TONIGHT: Liveblogging "Over There" — Join the Discussion

We hated it so much last week that I hate to do it. But somebody has to: Stop by tonight at 10 — I’ll be liveblogging the second installment of “Over There,” FX’s new show about the Iraq war. If for no other reason, I have to tune in to see what they are going to do with the women in combat story-line. . .

Come join us.

UPDATE: Instapundit links today to Opinionated Bastard who says that “The Soldiers Are Wrong:”

I think that Over There is going to turn out to be great TV. It may be oversimplifying the war, but that’s OK. If the New York Times coverage of the war was as good as this show, I wouldn’t have to blog.

Great TV??! Okay, let’s see. . .

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Prologue: Time Magazine reports that, “FX’s daring new Iraq war drama is violent and provocative — but filled with cliched characters.” But you knew that from last week.

2200hrs. Review from last week: Remember gentlemen, sex begins in the kitchen.

2202 An American soldier hanging from a rafter, being beaten by a man in a ski mask. Man, I hate this. God bless the American soldier.

2202 It was a dream sequence. Now we’re at Landstuhl in Germany, with the soldier who lost his leg last week.

His father comes to visit. Father-leaving cliche: “he left when I was six years old for cigarettes and never came back.”

2211 I don’t know if I can watch a whole hour of this. Now we have a scene between a black soldier and a white soldier that defies description. The white guy asks for an apology from the black guy — he’s the one who wanted to make the run for the booze that resulted in the truck hitting an IED and the soldier losing his leg. Then they start fighting after the black guy calls the white guy a “honky.” No way. Not buyin’ it.

2215 In the commercial break. They did segue into an intense scene where they recreate a car trying to run the roadblock. We see the car coming straight at them; they shoot warning shots and the car just keeps coming. In real life this caused an international incident when the soldiers killed an Italian journalist as I recall. (Though not their fault.)

2218 Just let a car go through — some women saying “America good.” That’s a nice scene. But they didn’t check the trunk.

2223 They call the wife on a Saturday when he was injured on Tuesday? Is that true? Does that really happen?

2224 Soldiers standing around looking at the dead guys in the car that tried to run the roadblock and one soldier starts wondering if the two Iraqis were actually innocent. A lot like last week where they had the same kind of self-questioning scene after combat. Doesn’t ring true to me.

2238 Of course they have to make the chaplain come off like a goofball. At least they don’t make him pushy too.

2240 Now that was cool. The Sergeant said not to touch the car cause he thought it was probably booby-trapped. So they rigged it up so they could open the trunk from a distance. And, boom. The Sarge was right.

2247 “And then there’s my husband, who makes mules look cooperative.” I’ll have to remember that one.

2248 They’re out of water? Paging Coca-Cola!! I told you you needed to role out Cami-Coke on the water buffalo!!

2259 On the plus side — the last check point scene was pretty intense. They show the soldiers killing a car with a man and his little daughter — the soldier who discovers the little girl completely freaks out. But the next car turns out to have a guy stashed in the trunk. So it was a set-up. It leaves you with a deep respect for the intense pressure of having to make on the spot, quick assessments of dangerous situations with lives on the line.

On the other hand. . . .I recently saw a video clip coming out of Iraq of a real surveillance operation where our guys ended up having to shoot some insurgents who were trying to set up some roadside bombs. . . wow, the cool professionalism was just so impressive. None of the overwrought emotionalism being portrayed here. What say you milbloggers?

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Thanks to Mudville, Open Post!