Over There

If anyone wants to see a 2nd Season of "Over There" you should petition the FX NETWORK at (user@fxnetworks.com) or check out the website at (www.fxnetwork.com) and bombard those execs with e-mails people to renew this show & get it back on air NOW!!! Let's be HEARD!!! This show was under exposed and needs to be HEARD for the serving men & woman serving proudly in Iraq and making the ultimate sacrifice. It is sad to see that a show the pays homage to all serving is canceled due to poor viewership. There are no shows like it on TV. Today there are too many "O.C." type shows about a bunch spoiled brats and their life problems on TV and not enough Real Life Modern Day War shows. Come on FX get with the program!!! BRING IT BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK so for credibility let me give you my background. I was a Sergeant in the Marines from 1997-2001. While I was not grunt as I am sure most of you weren't either although you like to talk like you all are. I was a riflemen before my MOS though. OK, so you all complain that they make soldiers look stupid, get over it. In "Full Metal Jacket" they made Marines look like robots, but hey that's what your called to do which is follow orders. It's a TV show. Then some captain wanted to say that NCO's don't yell at their troops. Well I don't know how it's done in the Army, but if there is one thing I learned in the Marines it's that cussing and yelling causes people to get things done. I think the staff sergeant that they casted was an awesome fit. He reminds me a mini Vin Diesel. Now I am not saying that all the drama is not needed and that they portray all the soldiers as coming from broken homes. I agree that all of that crap is not needed, but look past it and enjoy the show for what it is. I mean you all want to show what life is really like over there. Sure let's show them standing at their post all night without an incident that would be entertaining. Then someone wanted to complain about a Huey being there and not a blackhawk are you serious. I mean the Marines have Hueys so is the Army the only force over in Iraq. I think you guys are taking this way to seriously. As for portraying you in a bad light. I say to hell with em all. Quit worrying about what everyone thinks and just win the war. Deal with the politics later. I love the show as you can probably tell. Some complain about the stereotypes in the show. Well the black guy ratted out the other black guy about not opening the trunk so let me guess that shows integrity and courage for starters. So I don't see how they are portraying them to be only bad people. I guess I just see it from a different view.

To quote the critically acclaimed Vietnam vetern turned author Tim O'Brien, "A true story that never happened." Or at least that's what Over There looks to be attempting to be. Sure it won't be 100% factually or technically accurate (c'mon like a test season of a TV show can afford to get a UH Blackhawk rather than a UH-1 Huey etc etc) The pilot episode is enough to catch interest. While the dialogue treads familiar "war movie cliché" group, the visual presentation is excellent. The show does an excellent job in depicting the dirt, grundge, heat, and freezing nights of the desert. The most effective scenes are the ones with the barest dialogue and everything is shown.

Whatever your feelings on the war, the show is worth checking out if only for the fact has rengaged the public to think about the war again (which seems to have been relagated to the back of the collective consciousness). Hopefully it'll live up to the hype. Hopefully it will become the TV analog to the documentary Gunner Palace.

This is a great series. No, it is not completely accurate but it is good. It is for entertainment purposes and not meant to be accurate. It is a glimpse of what goes on in Iraq and Afganistan. It shows each character and gives you there strengths and weaknesses. It is one of the best shows on TV right now. A lot of people say that is is not realistic. If you want and accurate picture go and watch a documentary. This will keep you entertained. It is one of the best military shows I have ever seen on TV. I respect the military so much more after seeing this series. Once you watch it you will be hooked. It is well worth a look see.

Interesting that various people have seen this as either right or left wing propaganda, and that some see it as portraying the troops as idiots or wimps while others see it as honoring them. That indicates that some people are seeing their own biases more than what's actually on the screen. The more pre-set their views, the less they appear to like this program.

I'm a retired Marine - served 20 years, enlisted and officer, a lot of it in the infantry and related fields - and I think this is more realistic in its portrayal of the atmosphere and interactions than 90% of films about the military. I dealt with some Sgt. Screams and Lt. Mad Cows in my time, and those characters are believable. The troops strike about the right balance of smarts and immaturity, newbie awkwardness and trained-in automatic competence, for kids new to combat.

This program deserves a wider audience and more seasons.