Generation Kill

[ground chuck]

for those of you that loved the homicide: life on the streets you eventually got the wire. the dramatic series about the drug/street life in baltimore that got millions of people hooked on it like crack cocaine.

well, producer david simon will be airing another mini-series july 13th, called GENERATION KILL. if we've come to expect anything from david simon, its that he films in a "in your face" approach as seen with homicide and the wire. being a resident of baltimore, the wire hit home showing the nagging drug problem this city has and how helpless the police are to combat it.

GENERATION KILL is based on true events about the Marines in the First Recon Battlalion and their first 40 days during the invasion of IRAQ. While i support our troops don't mistake that for supporting the war they are two completely different things, we will see how utter useless commanding officers can be, as proven in the true story of BLACK HAWK DOWN.

So, the next time you're complaining about something meaningless, just remember that young men and women are serving and dying for our country while you sit at home complaining. Salute the people you see in uniform, they just might salute back to you.



http://www.hbo.com/generationkill/

[BRu-LAy]

can't wait for this.

[ground chuck]

POLICE that mustache. good stuff, more to come.

[ground chuck]

So, you don't think the war has anything to with oil, just p*ssy?
yup, you should quote me on that

[Josh]

I was overwhelmed with the information thrown at me until I remember The Wire guys made this. I never got into that show because of the overly complex nature of it, I hope Generation Kill can keep me interested.

[ground chuck]

Originally Posted by Josh

I was overwhelmed with the information thrown at me until I remember The Wire guys made this. I never got into that show because of the overly complex nature of it, I hope Generation Kill can keep me interested.

overly complex nature of the wire, your kidding, right? i can't think of anything more straight forward than drug dealers and cops trying to catch them.

regarding generation kill i didn't like the repetitious portrail of the marines as America's pitbull. a happy marine does not want to kill, a pissed off marine, now that's someone you don't want to mess with.

[BRu-LAy]

Loved it.

[ground chuck]

I've got retard strength, sir.

[rebfandan]

Can't wait to see this! A friend of mine lived with two of the actors in this series in NYC for a little while.

[Riff Magnum]

Yeah, this looks pretty good. THE WIRE was top notch.

[JadedRaverLA]

Originally Posted by ground chuck

overly complex nature of the wire, your kidding, right? i can't think of anything more straight forward than drug dealers and cops trying to catch them.

Yeah, and I can't think of a more thorough television examination of the problems facing modern American inner-cities than was provided by The Wire. And not just drugs... the political system, the school system, racism and socio-economic divisions, lack of parenting, newspapers failing to do their job, the catch-and-release nature of our justice system, the inability of local police departments to do any kind of real investigation of high level targets, etc. There's a whole lot more going on in any episode of The Wire than cops trying to catch drug dealers. And none of it would make any sense if you didn't watch the episodes in order. But it is one of the best American TV shows... ever.

So far Generation Kill has been good. It's started off fairly slow (like many seasons of The Wire), but I assume it will follow a similar format and pickup considerably as it progresses.

[supersix4]

great show another great job by hbo if ever there was a reason go order hbo ... based on the last comment im gunna go get the wire s1 today

[JadedRaverLA]

Originally Posted by supersix4

great show another great job by hbo if ever there was a reason go order hbo ... based on the last comment im gunna go get the wire s1 today

If you like what you've seen of "Generation Kill" you will love "The Wire."

Definitely start with season 1, and work your way through. Each season is just about 1 "case" that the detectives are trying to make, and all the social commentary stems from that season's focus. The below notes aren't really plot related, so they aren't in spoiler tags.

Season 1 is very much about "the streets" and what it's like to grow up in an inner-city where your options are extremely limited. It really sets up the format for show, and is unique (compared to other shows) mainly in that the "bad guys" are given equal treatment as characters as the "good guys" are. Nothing's really cut and dry -- and they aren't treated as caricatures, but as real people trying to make do with the situation they're in.

Season 2 expands the scope as it focuses on the plight of the "working class" dock workers who are seeing jobs disappearing and no prospects for other employment. Also, it starts to bring in issues of city politics, and how developers' urban renewal projects force people out of their neighborhoods, etc. Also, by shifting the focus from mostly black drug dealers to mostly white dock workers, it shows how the city's problems are more socio-economic in nature, than racial.

Season 3 is very much focused on city politics and how money from the drug trade ends up in the coffers of politicians, developers, etc. The focus is on how corruption and the overall political system prevents real improvements from being made. Also, an interesting idea for alternative means to deal with the negative side effects of the drug trade is examined.

Season 4 continues the political trend, focusing on how cities react to a sudden budget crisis, cutting much needed programs in order to stay afloat. Also, it's got a BIG focus on the school system, and how the one government program that we all count on to educate our children, and, in the case of the underprivileged children in the inner-cities, help give them the necessary tools to improve their own situation, fails to do either.

Season 5 ends the show by looking at how good people can lose sense of their moral code when they think something is for the greater good. It also focuses on how the extensive cutbacks in city newspapers is leading to FAR less oversight than there needs to be of city government.

Anyway, those are just the overarching themes for each season. The show is constantly looking at various aspects of inner-city problems, and never tries to preach a simple solution. The show knows the issues are complex, and presents the problems as they are, leaving the viewer to try to figure out what if anything can be done about them.

But, yeah, I guess you could say the show is about "drug dealers and cops trying to catch them."

[ground chuck]

Originally Posted by JadedRaverLA

If you like what you've seen of "Generation Kill" you will love "The Wire."

Anyway, those are just the overarching themes for each season. The show is constantly looking at various aspects of inner-city problems, and never tries to preach a simple solution. The show knows the issues are complex, and presents the problems as they are, leaving the viewer to try to figure out what if anything can be done about them.

But, yeah, I guess you could say the show is about "drug dealers and cops trying to catch them."

fyi...for those still not familiar with the wire. the story line from season one was taken from a true police case that occurred i believe in the late 80's. the old preacher that gave the boxer (former solder) advice is the true "barksdale."

living in the city that got portraited, made it that much better to watch, but at the same time made me want to puke my guts out b/c some of that shit still happens today. i've got friends in the BCPD and they all said the wire was no joke.

[ground chuck]

you shitted on my shitter.....

[JadedRaverLA]

Originally Posted by ground chuck

you shitted on my shitter.....

They're definitely following a 'The Wire' style story arc. First two episodes were fairly slow and mainly just getting the viewer acquainted with a ton of different characters and the location. Then, in the third episode, all hell breaks lose, and we start to see just how far these characters will go when put under pressure. Of course, they're following the true reporting much more closely this time, but the "chapters" seem to be running along the same style.

And, just like 'The Wire,' its going to be incredibly aggravating having to wait a week for each new installment as it builds and builds.

[Dogslyf]

So far Generation Kill has not disappointed. If you're not watching this you should.

[HD Man]

The Sgt Major is hilarious: "Capturing an airfield doesn't give you the right to start looking like no Elvis"

[Secretagentnumber6]

This is an awesome show. I am just upset it is only a 7 part miniseries. We only fought the Iraq war cause of NAMBLA though.

[Bobby Henderson]

I thought Generation Kill was a pretty good show at first. It seemed like the producers and technical advisers did a lot of homework to get the look of the show just right and have the characters talking and acting as real Marines would.

But certain things I knew to be inaccurate began to show up. The "Captain America" character (Cpt. Dave McGraw) is so over the top cowardly and open with doom and gloom hysterical comments that he just seems totally fabricated. No one could manage office personnel much less Marines with this guy's mindset. The character is a caricature.

Then I got my father's take on the show. My father, Charles Henderson, is a retired Marine officer (who once served with 3rd Recon BN) and an accomplished author. He's written 5 books, mostly about Marines in Vietnam. Currently he's writing about Marine snipers in Iraq. His judgment on Generation Kill is that it is a mostly accurate portrayal of Marines being spun into liberal propaganda. Vietnam war clichés are thrown into the storyline like Marines singing Country Joe McDonald's famous anti-Vietnam War song. There's a major imbalance of Marines shown committing atrocities and not much of them being shown in any positive light. Terrible things do happen in war, but this series seems only fixated on that. I think it ends up painting the Marines as being incompetent when they are anything but incompetent.

He takes a personal issue with the portrayal of certain officers, such as LTC Stephen Ferrando ("Godfather"). Generation Kill portrays the guy as a grandstanding, callous officer when in real life the man is a far more honorable person.

One big weakness with Generation Kill is that it is told primarily through the prism of an embedded journalist reporting the points of view of junior enlisted Marines. Those guys don't all have the "big picture" of what was going on. At least a couple of those Marines closely portrayed in the book were discharged from the USMC after the book was published.

My father did a radio interview on the Mike Rozen show in Denver recently and they spent the interview talking about Generation Kill and its unfortunate left-leaning slant. He also talked to a lot of active duty Marines to get their opinion on the series. Many of them contend there's too much B.S. in the show.