Producer Steven Bochco (NYPD Blue, Hill Street Blues) took a big chance on this series about the current war in Iraq. Casting mostly unknowns in this intense and uncompromising series, Brochco has made a show that is powerful, thought provoking, and action packed without political overtones. That in itself is a triumph in today's Hollywood. But the show received criticism from conservatives and Fox caved in, cancelling it after 13 episodes.

Season One contains 5 discs and includes all the episodes plus some extras. The basic story follows a group of our forces who arrive in Iraq and each episode deals with a different aspect of the war, which many of us have come to be familiar with from the nightly news. Brochco also focuses the show on lives back home, which makes the show much more powerful.
While the troops, led by ER alum Erik Palladino as "Sgt. Scream" Silas, find themselves on patrol, in firefights, covering up CIA work, on road block duty and other scenarios, the families back home deal with a number of problems surrounding the loss of their loved ones. Luke McFarlane plays an intellictual private who has an alcholic wife at home. Nicki Aycox as Brenda "Mrs. B." Mitchell finds out that her son has major medical problems, comes home and goes AWOL. Josh Henderson, who is Mr. Gung-Ho in the pilot epsiode is badly injured and wants to become the first amputee to return to Iraq. Omid Abtahi plays Tariq Nassiri, an Arab from Detroit, who joined after 9-11. He brings a powerful performance as Henderson's replacement, battling his own men over prejudices and finding out more about his own culture.
The cast is terrific and Brochco made the right move with casting unknowns for the parts, giving the entire series a more realistic feel. He also features women in the fight, with Mrs. B and Lizette Carrion as Pfc. Esmeralda "Doublewide" Del Rio, whose husband is at home and starts to flirt with a support group wife.
I also liked the use of current technology, as the soldiers video e-mail their loved ones and have live video conferences in tents setup with Internet feeds and laptops.

Shooting in and around Chatsworth, California, the production values of the series are very good and the sets really take on the look and grittiness of Iraq. War battle scenes are depicted with great realism and the gore factor is at times pretty intense. This is especially true in the pilot and with the special effects used with "amputee" Josh Henderson. Be prepared for legs and arms being blown off, intestines and chests visibly open and some soldiers totally blown away into small pieces.
Sound is a good 5.1 surround with lots of subwoofer info during battles. It will shake the roof if cranked.
One thing also; the song, "Over There", written by Chris Gerolmo plays at the end of each episode and really just go to well with the series. I can see it being used on the pilot but each episode was a bit much. Whatever impact it had at the beginning of the series is lost by the fifth or sixth show, and it becomes a song that you dread to hear, much like the opening song of "Star Trek: Enterprise".

The discs contain three commentaries on selected episodes, and lengthy making of documentary and a weapons debriefing. While the extras list is short, these extras are well thought out and of high quality with cast member interviews, much input from Stephen Brochco and Chris Gerolmo.

A powerful, dramatic show that took a lot of bold chances portraying our troops in a current war. A talented young cast, tight writing, and realistic sets make this an entertaining series. Too bad it didn't survive the political heat. Now we can enjoy it on DVD for a reasonable price.