We pretty much have the same opinion of GK, I think. I think part of it is that we (or at least I) went in knowing that the system was so fucked up, and we don't have that happy resolution in sight -- we don't have that baseball game scene yet to go to, if the U.S. is going to get it all (which seems doubtful). It did make me think about what it means to invade and be invaded, and that was an angle I hadn't really spent much time examining before. But overall... yeah, give me Easy Company any day, delightful as the individual guys in GK are.
Re: Wincon, there is a slim chance (depending on my finances, and whether or not she's coming to Wincon) that I might stay with a friend in Chicago, but most likely that I'll be in the hotel. I haven't done anything with roommates yet, since I don't know who all is going, but I do have a hotel room, and space for at least one person, so you are welcome to share with me! :D I'll be there Thursday night through checkout Monday morning.
My thoughts on GK are exactly the same as yours. I wanted to punch the 'leaders' in the face more times than I cared to count, they just made me so ANGRY.
After my initial viewing of it, I didn't really think I would watch it again, as, like you, it didn't capture me in a way that Band of Brothers did (ha, I don't think anything else really has), but seeing as though I had bought GK on dvd, I decided to give it a re-watch and really, really enjoyed it a lot more the second time. Like BoB, they are so many names and faces that you don't really get to appreciate and connect with them all on a first viewing, so I do recommend a second viewing as I think it's one of those shows that requires it. Am interested to see what your views are on the finale when you get to watch it.
NGL, GK makes me really uncomfortable with the way the military is run, and the entire idea of maneuver warfare that Rumsfeld et al. embraced.
The thing you don't get from the TV series but you do from the books (Wright's and Fick's) is that the officers you despise were never ever meant to be leading recon marines in the field. Probably you know this, but usually the team leaders like Colbert would make all the immediate decisions once they were inserted covertly, and the company's commanding officer wouldn't actually be there in the flesh, just over the radio. Of the officers introduced for Bravo Company in GK, Fick was the only one with infantry experience - Captain America and Encino Man both were intelligence analysts.
You're missing RUDY REYES, Lilley, Stafford and Christeson, and Walt from your list of people, that's what! ♥ ♥
This might be a little rambly since I just woke up, but the realism is one of the things I really like about the show. The funny thing is, I usually think I like BoB a lot more than GenKill, but then I go and watch an episode of GenKill and sit there chinhandsing going "gosh, this is just so good". I do partially agree with what you're saying, because it is tough to watch and I probably couldn't watch GenKill over and over and over like I do with BoB - but I'm doing a rewatch right now and still loving it. Maybe I can stomach incompetence a bit easier, but reading through a lot of the related information (the After Action report, terminology, interviews, parts of the GenKill book) also helped me to understand more about the show, especially the mindset of some of the Marines. Oh, and watching it with the commentary on! The commentary for part 4 is A++ because it has PJ and Askars
( ... )
I got into GenKill before BoB, though, and the thing is that you really, really cannot compare the two of them. I mean, you can obviously like one and not like the other, that's cool, but I really dislike it when people are like "if you like one then you will definitely like the other!" because the atmosphere, timing, and nearly everything about the two shows are completely different.
Thisssss. If I had a dollar for every time I saw someone say this I would have a lot of dollars.
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After my initial viewing of it, I didn't really think I would watch it again, as, like you, it didn't capture me in a way that Band of Brothers did (ha, I don't think anything else really has), but seeing as though I had bought GK on dvd, I decided to give it a re-watch and really, really enjoyed it a lot more the second time. Like BoB, they are so many names and faces that you don't really get to appreciate and connect with them all on a first viewing, so I do recommend a second viewing as I think it's one of those shows that requires it. Am interested to see what your views are on the finale when you get to watch it.
Reply
The thing you don't get from the TV series but you do from the books (Wright's and Fick's) is that the officers you despise were never ever meant to be leading recon marines in the field. Probably you know this, but usually the team leaders like Colbert would make all the immediate decisions once they were inserted covertly, and the company's commanding officer wouldn't actually be there in the flesh, just over the radio. Of the officers introduced for Bravo Company in GK, Fick was the only one with infantry experience - Captain America and Encino Man both were intelligence analysts.
Reply
This might be a little rambly since I just woke up, but the realism is one of the things I really like about the show. The funny thing is, I usually think I like BoB a lot more than GenKill, but then I go and watch an episode of GenKill and sit there chinhandsing going "gosh, this is just so good". I do partially agree with what you're saying, because it is tough to watch and I probably couldn't watch GenKill over and over and over like I do with BoB - but I'm doing a rewatch right now and still loving it. Maybe I can stomach incompetence a bit easier, but reading through a lot of the related information (the After Action report, terminology, interviews, parts of the GenKill book) also helped me to understand more about the show, especially the mindset of some of the Marines. Oh, and watching it with the commentary on! The commentary for part 4 is A++ because it has PJ and Askars ( ... )
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Thisssss. If I had a dollar for every time I saw someone say this I would have a lot of dollars.
Also Stafford & Christeson are my BROTP, man.
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