Generation Kill

[crownsy]

If you have access to HBO and arent watching this on sundays, your missing out. its a 7 part mini-series airing sundays at 9, they just aired episode 2.

Its pretty much band of brothers for the iraq war, and its done by the producers of the wire.


anyone else watching this as I am? last nights episode was particularly thought provoking.

[Brendan]

yes - i watched one episode, and despite the producers well known liberal slant, the quality of the wire had me with high hopes. Sadly what I got was an over acted, cartoonish portrayal of the American military. Reminded me of maybe 1 out of the 100 or so soldiers, sailors, and Marines that I know. Anyways, I didn't watch the whole thing, and obviously it might have improved, but I lost patience.

[crownsy]

yes - i watched one episode, and despite the producers well known liberal slant, the quality of the wire had me with high hopes. Sadly what I got was an over acted, cartoonish portrayal of the American military. Reminded me of maybe 1 out of the 100 or so soldiers, sailors, and Marines that I know. Anyways, I didn't watch the whole thing, and obviously it might have improved, but I lost patience.

not to nit pick but you know that 3 of the actors in the show are actual marines from that unit right? and that they consulted on the show as well as acted?

also, it may seem cartoony to you, but its based in part off thier CO's book, and being as 3 of the actors were there for the events, i don't think you can really say it isn't in some way realstic. i mean, of course they'll try to make it more made for TV and embelish, but i don't think a "liberal slant" can really be laid to it. ive seen parts that are clearly liberally presented, mostly from the reporter, since he is that foil, but i've also clearly gotten and respected the marines "slant" if you want to call it that, as well.

I read the book, which i can't recommend enough, and so far the show has stayed pretty true to the guy who wrote the book (nate, bravo's company commander) account.

[indeedproceed]

I really liked it. Ed Burns did a one on one interview with NPR's "Fresh Air" program. He really did his homework here and he also served in vietnam (I believe). I love it so far..I also love that Tobias Beecher and Ziggy have recurring roles (HBO series fans will get that).

[crownsy]

I really liked it. Ed Burns did a one on one interview with NPR's "Fresh Air" program. He really did his homework here and he also served in vietnam (I believe). I love it so far..I also love that Tobias Beecher and Ziggy have recurring roles (HBO series fans will get that).

i actual hated ziggy in the wire, but im loving his portrayl of ray. makes me think i disliked the ziggy part and not the actor's style 

[crownsy]

so its just me and indeed eh?

im telling ya, if you have hbo as part of your package, its out there on demand, give them a watch.

action really picks up in the second one as they cross the euprethus.

[crownsy]

A final bump for this topic, just because im suprised only 3 people appear to be watching it. If you have access to HBO on demand, watch the first two.

If you can't do that, go get the book.

It saddens me that this show is getting awesome reviews and being called one of the only honest looks at the conflict and yet peopel aren't watching it (in general, not the blog. its getting medicore viewer numbers). I don't want to get political, but to me, this is whats wrong with the public at large. They don't want to peel the curtain away and take a look at whats going on over thier.

people are for and against it, but no one seems to want to know the subject matter.

Anyway, great show, watch and you won't be disapointed

[indeedproceed]

Im watching it still, and it still is awesome. Second epi was better than the first, which was better than Jarhead. And that starred Peter Saarsgard.

[crownsy]

Im watching it still, and it still is awesome. Second epi was better than the first, which was better than Jarhead. And that starred Peter Saarsgard.

nice indeed, i love the second one too. who's your favriote marine so far?

I like brad and ray, the interaction between those two actors is amazing. Ray's story abotu why the three of them probley joined the core this week was hillarious.

Although, rudy is also awesome, and the fact that not only is he knocking it out of the park from an acting perspective, but that its the actual marine since they couldn't find an actor to play his role, only adds to his awesomness.

Also, the part where brad told that story about his ex-fianceee? that was brutal, awesome scene. "it's good to have friends"

Its also funny to watch them singing when thier bored. vietnam had hendrix, iraq has "ska8erboy"

[Zoots]

I loved Band of Brothers.  I thought the troops were really portrayed tremendously and as the heroes they were.

For some reason, probably because we're still in Iraq, and because it's such a prominent political issue, I did not think our soldiers would get the same respect and treatment that they were treated with in BoB, but your enthusiasm for the show makes me want to check it out.  I hope I am pleasantly surprised.

[LB3533]

I've watched the first two episodes and I really like how the show is made and produced.

The problem I have is the motivation behind some of the portrayal of these soldiers?

Seems to me that a lot of these soldiers have their own political beliefs as to why they are fighting this war and a lot of them don't even want to be there to change the politics behind it. What they are there for, is to "kill people" or to "shoot some rounds off".

To me, this sends a bad message.

Also some other key points that makes me laugh and also (lose respect) for these soldiers.....

- Lead officers do not tell the rest of their company important information

- Biggest priorities seem to be keeping the soldiers "well groomed" and adhering to the "dress code"

- How easy is it for a reporter to actually "become part of the squad or platoon? (Soldiers have to be pretty busy keeping their own asses alive and their fellow comrades, I don't think they need to be worrying about some civilian "reporter"!)

- ***** My biggest beef, and I think this tops all of it....these soldiers are not given enough basic necessities to even fight a war, much less to win one. (I mean seriously, how can our own government not afford BATTERIES?)

[indeedproceed]

I've watched the first two episodes and I really like how the show is made and produced.

The problem I have is the motivation behind some of the portrayal of these soldiers?

Seems to me that a lot of these soldiers have their own political beliefs as to why they are fighting this war and a lot of them don't even want to be there to change the politics behind it. What they are there for, is to "kill people" or to "shoot some rounds off".

To me, this sends a bad message.

Also some other key points that makes me laugh and also (lose respect) for these soldiers.....

- Lead officers do not tell the rest of their company important information

- Biggest priorities seem to be keeping the soldiers "well groomed" and adhering to the "dress code"

- How easy is it for a reporter to actually "become part of the squad or platoon? (Soldiers have to be pretty busy keeping their own asses alive and their fellow comrades, I don't think they need to be worrying about some civilian "reporter"!)

- ***** My biggest beef, and I think this tops all of it....these soldiers are not given enough basic necessities to even fight a war, much less to win one. (I mean seriously, how can our own government not afford BATTERIES?)

To me, those two things are very very intentional and I'd have to believe true to life. The grooming standard may seem trivial but from what I understand it serves a function. Even in the most horrible of times, it gives each and every man an aspect of control over himself. The supplies defficenicy is well documented.

[crownsy]

I've watched the first two episodes and I really like how the show is made and produced.

The problem I have is the motivation behind some of the portrayal of these soldiers?

Seems to me that a lot of these soldiers have their own political beliefs as to why they are fighting this war and a lot of them don't even want to be there to change the politics behind it. What they are there for, is to "kill people" or to "shoot some rounds off".

To me, this sends a bad message.

Also some other key points that makes me laugh and also (lose respect) for these soldiers.....

- Lead officers do not tell the rest of their company important information

- Biggest priorities seem to be keeping the soldiers "well groomed" and adhering to the "dress code"

- How easy is it for a reporter to actually "become part of the squad or platoon? (Soldiers have to be pretty busy keeping their own asses alive and their fellow comrades, I don't think they need to be worrying about some civilian "reporter"!)

- ***** My biggest beef, and I think this tops all of it....these soldiers are not given enough basic necessities to even fight a war, much less to win one. (I mean seriously, how can our own government not afford BATTERIES?)

see, but those things are actually happening. as indeed said, the suplly problem is well documented. its not so much a question of the millitary affording things, its transporting them to where they need to be in a timely fashion via convoy when the favorite targets of gurrellia fighters are convoys. In fact, so far in the series the two biggest us casility sights they have come across post ambush are supply convoys. This is based off two books, one from the reporter, and one from Nate Flick (the competent officer in charge of alpha, not captain America) about how this really went down.

both books portrayed a sense of pointless ness to the intial invasion. IF you watch, going in they had a clear mission, take the bridge and hold it against saddam's army. but thier is no army, only the irregulars, who don't fight a traditional war, they just ambush whenever possable.

According to the books (ive only read generation kill the book, still need to pick up one bullet away, which is nate's book.) this lead to a sense of running around with no mission save being sent to spots where ambushes had already taken place.

as for the marines, wright went to great trouble to attribute the stories to the correct marines, and i'm sure we'll see more and more of thier motivation as the show progresses. we've already seen some of brad's, clearly his fiancee leaving him messed him up pretty bad.

One marine i think is confusiong as to why he's thier is rudy. But, apperntly he's so confusing that actors reading for the part couldn't portray him. so, they went and got the real marine. To me its pretty cool that rudy reyes, the marine everyone brings up as a fake'd for TV marine, is the real guy in the show 

[Roy Hobbs]

Let's keep this thread away from politics, which it has already veered into.  I'm not sure if it's possible to discuss the show without discussing the war, and the politics behind the war; if it's not, we'll lock the thread.

[crownsy]

you see last nights indeed? i thought that was well done, got to see it from both sides without any pandering to one point of view (particualy liked how they showed you what he was looking at before he fired, split second bouncing over open roads, looked like a weopen to me, i can't really see myself faulting the kid. hindsight is always 20/20)

Little bit of a mini-officers mutiny. Intersted to see how they show what happend to nate in the book on the show with regards to that incident.

The South park part was awesome. I love ray. One complaint, not enough rudy.