Generation Kill- Simply Amazing

Generation Kill premiered on HBO last night. It was...(flipping frantically through an online Thesaurus)...oh forget it. There really are no words to describe it exactly. This series is astonishing. It is a new form, let's call it Mega-Scriptality. GK is a fictional series, that feels so immersed in the reality of the war in Iraq (which is alternately hot, boring, confusing or hideously horrifying), I almost had to turn it off to recover from one moment to the next. It's tense, profane, scary, and so fast paced, you would be advised to keep your finger on the DVR button, as it will take many rewinds to figure out some of the speech and action. Just as "Saving Private Ryan" brought movie war reality to a new level, "Generation Kill" brings the same to television. It is not for the faint at heart. But if you can stand being dropped into the ultra-testosterone environment of a Marine unit that is about to invade Iraq, you might find there are some incredible and compelling characters to follow through this unprecedented TV event. Lefties and righties take heart, there are characters from both sides of the fence for you to root for, and anyone with strong feelings in either direction will find plenty to love (or hate) in this story.



The series will be on HBO for the next six weeks, Sunday nights at 9pm eastern. The website is worth visiting, and it features ways to interact with real life Marines in Iraq, as well as maps and awesome sound effects.

All of the characters are weird and interesting so far, but I predict the Rolling Stone reporter, as well as CPL Josh Ray (the motor-mouth) and visionary Hispanic character Cpl. Gabe Garza will be the true breakouts who will get truck loads of press and fan love before this series is over.

From the same folks who produced "The Wire", this series has already received a ton of critical acclaim. If MASH married Dexter on the set of "Rome" and then gave birth to CNN...you might have "Generation Kill". Watch it if you dare. It's truly TV for the 21st Century. I give it 4 stars on the Jane-o-meter, for innovation alone.