Posted on 07/28/2005 9:00:20 AM PDT by macgak123
If last night’s premier episode of “Over There” is any indication of how this series will play out, I highly suggest not watching.
The uniforms and personal weapons were about the only things that were correct last night. Other than that, it came off as a very bad WWII movie mixed in with a police hostage drama. I suspect since Steven Bochco has so much experience producing police shows, he can’t but help mixing it into the story line.
Last night’s episode involved a brand new infantry squad, led by a stereotypical “grizzled” Sgt from the 3rd ID. Of course every soldier had a “nickname” These guys were somehow stuck outside of a Mosque while the “brass” conducted negotiations with the insurgents hold up on the inside. I don’t recall the 3rd ID or anyone else ever negotiating with insurgents.
The squad leader (Sgt. Scream), was chastised by higher because when he was receiving fire, he fired back. He in turn complained that some General 75 miles away was directing this fight. He also asked for air support, but was told it was allocated to other missions. I guess he did not realize he had company and battalion mortars at his disposal.
A side story involved two female drivers who somehow got caught up with the squad and ended up having to stay with them through the entire stand-off. One of the more absurd moments was when the platoon leader and company commander came up to the position and the squad leader asked what to do with the two females he was told to keep them with him until they could get them out. Of course, both CO and PL trotted off to their positions in the “rear.”
What’s more is that this squad from the 3rd ID, had only M-4s, and SAWs. Remember, the 3rd ID is Bradley and M-1 equipped. For some reason, the heaviset weapon the company could provide was a .50 cal.
I also had to laugh when these guys sneak up closer to the Mosque and are told to “dig in.” All of a sudden they whipped out e-tools from no where! Oh yes, GIs, especially in Mech units carry that e-tool with them. During this segment, one of the females is having a problem breaking the ground. One of the young soldiers goes over to help her and she gets indignant and starts fussing with him. Bear in mind that this is occurring at night, within 100 meters of the insurgents. This shouting goes on for close to a minute before the insurgents start shooting at them. The killer for me was when the insurgents came running out of the Mosque across an open field at the soldiers, who in turn conducted their own “over the top” charge. The Sgt is yelling something stupid like, “this is what we came here to do!” I was expecting to see John Wayne join in on the fray.
Next week’s episode is supposed to put them on a check point. Hopefully a car bomb will explode and wipe them all out.
I'm not denying your military credentials, but that sure seems to be a strange thing for a vet to say.
Maybe I'm just too sensitive, something I've never been accused of, but...
This show is a complete crock. The opening has a scene showing a Pvt outside of a Motor Transport Maint. bay smoking pot in broad daylight like it was a normal thing to do. The soldier's nickname is "Smokey", and everyone seems to know what the name implies, and they are all good with it. This wouldn't happen. Every man in the unit takes a urinalysis before deployment, some one would have turned this jackass in as a pot head, or he would have "popped on a previous test long before getting stabbed for deployment.
The show started off bad, and kept getting worse. This show is a slap in the face to every soldier, sailor, airman, and Marine who gets up every day, puts on their uniform and does the job entrusted to them. I will not watch another episode, and like a previous poster I too hope the show gets blown up by a car bomb during their "Check Point episode.
Semper Fi
Dad was a sailor, so I had to watch McHale's Navy.
A Huey (UH-1) painted with GLOSS Paint comes in for the Dust Off, in the roadside Mine/bomb scene.
Dad was a sailor, so I had to watch McHale's Navy.
My knowledge of the military comes from Beetle Bailey.;^)
Kind of the way I felt when my daughter made me sit through that horrible Titanic movie with her. I couldn't wait for that damn ship to sink, and I didn't want any of those plastic people to survive! ;~))
They supposedly had a former Marine on site to give our heroes one week of *boot camp* and then he would show them how to hold an M16 and would give advice on how *real soldiers* would *react* emotionally to what was happening.
I bet the guy served on Iwo Jima.
Marine: “Now, when you get shot at, the first thing you need to do is shake your first and shout ‘Damn you Tojo!’”
Actor: “Um, Sgt? This is set in Iraq.”
Marine: “Iraq? Where the hell is this Iraq? Is it off the coast of Okinawa?”
Actor: “No, it’s in the Middle East”
Marine: “The Middle What?”
Actor: “Memo to self, fire my agent!”
1. It's a TV show.
2. A warped sense of humor is a requirement for combat proficiency. It's in the recruiting literature.
Yeah, you're being too sensitive. All he's saying is that it'd be a mercifully quick end to the show.
You're right. I was in an aviation unit toward the end of my career, and I never saw a Huey in shiny paint. On top of that, the UH-1's were being phased out for the UH-60 Black Hawk. Unless I'm wrong, by the mid-1990's the Hueys were gone.
The army is wise to stay away from this garbage and not give it any support in the way of Black Hawks, Bradley fighting vehicles, and Abrams tanks.
BTW, on another thread I read that the technical advisor was a Marine sergeant. A Marine? Don't get me wrong, this old soldier has a lot of respect for the Marines, but some of their terminology is different from army terms. I remember "Platoon," which had a Marine technical advisor. The film portrayed a unit of the 25th ID, but they used Marine and Navy terms like "helo" and "corpsman."
Yeah, I kinda figured that out, thanks for the tip. I guess someone who's actually been there making jokes about something active soldiers are actually going through right now is just the new comedy. Silly me!
See my #2! Uncouth? Absolutely, but I don't believe he meant any disrespect to those still deployed.
For a good look at intense Iraq combat, recommend History Channel's: Shootout: D-Day: Fallujah DvD, head-and-shoulders above *Over There*
From the A&E site:
"An extraordinary look at the flash point in the war against Iraqi insurgents. Hear from soldiers who were there and strategists who helped plan the attack. Riveting battlefield footage offers an up-close look at the fight."
While you're there, pick up up the best military DvD on the market - MAIL CALL - with The Gunny!
We cannot trust Hollywood to get anything right.
"The Great Raid" is due out August 12. I've been looking for reviews of it and can't find any. I'm somewhat skeptical, since it's a Miramax release, and Miramax has not been known to be military-friendly.
BTW, I like your screen name. "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...."
"And Gentlemen in England, now abed, shall think themselves accursed they were not here"
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