspective that is not necessarily flattering to the architects of this war.
the show did nothing to make war glamorous. It was very superficial and formulistic as far as character development. It did, however, do a decent job of making the viewer think about the lives that are being waisted on both sides of the war.
I read a lot of articles that were published in various newspaper the week before the show debuted. I read that the show is using a consultant that recently served in Iraq, as well as taking excerpts from actual emails home from soldiers and information from different blogs that are written by active soldiers in Iraq. I watched part of the show...but can only handle so much war drama at a time...so I didn't make it all the way through.
Originally posted by Phaedrus49er: Holy shit..........
Just watched the pilot episode...
Holy shit..........
The scene at night where they had the camera using the night vision, that was pretty intense. it's almost like you could feel yourself there and not knowing if you were walking to your death....
Wow, just saw the second episode. Not nearly as gripping as the first, but no less emotionally involving. Still rough to watch, but I'll continue to do so. I think this episode got into more realism than the last.
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I just watched it...not sure which episode this was, but I can say I feel sick to my stomach from it. Makes you see what these soldiers have to go through, and the death that is occurring. You see some of the fear a soldier must feel. ( say "some" because I think unless you experience it you really don't know.) I was holding my breath through half of it as a car would come up close, with them having to make a decision whether or not to shoot and kill. Very intense. JP, I didn't see it as flattering to the architects of the war at all.
I want to see it, especially after being recommended by one of my running partners, an Army vet. Naturally, FX is one of the channels we DON'T get on Dish Network. 8000 porn channels, no FX.
TG, you saw the second episode. The first was likely designed to hook people on the special effects and action scenes. The second really took a look at the emotion and tension involved in the effort. Seemed pretty real and genuine to me.
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For anyone interested, I pulled this description of this weeks coming episode from FXnetwork.com:
"The fire team debate the morality of the interrogation process as they witness a high-ranking American officer physically and mentally breakdown an Iraqi prisoner to determine his involvement with a truckload of stolen stringer missles. Meanwhile, Terry comforts Bo as he fights to overcome his morphine addiction."
Originally posted by TrainingGirl: I've seen one show, and I am addicted.
As am I, and I hate any TV beyond the History Channel and the occasional Sportscenter. I just hope the pirate world continues to make these available for download--it's the only way I'm seeing them right now.
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Okay, third episode blows goats. WAAAAAAAAAAAAY down on the believability scale. I'm not saying something like this wouldn't happen (the colonel shooting up the Humvee), but c'mon, that was a little over the top. At this rate, hopefully the next one will be better.
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I bought the first two seasons of the shield and watched 4 on tv.
Season 1 is fan freaking tastic
Season 2 is blah
Season 4 was pretty good. Glen Close really helped breath some life into the storyline.
It bugs me a little that things typically don't REALLY go wrong. Shane has survived 2 seasons two long. Hasivada should have commited suicide. Things don't always turn out ok.
i think it's important while watching this that the stories they tell are based on the war, not actually stories that are factual from the war. it's tv. they are calling it a "drama." so i think if you watch it with that in mind and just enjoy (if you can put it that way) the story lines, it becomes less critical to watch.
remember, this is steven boccho (sp?), the guy who did NYPD Blue where in every episode:
1. the detectives come in to the office, say good morning, get coffee.
2. camera flashes to the captain as the phone rings, he writes something down and then walks out and says "we got one on 22nd and 5 ave, you two are up."
3. they go to the crime scene, talk to some people.
4. go to the family, give them to news. crying starts.
5. make a list of suspects.
6. interview possible suspects.
7. get an idea of which suspect is the "perp."
8. interogate "perp" until they confess.
9. write up their "5's" and are out the door in time to catch a drink at the bar.
ya, sure, all murders are discovered in the morning, and are solved by quittin' time the same day...... [img]tongue.gif[/img]
just some food for thought on how to keep the show in perspective.
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