26th June
2011
written by Yolanda
new shows: Combat Hospital, Suits, Rookie Blue season 2…what other scripted shows have you watched? what rocks? what sucks?
6 Comments
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“combat hospital” sucks. . jmho, jp
Thank you for your humble opinion, Johnny. I’m sorry I had to edit out part of your comment. Just because you don’t like a show is no reason to wish harm on those involved. It’s only TV. I know there is a lot of backlash against this show in cyberspace mostly for superficial reasons such as the lack of realism in the uniforms or how the soldiers salute etc.. I would love to hear a little more constructive reasons why people do or do not like a particular show such as: the characters are two-dimensional, or the plots are weak, or there’s not enough at stake. There’s enough generic nastiness online that we don’t need to feed that dragon.
combat hospital is pretty good although i can see how some current or veterans of the military may dislike its lack of realism. Yet, it is entertaining and generates in myself a better understanding of what soldiers are doing and have done in afghanistan. This show has a potential of large influence in support of the war but seems to be doing a poor job as it makes the hospital seem like a luxurious place to live witht he constant parties thrown around the base and lack of people injured in the hospital bombings. I would encourage people to give the show a chance and maybe the plots and show could become more realistic as people give CONSTRUCTIVE critism to the directors and writers, not just people dissing the show.
Yolanda,
When producing a combat related TV show, things like uniforms, drill and ceremony, and realism (just to name a few) are VERY important. These are especially important when it is based in an ACTUAL war that is currently going on. As an American soldier that has experienced several deployments I can say that the only thing that was even close to being realistic about this show was the sand and wood hooches (living quarters). I look forward to this show being cancelled. JMHO
Thank you for your comments on Combat Hospital, Leah. I think lack of realism vs entertainment is the inherent problem with a television series about war in general. Although, MASH did a great job of marrying the two. Combat Hospital itself doesn’t seem to want to be overly realistic but that’s kind of the nature of the business. Entertainment has to use creative license to tell the story, (which isn’t an excuse for lack of realism in their uniforms) and I’m sure we could argue that there are plenty of television series that aren’t realistic: CSI uses fictitious technology, law shows like Drop Dead Diva tend to make a mockery of the court system, and Entourage, while realistic in many ways made the average person think that all agents are as hungry as Ari Gold. The difference here, I think, is Afghanistan is a war that hits too close to home. It’s a sensitive subject because the war is still going on. MASH at least took place during a war that happened 20 years prior and was perhaps a bit less controversial. In terms of the actual content of the series, there’s only so much writers/producers can do to portray the horrific situation these people face while making it palatable for a network audience. I agree that it seems to be glamorized, but it is on Global not HBO.
Hi Chuck. Thank you so much for your comments especially since you are an American soldier who has been to Afghanistan. It’s wonderful that you took the time to share your insight and let me also take this moment to say thank you for your service to your country.
This is kind of an addendum to my previous response to Leah’s comment on realism vs entertainment. I’d like to reiterate that it’s a sensitive issue for a lot of Americans to have a series about a war that is still going on so, yes, realism in this case IS super important. My comments earlier about this subject weren’t intended to dismiss these criticisms but only to say that a show shouldn’t be slammed for that reason alone. There’s more to a series than the accuracy of the uniforms or the details, which goes back to my earlier comment about creative license. I think the real reason audiences are offended by the series and its lack of attention to detail is because it translates to audiences as disrespect. Having said that, I have worked on the set and seen there is someone on set from the military who acts as consultant to get these details right so it’s interesting to discover that they are getting it wrong.