"Over There" Series of cable FX

[GEB]

The FX series "Over There" was on for one season in 2005. there were 13 episodes. It was canceled for low ratings. It follows one squad through the very early occupation of Iraq. Before its first episode was broadcast it was panned by a number of military critics (based only upon reviews of written scripts only) as "anti-war" (the same way fims such a the "The Bridge" "Die Brucke" 1959 were anti war,) or anti-veteran (the way "The Deer Hunter" was anti-veteran.) Many of those same critics changed their storys when they actually saw the show, as it captures a very real feel of the uncertainty and chaos of modern war against a well armed insurgency in civiliam mufti. If anti-anything, it's "anti easy answers." It is available on DVD.

 

I am a social worker and teach social work practice in a university that has a very stong association with the US Military. We've had a number of students choose social work as a major, who are veterans of the current wars (or spouses of veterans) who are wanting to develop skills to best serve their comrades and neighbors. Amongst other techniques, I also use a number of snippits from this series to provoke discussion and to help prepare folks to work with returning personnel, the wounded, and families. Reviews of this show from the veterans and spouses I work with, have been extremely positive.

 

The Naval Health Research Center has recently released a graphic novel titled "The Docs" that follows 4 Navy Corpsmen through their deployment with Marines. (ok, one is with a SeaBee detachment.) In the past 5 months this book has been widely distributed in Iraq & Afghanistan, Pendleton, and Legeune. People get wounded and people die, and other people have a hard time with it. THAT is reality. I was struck by how much this thick "comic book" feels very much like the Over There TV series.

Gary Bachman

[Niblet]

The FX series "Over There" was on for one season in 2005. there were 13 episodes. It was canceled for low ratings. It follows one squad through the very early occupation of Iraq. Before its first episode was broadcast it was panned by a number of military critics (based only upon reviews of written scripts only) as "anti-war" (the same way fims such a the "The Bridge" "Die Brucke" 1959 were anti war,) or anti-veteran (the way "The Deer Hunter" was anti-veteran.) Many of those same critics changed their storys when they actually saw the show, as it captures a very real feel of the uncertainty and chaos of modern war against a well armed insurgency in civiliam mufti. If anti-anything, it's "anti easy answers." It is available on DVD.

 

I am a social worker and teach social work practice in a university that has a very stong association with the US Military. We've had a number of students choose social work as a major, who are veterans of the current wars (or spouses of veterans) who are wanting to develop skills to best serve their comrades and neighbors. Amongst other techniques, I also use a number of snippits from this series to provoke discussion and to help prepare folks to work with returning personnel, the wounded, and families. Reviews of this show from the veterans and spouses I work with, have been extremely positive.

 

The Naval Health Research Center has recently released a graphic novel titled "The Docs" that follows 4 Navy Corpsmen through their deployment with Marines. (ok, one is with a SeaBee detachment.) In the past 5 months this book has been widely distributed in Iraq & Afghanistan, Pendleton, and Legeune. People get wounded and people die, and other people have a hard time with it. THAT is reality. I was struck by how much this thick "comic book" feels very much like the Over There TV series.

Gary Bachman

I absolutely loved that series!

[willysmb44]

I culdn't get past the very start of the show, showing a motor pool stateside, the signs were totallywrong for that kin of unit. It's a stupid thing to turn a person off of a show, I agree, but I never got past that.

They did however, give it a good try. I recognized several of the characters in the people who'd served under me on active duty. I might have to go back and watch it again, but after "Generation Kill" came out (which is to me one of the most accurate TV attempts ever done to show what modern military life is like), I thnk the bar got raised pretty high... :think: