portwineboy

Did anyone watch this?

I enjoyed it despite the lukewarm critical reviews. I should point out though that I also enjoy watching war movies so I have a positive bias towards the genre as a whole.

The reviews mostly harped on one theme...that it lacks substantive political commentary on the Iraq war. I'm okay with this as I get plently of talking heads whenever I turn on the evening news.

Being the pilot it had a lot of exposition so it felt a little disjointed. A couple of the characters seem pretty interesting and I hope to see them developed, others seemed one dimensional. The main plot theme for the episode Spoiler: a mosque full of insurgents who pretend they want to surrender and instead attack was pretty weak. I also didn't enjoy the Spoiler: reality tv "video email" and the el fako computer receipt of it by the cheating wife.

I couldn't figure out who Spoiler: lost their leg at the end. Bo?

What did you folks think?

This is no Band of Brothers and suffers for it but isn't exactly bad.

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cartmen34

I'd tend to agree with your general statements.

It was just OK. I couldn't really get into it, and I probably won't bother to see the any more of them, unless there is absolutely nothing else one TV and I've got nothing better to do.

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silent_jay

I agree it wasn't a great show, it was just OK, I was expecting better. When I saw them trying to advance to the next sand berm I was yelling at the screen to get some kind of interval between the guys, they were walking 2 feet away from each other, a mortar could have wiped out the who lot of them. I'll give it another episode before I don't watch it anymore, if it doesn't get any better it's out of my viewing schedule.

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bigbad

I wasn't impressed at all. It was too by the numbers, and like you said it didn't really take a position. I'm a huge fan of movies like Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now, and this just seemed like "generic war story #37" to me.

silent_jay

Just finished watching the second episode and while it was better it is lacking intensity, and it's just too easy to read as to what is going to happen during the episode. I almost enjoy the scenes of the families of the soldiers struggling with their loved ones being gone better than the actual military scenes. Not a bad episode but once again not a great episode either just mediocre. I'll check out the third and see if it gets any better then I think I'm done with this show if it doesn't improve.

I was expecting something like Tour of Duty was back in the day, I still watch that show even though I've seen all the episodes numerous times.

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portwineboy

I'm with ya on this one. I was thinking the same thing. Especially when they were taking mortar fire and everyone huddled in the ditch 2 feet from each other. I was disappointed by the addition of the "american of middle eastern descent" who just happens to know EVERYTHING about insurgency, bombs, arabs, yadda yadda yadda. Do they teach that in Detroit?

One more is it for me too.

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silent_jay

Just finished the third episode and well another mediocre episode. The whole show just lacks intensity and there is no attachment to the characters. The director seems to be trying to do so much throughout the episode but in the end it just turns into nothing. Even the firefight and air strike lacked intensity. I reckon this was my last episode of this show.

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Spektr

This is, perhaps, my biggest gripe with war movies/TV shows. I have yet to see a movie, outside of The Big Red One, in which the soldiers advance at a proper interval. It's bullshit, it's bad tactics and goddammit, it's not that hard to correct!!

Supple Cow

I really enjoy the show... but then again I have notoriously bad taste in tv drama. I liked "Blind Justice" too.

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the_marq

I have just seen the first two episodes and I am entirely facinated by this show.

"lacks political commentary?" WTF...? Does everything have to be left or right now?

The show is starting off great, some of the characters seem quite thinnly drawn (esp the bad ass black guy), but I hope to see them further developed as life goes on.

If nothing else, Over*There will keep me amused till the baddest of all badasses is back in January---> Jack Bauer '24.'

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Ganggreen

i don't think it lacks political commentary at all, i think its in your face commentary. not bullshitting a story about a bunch of gung-ho patriotic American soldiers, they're just men and women doing what it takes to stay alive. sometimes even if that means takin the risk of shooting an innocent person. hate to say it, but i'd do the same. and that is what is REALLY happening, "over there".

Ramega

I'm enjoying it, but it's not my favorite show. Without question, the "ending song" thing HAS to go. That is one of the worst songs ever, and the fact that one of the show's creators/writers sings it doesn't help. It really seems like one of those things that the creator is doing just because he can, and he doesn't realize how bad it is.

Otherwise the show's not bad.