OVER THERE! Now At the Game Depot

[Rich]

Haven't watched the show but it was panned by every review I read as being totally unrealistic. For example, a trans company was assigned to go after terrorists (rather than infantry, one reviewer said this was picked to get females in the action, who knows?}. Troops had to wait a loooong time for air support. There was only one mortar that fired only one shot and then disappeared. Stuff like that. I suspect WB's scenario will be a lot better than the actual show.

And I always wonder about people who complain about Fox. At least this is one station that never used obviously phony memos just before an election.

[Rich]

Starmyth said:
Maybe a movie of Bush joining the National Guard to avoid war would be appropriate.

Even more appropriate would be a movie of John Kerry lying to congress about atrocities in VN, thus giving aid and comfort to the enemy while giving radicals an excuse to spit on our returning troops.

No need for a "Kerry" today. There is enough lying and aid & comfort given by media like the NY Times, the LA Times, the Wa Post, CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN et al to more than make up for it.

I'm not trying to start a flame war, just giving a little balance to the political comments on this thread.

[Double_Deuce]

Rich said:
Haven't watched the show but it was panned by every review I read as being totally unrealistic.

I always try to keep TV and Movies in perspective when viewing them especially when there are claims of them being "realistic". No matter how you look at them they are still "entertainment" and "for profit" enterprises. If they aren't filming the action live or using real bullets how "realistic" can it be?

[Rich]

You're right of course. But some are better than others. And when portraying a current conflict that has strong political overtones it's more important to try for some realism to keep it from just looking stupid and biased. I'm going to try and catch the next episode and judge for myself.

[Rich]

Well, I got a chance to watch the show tonight. The best thing I can say is it was terrible. Not much of a plot. The characters were very unmemorable. The acting sucked. Too much political correctness (the real guys don't call them "insurgents"). And way too many commercials. Over There ranks as one of the worst shows I've ever seen.

[Alby]

I thought the Road Block episode was outstanding!!

The adrenaline and anxiety that must be flowing.
liked episode 2 much better than 1

[Rich]

Alby, to each his own. Here's the kind of press the show is getting:

"Peace at any price" purveyors are going gaga over the new FX Channel series "depicting" the Iraq war, "Over There," produced by Steven Bochco of Hill Street Blues fame. "Wow! Anybody else watch Over There last night?" gushed a writer for the antiwar blogsite Daily Kos. "Within a few minutes . . . it was obvious that Iraq was Vietnam all over again."

and:

In order to include women, two females from a transportation unit just happen to join the siege. In fact, they just happen to tag along for the rest of the series! Reality is sacrificed to the God of Diversity.

etc, etc, etc. I could go on. Imo, this is one of the worst shows I've ever seen. But there's a movie coming out called, I believe, the Great Raid or something similar that looks promising.

Remember all those John Wayne movies that came out during ww2? Not only were they good entertainment but they promoted patriotism. Well, the movie industry is poised to come out with a slew of war movies that will be more sublinially anti-American than anything else. What else does one expect from Hollywood these days? Over There is similar in its theme. Boy, things have sure changed.

[Curt Pangracs]

Rich said:
Haven't watched the show but it was panned by every review I read as being totally unrealistic. For example, a trans company was assigned to go after terrorists (rather than infantry, one reviewer said this was picked to get females in the action, who knows?}. Troops had to wait a loooong time for air support. There was only one mortar that fired only one shot and then disappeared. Stuff like that. I suspect WB's scenario will be a lot better than the actual show.

And I always wonder about people who complain about Fox. At least this is one station that never used obviously phony memos just before an election.

Whoever wrote this was incorrect. An INFANTRY squad was given the mission, the TRANS soldiers were tasked to get them there. And, as is often the norm in Iraq, the support personnel come under attack just like the ground-pounders.

Shoot-and-Scoot mortar atacks ARE common in Iraq, and have given the US one of its toughest nuts to crack over there (no pun intended).

I'm a veteran of 20 years in the Army (retired 2 years ago). Much of what is represented IS very accurate, and the way they portray the families and their actions and feelings and problems are indeed real - I know this from being a Non-Commissioned Officer for 17 of those 20 years, taking care of soldiers and their families.

The banter between soldiers is probably the most realistic aspect of this show and is what endears me to it. Many of the reviews you read are not by people with any sort of extensive military experience.

The one thing that people seem to key on is the "wrapping-up" of many of the issues presented in each episode, but that is the nature of a 1-hour episodic format - you can have some continuing storyline, but to have too much open in each episode spells death for this kind of show.

I would also venture to say that the creators are responsive to what is being said, and everything about the show looks to improve each week.

Just like Mr. Wilder said, give a couple episodes a look and decide for yourself. I personally believe that things are focused on the PEOPLE in the war and their families, and that many different views on what's happening are presented, not just anti-war comments. This is exactly like the soldiers and their views - no one hates war more than a soldier! No one realizes the consequences of not fighting to the best of your ability in war, than a soldier.

Curt

[WBWilder]

Thanks Curt. I think you present some very good points. Its true that I never served in the military but I do know something about the nature of people.

Things are not as idealistic as we would wish. I appreciate your thoughts as I have of the others who have posted here. And I still enjoy playing this little quick scenario.

Your resume is impressive. You've designed some fine material.

Wild Bill

[Curt Pangracs]

Thank you for the kind words, Mr. Wilder. I too enjoyed your scenario, and I think game scenarios that tie-in with "broad-range" media like television can only help the wargaming industry.

It may be time for an "Over There" scenario for The Star and the Crescent!

Curt