CoD? "Over There" Review

Steven Bochco, the executive producer of the new FX series Over There was on O'Reilly the other night. I watched the interview to see if I could get an idea of what Bochco felt this show would portray. I recall him stating specifically that there were no political overtones and that the main purpose of the show was to tell stories.

Let me state for the record that I had preconceived ideas of what this show would be like when I sat down to watch it. Knowing that it would be very easy for me to find things that validate those opinions, I did my best to keep an open mind and give the benefit of the doubt to the show's creators.

That said....

The first 30 minutes of the pilot got me angry. With only one (maybe two) exceptions, the majority of the main characters (and keep in mind, this is what I got out of it) were portrayed as either A.) People who had no choice but to join the army. B.) Defeatist. C.) "Monsters" who kill for the thrill. D.) A combination of those three....

Towards the end, it seemed to get a little less preachy (save the obligatory Abu Ghraib reference). I'm not going to detail specific scenes, but there were a few that, for someone like myself who has never been in combat, helped give a sense of what war is like and the toll it takes on not only the soldiers, but their family members here in the States as well.

Were it not for the "This season on Over There" scenes at the end, I doubt I would've tuned in again to watch it. However... I'm curious. This has never been done before - having a television show depicting a war that is currently going on.

I'd like to say that the creators have no extraneous motives behind this....

I'd like to say that... but I'm not so sure.