The Conflict in Iraq, A New Television Drama From Bochco

[question everything]

The Conflict in Iraq, A New Television Drama From Bochco

By JOE FLINT
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
July 15, 2005; Page B1

War is hell -- but is it good television?

At the end of the month, News Corp.'s FX cable channel is set to launch "Over There," a gritty hour-long drama about an Army unit fighting in Iraq.

From "NYPD Blue" co-creator Steven Bochco, "Over There" will offer up more than enough blood and gore to unnerve advertisers and viewers: In the first episode, a main character loses his leg when a roadside bomb rips apart a U.S. military truck. An Iraqi character has the upper half of his body blown apart on screen, leaving his legs to continue walking for a second or two.

Marking the first time a scripted TV drama has taken on the topic of a real-time war, "Over There" will be beaming into living rooms at the same time as horrific real-life images from Iraq are filling newscasts and U.S. soldiers are coming home in flag-draped coffins.

Mr. Bochco says "Over There" will be apolitical. "It's not about policy and politics. It's about life and death," he says. But with plots that revolve around prisoners, rules of combat and even the media, it may be impossible for some viewers to avoid reacting to the show in political terms -- giving potential sponsors another reason to be wary.

(snip)

Messrs. Bochco and Gerolmo didn't reach out to the military for help on "Over There." Doing so might have given them access to bases and equipment, but it also would have required the Army's approval on stories. "I understand the Army won't like a solider getting his leg blown off," Mr. Bochco says. "It doesn't sell the Army, on a certain level." Kathy Ross, director of the Army's Los Angeles office of public affairs, says, her concern with the show is that "people will look at it and say 'Yeah, that is how it really is.' "

FX has a reputation for taking chances. Its other hit shows include "The Shield," about a rogue cop, and "Rescue Me," about the exploits and troubles of New York City firefighters after Sept. 11, 2001. "Over There," with its focus on war, will present FX with unique challenges. Unlike Time Warner Inc.'s premium cable channel HBO, which has thrived by giving its subscribers violence-filled shows such as "The Sopranos," FX needs to sign up advertisers.

(snip)

--Brian Steinberg contributed to this article.

Write to Joe Flint at [e-mail]

URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112138452244986275,00.html

[sandnsea]

1. Bochco

I thought that was a new nickname for Bushco, but now I realize we'd have to spell it Botchco.

I think this is disgusting. Reality TV to force people to pay attention to the war.

[NYCGirl]

2. You may be reading the article wrong.

It's not reality TV, it's a scripted drama. And it looks great, BTW.

[sandnsea]

4. Drama based on reality

The same premise as war goes reality tv. We've never turned a current war into entertainment, not ever. It's disgusting.

[NYCGirl]

6. There were a lot of plays and films about VietNam. NT

[kitkat65]

3. I saw a preview for this and was worried it was going to glorify war in

some way. Let's hope it doesn't.

Is it smart to fictionalize a war while it's still happening? Dunno.

[NYCGirl]

7. As I mentioned above, there were a lot of plays and films (and books)

"fictionalizing" VietNam, and WWII, also.

[sandnsea]

10. Not alot

Not during Vietnam, not fiction. I don't recall any that were done during Vietnam, except Green Beret. I don't recall that many movies were done during WWII either. Shortly after, yes, I don't think during. But that was a different war anyway.

[Qanisqineq]

5. Ugh, I saw it advertised

I'm afraid it will be a glowing review of the war and make the Iraqi citizens look bad and be hated more by the American public. Also, that they might work WMDs or a Saddam -Al Qaeda link into it. I know it's fiction, but too many people are already delusional.

[NYCGirl]

8. Folks on this thread might want to check out Bochco's political

contributions...he's a STRONG Democrat.

http://newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Steven_Bochco.php

[sandnsea]

11. So what

Money is money and he thinks he's figured out how to make some. I don't care about the political views of the show either, politicizing Iraq in any way is sick. The politics of it is the damned problem in the first place.

[NYCGirl]

12. It's not politicizing. The show is about the PEOPLE, not the policies. NT

[question everything]

14. That's what I thought

I cannot imagine any movie - in these days - glorifying any war or inducting anyone to support and to volunteer.

Thanks for the link

[bunny planet]

9. FX is a Fox station, I wonder if anything non-political will air on a

Ruppert Murdoch station.

[NYCGirl]

13. Have you ever seen any of the F/X drama series? Really, really edgy.

Very R rated.

BTW, Morgan Spurlock's "30 Days" is an F/X series, although it's not scripted drama.

[question everything]

15. Murdoch is in the business of making money

and Fox and F/X do have some good programs: the X-Files, 24 - where the most admired character is a Democratic president, House.

And, until recently, Fox News was making money. Perhaps still does, even with the viewers numbers looking like the stock market in 2002.

[bunny planet]

16. True that, but he is also rabidly right-wing himself and pushes that

agenda through News Corp. media outlets as often as possible.