Over There - Season 1

I was very excited for the premier of Over There. I love how FX really takes risks with their programs and Rescue Me, The Shield, and Nip/Tuck are three of television's finest shows. I knew Over There was going to raise a few eyebrows and it dealt with a very sensitive topic but the show was very respectful of the troops in Iraq.

Over There was the first show to depict the U.S. in a current war. That was enough to get the conservatives on their case but if you watch the show you will get a feeling of how hard it is to be "over there". The cast were very believable characters and the writing was very good. Obviously the show couldn't really be in Iraq but the set looked a lot like Iraq. Over There dealt with humanizing topics and it was a treat to watch.

Here's why I don't think Over There was right for television. Its ratings were not that bad for a rookie cable show but FX was under a lot of fire so they crossed it off their list of problems. Despite critical praise I don't think enough people were ready to handle the war fictionalized but it's a shame. I'm glad that we can relive the thirteen adventures through this DVD and it is a steal for the price Amazon lists. If you missed it when it first aired, then this is a great way to see the entire series.

The short lived TV show "Over There" is the first TV show that actually takes place during the conflict overseas that it's dramatizing. Well written, directed and acted the show the show garnered too much controversy forcing Fox to abandon the show despite decent ratings. Produced by Steven Bochco ("L.A. Law", "Hill Street Blues", "Cop Rock", "NYPD Blue" among many others) the show manages to be more gritty and realistic than anything attempted on television before. While Bochco and his production crew were clearly influenced by gritty war dramas like "Black Hawk Down" but the show manages to establish its own style with the pilot episode (which was previously available solo on DVD).

"Over There" follows the misadventures of a group of GIs fighting the war in Iraq and at the same time also followed their families and the impact their absence had on them. It was a unique blend of the personal and the global that portrayed more than one aspect of the effects of war. Unfortunately the show faced political minefields that Fox couldn't dodge and the show was buried in the FX cable schedule. It's very unlikely this show will come back for a sophomore season. It's too bad because this terrific show put a unique human face on a war we've only become familiar with from rhetoric and sound bites on TV.

Grainy and all the better looking for it, the director of photography of the show went for a deliberately grainy look to emphasize and heighten the sense of reality of the show. There's a lot of the jittery hand held camera shots that were popular in Ridley Scott's "Black Hawk Down" that has come into vogue lately with a lot of movies (including Ridley's brother Tony Scott in his last two films). "Over There" strikes the right balance between creating the environment of the show and making it entertaining without causing audiences to be overcome with motion sickness. I didn't see any analog defects and the digital ones are minimal at best. Unlike many shows "Over There" boasts a solid 5.1 Dolby Digital mix that makes nice use of the surround speakers. The mix places the audience right in the middle of the action.

"Weapons Debriefing" will make you familiar with the different types of guns in the series and what's being used. At just under six minutes this featurette is right on target. "Tour of Duty: Filming `Over There'" documents the production of the last episode of the show. Given that its ratings were so poor unless a major network picks it up, the show is DOA and it's terrific that we have a feature length documentary on the series production. Usually when shows are cancelled there are a couple of featurettes in the can in anticipation of DVD release but nothing as elaborate or involved as here.

We also get three exceptional commentary tracks. The pilot episode features writer/director Chris Gerolmo and producer Joan Gerolmo discussing the challenges of shooting the pilot episode and bringing the sense of realism to the screen. "Spoils of War" features many of the cast members and "It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding" (quoting Bob Dylan no less in the title) features the military advisors. The latter is particularly interesting because you discover the amount of detail that went into creating a realistic production and some of the short cuts the production had to take to get the series to TV.

Although it's time on TV was brief, "Over There" provided a fascinating glimpse into modern day war. The most realistic looking TV show of its time and the only one to air during the conflict it's about, the show looks extremely good in this transfer with a nice clip of extras. The price along with the extras makes this an essential purchase for fans of the show.

I first heard of the show shortly after I returned home from Iraq, I don't have cable so my brother taped the season for me. I have to tell ya, this was very realistic for it being a t.v. show. I mean most movies or shows you see that try to recreate something like this, they don't do their homework. Someone at FX did...maybe too well. Yeah I have to disagree with some things; like how the soldiers spoke so formally with their suepiors, and the guys are a little more casual with the females in real life, but otherwise they did great. I happen to like the song, but it does get annoying that they play it so much. Also I found it to be suspenseful and compelling, the people at FX found some good writers, I mean look at "E-ring" Now with those charactors they are hard to believe because we know them from other movies and shows. It's nice to see some young fresh faces that act pretty well and are beleivable. Thumbs UP!

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