OVER THERE (FX) (1 Viewer)

[Julian Reville]

Watched it last night (VCR taped); definitely a FX show: partial nudity, explicit sexual activity, exploding bodies.

Hey, I liked it.

Cliches were abundant, but I like to think of it as paying homage to the shows of the past.

And come to think of it, I have never seen a female soldier get shot while taking a dump
before.

 

[Jason Walstrom]

There were a few wince moment involving dialogue but I will still give it a chance I never judge a show on pilot alone. Well that's a lie but not often hehe. The Shot of the body getting blown up was really bad so bad I think they should have left it out. It was distracting and took me right out of the combat.

 

[Gregory Vaughan]

I'm in the middle ground as well. I didn't think the pilot was great, but pilots are often difficult, especially for ensemble shows where you have to introduce so many characters. All the reviews I've read say it gets better over the next couple episodes, so I'll watch those before judging.

Since the show follows the point of view of these new soldiers, I think it's OK for the first episode to just show nameless faceless enemies, but I'm assuming we will get to know Iraqi characters in the episodes to come. Politics aside, I think everybody would have to admit that things aren't great for people living in Iraq right now, and the tough choices the people in Iraq are making every day to survive is going to have to be an important part of the series.

Besides the cliches, the first episode could have been set in just about any war during the last 75 years. If I'm going to watch a show about Iraq, I want to see what makes the situation in Iraq unique. Given the good reviews, I'm hopeful that the series will do that, and become much more interesting than the first episode was.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

I thought the fact they had to sit outside a mosque being shot at for hours on end while a general figures out what to do in order to make PR look good for the "AlJazera" type journalist inside was a great example of what makes Iraq unique. Without getting political, I think everyone can agree that in the age of "24 hour news" what a battle "looks" like is just as important (maybe more important) as how it is waged and (sadly) who eventually wins.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

Why oh why will my cable system not carry F/X? First The Shield, and now this. And no, I can't get a dish, either (high rise condo). Grrrr. Well, there's always DVD.

 

[Eric Samonte]

It wasn't spectacular but nonetheless entertaining and i believe that's what its for. If u like "real war" stuff, the PBS ones show u how it really is "Over There".

" Oh u think ur bad huh? A mortar shell lands on ur head there won't be enuff of u to fill a condom!"

 

[Gregory Vaughan]

It's just that I'd call that "window dressing". It's the sort of thing (soldiers complaining about politics/diplomacy getting in the way of "their job") that you see in all kinds of war movies. Since it wasn't explored, just mentioned, you could have changed a very few words of dialog and set the episode in Vietnam.

 

[Elizabeth S]

They did a pretty good job giving us something memorable about each character so we can start getting the big cast of characters straight. I'm constantly amazed at what FX can get away with -- the blown up body here -- I mean, it's cable, but general cable.

Oh, and when a character says "I love the Army", you know something is going to happen to him!

 

[Lewis Besze]

While I'm one of those who like TTRL, I wouldn't critique the more realistic approach of SPR and others. However I did find TTRL much more "engaging".

I must say that so far I'm not all that inpressed with Over There, but I'm willing to give it time.

 

[BobbyPerry]

The pilot was definitely used to introduce the situation and characters. I was expecting it to do so, and it did. It will be really fun to see how they try and develop characters while they're at war. I'll for sure stay tuned for awhile.

 

[ChrisMatson]

I finally watched the first two episodes on TiVo this evening. I was pulled in and I am looking forward to future episodes.

 

[Lewis Besze]

The show definitelly improving. It seems that you guys had given up on it.

 

[Scotty_McW]

I watched this week's episode last night. I thought it was very good and the show just keeps getting better. The scene with Dim's step son making his own breakfast was very moving to me. I also liked the scene with the soldier's wives and Doublewide's husband showing up for the meeting. Can't wait for next week!

 

[Rhett_Y]

I too like the scene witht the husband in the spouses group.. very good scene... Dim is the only character I really have a problem with..... Can't put my finger on it yet... Maybe it is because he is whimp... I don't know still haven't figured it all out yet...

Good show......so far..

R~

 

[Johnny Angell]

I am surprised that no one has started a thread on this excellent series. This is landmark TV in that I believe this is the first portrayal on TV of a war while that war is still occuring. I don't even think the Viet Nam war was portrayed in movies or TV until well after it was over.

It is my impresson that the producers chose not to take sides on this war. They are presenting their view of the reality of this war for the participants and their families. They illustrate the difficulties of this war, like knowing the enemy from a civilian.

I think we could have a good discussion onthis series without getting into politics, there are other places on the web for that.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Naw i can't talk about this show without delving into Politics, it's too important to trivialize, so there fore I don't

 

[Lloyd White]

I had the same reservations as many did, and some of these posts are damn near exactly what I was thinking, but the one episode I saw was still pretty damn good with all the tension created by the grey area rules of war. Ofcourse, I will not be able to watch the show without having my BS detector on full tilt. Will the producers really have the guts to tell it like it really is? I hear things can get very very ugly over there. Heh.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

But thats been largely true of all foriegn-deployed military forces since ever.

 

[Kain_C]

I can't help but to think this show wants to be nothing more than Black Hawk Down the TV series. Sadly, it does not come close. I find the characters dull; moreover the actors playing them ineffective and bland. The racist black guy is icing on that cliche cake.

That General who barked orders at them... I don't know how much I laughed at him. Where was his twirly moustache?

And the kid who runs away to go to Iraq to be with his father. Yeah, that wasn't an intentional tug at the heartstrings. Where's the slow violin string pulls?

They rip off camera shots right from BHD. But they increase the shakiness of the shots as if that will increase the realism and grittiness. I don't mind that kind of shakiness in moderation, but here, it looks very fake and obvious.

I never ever once get the feeling we're in Iraq. It looks and feels like a closed off set. Where's the atmosphere?

On tonight's show, an embedded journalist who loves to move his camera around wildly and zoom in and out as he follows the troops. Yeah, that's exactly how you get great shots. Must be his first camera. Or maybe he is the one filming the show in real life!

Not a good show. Great potential because I deeply respect our troops and have a keen interest in military history but sadly, it does not satisfy that.

 

[Rhett_Y]

This one fell off the map for me...... I liked the first episode or two...after that... Well lets just say both me and the wife lost interest......... ......... Waiting for nip/tuck to start now......................

R~