Posted on Tue, Jul. 26, 2005
R E L A T E D C O N T E N T
Robert Zuckerman
From left, Luke MacFarlane, Nicki Aycox, Josh Henderson, Kirk "Sticky" Jones, and Lizette Carrion in "Over There."
How will 'Over There' go over over here?
New FX drama is about soldiers in Iraq -- yes, the war that is still going on
BY R.D. HELDENFELS
Akron Beacon Journal
SOMEWHERE IN THE HILLS OUTSIDE LOS ANGELES - The temperature was in the triple digits last week in the Los Angeles area, baking some small buildings and the workers remodeling them for another scene in a new drama.
In those buildings, and in an open area where military vehicles were parked, producer Steven Bochco was bringing the Iraq war to California, and by extension to America's TV homes.
This is where filming goes on for "Over There," a drama set among soldiers in the Iraq war and their families at home.
Premiering at 10 p.m. Wednesday on FX, "Over There" is graphic, raw-talking and for the most part very good. That becomes especially true once it gets past the story-establishing of the first episode to meatier and more specific explorations of the characters and their situation. Its characters are varied, their emotional arcs multilayered.
But even before it aired, "Over There" began carrying baggage that it did not need.
For starters, it is being called the first TV series set during a war while that war is in progress. That description is less important than it sounds.
American culture is laced with attempts by popular artists to portray an ongoing conflict -- novels about Vietnam, say, or combat movies during World War II. However explicitly M*A*S*H was set in Korea, its dramatic arcs reflected the nation's preoccupation with Vietnam.
And it's not as if television has ignored America's condition in Iraq and the wider war on terrorism. Other upcoming TV projects include: "Inside 9/11," a National Geographic Channel special about the disaster, which premieres Aug. 21; "Off to War," a series following National Guardsmen in Iraq and their families back in Arkansas, on Discovery Times Channel in October; and"The Flight That Fought Back," which reflects on 9/11's United Airlines Flight 93, on Sept. 11 on the Discovery Channel.
Even a press conference about a Showtime anthology of short films by horror directors touched on the current dilemma. Asked about the state of horror, director Stuart Gordon said, "I think there's a real boom... and my theory is, it's a result of 9/11.... There's so much tension in the world that people need to a chance to get it out of their systems."
So let's set aside whether "Over There" is the first anything. And let's try to do likewise with the whole question of the show's politics.
At a press conference in an air-conditioned tent on a hill overlooking the show's set, one reporter wondered out loud if a military action at the end of the third episode had a political underpinning. (I would disagree.) Another asked Bochco and Chris Gerolmo, the co-creators of the show, how they felt about the real Iraq war.
"I'm not even going to answer the question," Bochco said. "I don't want to politicize the show in any way.... I think the moment you take a political position, you're not doing what art is supposed to do, which is to ask provocative questions.
"You know, the moment you take a political position, you're providing answers. And, inevitably, when you provide answers, half the people say, 'Well, gee, that's the wrong answer.' And suddenly you're involved in a debate... and nobody is paying attention to, you know, the fundamental drama."
Of course, art sometimes does take a position. And you could argue that the mere act of putting on this show at this time is political -- because viewers will bring their political opinions to the watching of "Over There."
FX president John Landgraf has said that "Over There" fits with FX dramas "The Shield," "Nip/Tuck" and "Rescue Me" because "they were all set in contemporary America and they were all about contemporary American issues and reality." But they are also art. Over There finally has to be judged as art, or at least entertainment.
And when we get to that point, we find a show that works.
Not always easily. The first episode may be the weakest of the three I have seen.
Of course, it has to set up the rest of the show. It has to establish a large ensemble of characters in several different locations. And it has to do so while dealing with the "helmet problem" facing wartime dramas, where it's hard to tell soldiers apart under their gear.
There are later flaws as well. The show's closing theme song makes sense in the first episode -- which puts the lyrics in context -- but seems out of place in later telecasts.
Still, once the show is up and running, it stands a good chance of hooking viewers. An episode about running a roadblock is tension-filled and terrifying. Another, involving an extended interrogation of a prisoner, does indeed raise questions about how to conduct aspects of this war -- and leaves the viewers choosing their own answers.
Through the stories at home, the series also has a narrative arc that has nothing to do with the nitty-gritty of combat and everything to do with the impact of it.
"The moment you look at the domestic side... is when you begin to see the way in which what goes on in one venue has profound impact in another venue," Bochco said. "That becomes a tremendous source of storytelling. And it's those kinds of elements in the show that give me the confidence that we can do this show over the long haul."
I can even see it following the characters long after things are over "over there."
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R.D. Heldenfels writes about television for the Beacon Journal and in an online blog through
www.ohio.com. He is on assignment in California. Messages can be left at 330-996-3582 or
rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.
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