Generation Kill discussion thread
 

The first episode of this airs tonight at 9PM EST on HBO and runs for the next six Sundays.

In the northern desert of Kuwait, First Recon Marines prepare to invade Iraq as the "tip of the spear" for Operation Iraqi Freedom. At the Camp Mathilda staging ground, soldiers in First Recon's Bravo Company combat boredom, cramped tents, a lack of Humvee supplies, mustache protocol, officer ineptitude, a wind storm, an espresso machine fire, and rumors of J-Lo's death while awaiting orders from Col. Stephen "Godfather" Ferrando, the raspy-throated Commander of First Recon. They also welcome a writer ("Scribe") from Rolling Stone magazine, who'll be embedded with Bravo's five-vehicle Platoon 2 unit, riding in a Humvee with Team Leader Brad "Iceman" Colbert, driver Ray Person, and Lance Cpl. Harold Trombley. After an unexpected (and portentous) mass delivery of pizza, the soldiers finally break camp, pack up their Humvees, and cross the northern border into Iraq--and an uncertain future. Widescreen. (TVMA) (AC,AL,BN,V)

I wanted to watch this, but I can't really justify adding HBO right now. There are no other shows on right now I want to see, so financially it probably makes more sense to just wait for the dvds.

Luckily, TWC fucked up and to fix it they gave me 3 free months of HBO so Im looking forward to this.

I plan on tuning in...

i can't wait

there's no way this can't be great

Playing a little Call of Duty right now to get me in the mood.

Pretty good stuff so far. Mostly build up. Definitely has a Wire feel in terms of many different characters to keep track of.

Will keep watching this for sure.

Yeah, I think the set-up is promising. I'll continue to tune in next week...

I have it Tivoed so I'll be checking it out tomorrow with breakfast. :thumbsup: on the Wire comparison. Makes me even more excited.

after serving 8 yrs in the USMC (got out before the current mess) and having been to the middle east 3 times, all i can say is that this show is spot on. same as the wire, i am a police officer and have been since i got out of the Marines and that show was a real as it can get for television. hats off the writers, producers, and most of all to HBO for showing how the shit really is.

I was pretty impressed, especially considering it was an intro episode with not a whole hell of a lot of action going on. I figured it would at least be decent, with Burns and Simon behind it, but you never know how things are going to go.

Good first episode. Like The Wire, it sets up a lot and leaves you wondering what's next. Looking forward to next weekend. James Ransone (Ziggy from the Wire) is a lot less annoying in this show, so hats off to him for making an endearing character. It was also good to see Benjamin Busch (Officer Colicchio from the Wire) in the background with that smirk of his.

This is going to be a great show. :thumbsup:

I saw a lot of similarities between the military brass and the police brass. I look forward to next week. Has anyone here read the book? I was thinking of picking it up.

I read an article in Rolling Stone a few weeks ago, and they said that there were a bunch of Marines (including the one who wrote the book, I think) present during the filming to help keep it realistic.

Anyway, I really enjoyed it. I'm a little bummed out that its only a miniseries, because I was hoping there would be a new, great HBO drama after the demise of the Sopranos, the Wire, and John From Cincinnati.

just finished watching the first episode

awesome

a ton of great actors in this

i always like it when Tobias Beecher (Lee Tergesen) shows up in anything

the part about Charms candy confused me but i looked it up and damn if that isn't true to life

huh!

David Simon and Evan Wright did an interview with talk of the nation.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=91846806

when the one guy is getting chewed out about his mustache and the other dude walks by goosestepping with his arm sticking straight out, i laughed my ass off

this show has a great mix of drama and humor

also the part where they were reading the grade school kid's letter was hilarious yet disturbing

I got around to watching the first episode last night - I was laughing my ass off... What else do you expect when you put a group of 18-20 yrolds in a summer camp environment!

these guys are not GI Joe - but like a frat with guns

Caught the first ep. last night. Loved it. As An4h0ny said, there's a great mix of drama and humor. Impressive that only after an hour's worth of show, I'm already really intrigued by some of the characters, including the perfectly cast "Godfather", Colbert, and Person (I lol'd when he put on his gold shades when driving past the "hot" Iraqi women). Also like that Tergesen's role is so minor...this really is a story about the men he wrote about, not himself.

Great show so far...and light years better than Over There (which I also enjoyed).

Solid second episode last night -- very impressed with how this is playing out. :up:

This show is The Wire version of the military. And it also reflects exactly how my military friends are. This series so far is excellent and I must pick up the book.

Another great episode. I like how things are going, and I feel that it's too bad this isn't a full-blown series. I will definitely be buying the eventual DVD set if this continues it's level of excellence.

Yeah, I definitely wish this was a full blown series. I already find myself dreading the end, and there are still 5 eps to go, I believe.

That 'head shot' was about as realistic as they come. It sent shivers down my spine and I like how the marksman was very subdued after that, while his friends were all happy about it. Killing someone at 200 yards or so has to still affect the psyche!

Chris

That "Captain America" schmuck is just unreal. I can't wait to see what happens with him.

Just caught this last night and saw it was the 2nd episode. So far, this show kicks major ass. Looking forward too the rest of the series.

Slate has a great article up about how realistic the depiction of the Iraq war is in this miniseries:

http://www.slate.com/id/2195528/pagenum/all/

Good read.

Thanks for the link!

watched episode 2 last night - and the characters are starting to develop, I even have some favorites.

I may have to get the Wire on DVD (I keep hearing comparisons to this show)

Ditto. Added season one to my Netflix queue last night.

Give The Wire a chance. It's starts off slow, but is well written and the acting is great.

Chris

As a courtesy can a mod please break this thread up into dated episodes? Thanks.

I didn't really think there'd be enough discussion for individual episode threads.

I don't see the need for individual threads.

Yeah, 34 posts after 2 episodes doesn't warrant individual threads. Hell, we only have one thread for Big Brother and that is 3 episodes a week.

Chris

I love Ziggy on this show and hated him on the Wire. That is good writing for you. This show is really good.

To those who haven't seen The Wire, do yourself a favor and watch it after this is over, you will not be disappointed. I also highly recommend The Corner (great mini-series and good primer for The Wire) and Homicide: Life On The Streets (where it all started and in my opinion the best show ever put on TV).

As for episode #3, that was fantastic. I have always said that a great show (not a good one) will pull every single emotion out of you and make you feel like you are standing right there. That happened last night. You can feel these guys wanting to do more for the Iraqi people...or that Godfather might not know what he is doing (that was really in their faces more than anything else). The banter between these guys is so spot on too...my hats of to David Simon and Ed Burns.

Also, it is mind boggling watch this and The Wire, and figure out why any of the Emmy voters didn't give these guys any love. Makes no sense at all. But at least I can say I enjoyed it and that is really what matters.

Generation Kill was not eligible for this year's Emmy Awards. The eligibility period ended on May 31. I expect it will garner some nods next year, however. Great show.

Sorry about that. What I meant to say was,

It is mind boggling watch this and wonder how The Wire didn't get more nominations than it has.

Can someone explain the Godfather thing? Is he the throat cancer guy? Or is it just a Marine type of deal?