http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/headline/entertainment/3273170 Over There brings war over here By MIKE McDANIEL Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle LOS ANGELES - In the hills of an L.A. area known as Chatsworth, the war in Iraq is being dramatized for a television series. Guns blaze, mortars drop, land mines go off, sandstorms rage and fictional characters — Americans as well as Iraqis — die violently, sometimes gruesomely. Though it is a fictional account of an Army unit and their loved ones back home, Over There (July 27, FX) strives for authenticity. With Over There, co-creators Stephen Bochco and Chris Gerolmo are cashing in on the mayhem and horrors of a real and ongoing war, the first TV series to dare such a feat. That's one way to look at it. Bochco and Gerolmo see things differently. "This is the first war ever that the civilian population is experiencing in real time," says Bochco (NYPD Blue, Hill Street Blues). "Given that fact, I don't see any conflict — ethically, morally, creatively — in doing this show now." "I believe it's a writer's responsibility to write about the most important things he can possibly write about," adds Gerolmo (Citizen X, Mississippi Burning). "And what's more important than this?" Though it is a fictional account of an Army unit and their loved ones back home, Over There (July 27, FX) strives for authenticity. Soldiers went through an intense one-week boot camp with Marine Staff Sgt. Sean Thomas Bunch. Bunch is the series' technical adviser on military protocol and tactics and weapons handling, and Sam Aylia Sako serves as the show's consultant on Iraqi culture, religion and dialect. "When we got here, Sgt. Bunch started kicking our butts right away — push-ups, running, firing weapons, terminology," said Austin-born actor Josh Henderson, 24. "We needed to be in the frame of mind of a soldier. It was a wake-up call saying this is serious and here we go." Reminiscent of the opening scenes of the 1998 World War II movie Saving Private Ryan, early episodes of Over There show stomach-turning images of blood and carnage and make use of adult language that only cable can get away with. In one horrific scene, the top half of an Iraqi insurgent is literally blown away. In another, an American soldier suffers a ghastly leg injury when his vehicle runs over a land mine. In another, GIs pepper a car for not stopping at a roadblock, killing Iraqi women and children. "What we're trying to do is put our characters in situations in which a lot of soldiers find themselves," said Gerolmo. "I wrote that roadblock scene because so many soldiers find themselves in those circumstances in Iraq, having to make split-second life-and-death decisions." The show also isn't shy in its use of coarse dialogue. "Mortar lands on your head, we won't find enough of you to fill a condom," a character says. The series will be rated TV-MA, for mature audiences. In addition to showing the horror in Iraq, Over There makes an effort to show the effect of the war on the families left behind, from a husband and infant happy to receive the latest video message from a "mommy" in Iraq, to a wife who is cheating on her soldier/husband and neglecting their 7-year-old. "That was a critical factor in figuring out how to do the show," Bochco said. "What's going on in one venue has profound impact in another venue. That becomes a tremendous source (for the) storyteller." The storyteller insists that he is not making a political statement on the war "in any way." "The moment you take a political position, you're not doing what art is supposed to do, which is to ask provocative questions," Bochco said. Instead, "you're providing answers, and half the people say, 'That's the wrong answer.' Suddenly you're involved in a debate and nobody is paying attention to the fundamental drama of this situation." But Bochco's TV history is as provocateur. When NYPD Blue first appeared, some ABC stations (including the one in Dallas) refused to air it because of its language and partial nudity. Asked his position on the war, Bochco declined to answer. And what about the families at home with loved ones over there? "Everybody knows what the show is (about)," he said. "I wouldn't take anybody to task for making the choice to avoid it." *********************************************** So...what do you think? Are you going to watch it? Do you think it should be on television or not? Why?
This is irresponsible if it makes Americans think that war is bloody. If you do that then we cowardly Americans will turn against the War to Save Our Civilization i.e., the War In Iraq. Just like we did in Vietnam. At least this is what Bin Laden and the right wing both agree on. I prefer to think that Americans have the good sense to pay no price at all for a stupid war we were fooled into.
The big media outlets have already skewed their purpose for reporting the battlefield. The damage is done. A show like this acknowledges that war entertains.
