NETWORK: HBO
AIR DATE: July 13, 2008
STARRING: Alexander Skarsgard, James Ransone, Lee Tergesen, Jon Huertas, and Stark Sands
WRITTEN BY: David Simon and Ed Burns
DIRECTED BY: Susanna White and Simon Cellan Jones

David Simon and Ed Burns, two of the geniuses behind The Wire, turn their eyes and ears from the streets of Baltimore to the Humvees of Baghdad in the absolutely riveting Generation Kill, an HBO mini-series that stands as the best fictional document yet produced about the current nightmare in the Middle East. Not like that's much of a contest, right? But it is remarkable how immediately Generation Kill separates itself from Redacted, Over There, Stop Loss, Lions For Lambs, Redacted, and the film festival worth of other product that just didn't feel right. Honestly, it's amazingly simple - those movies and TV shows were trying to be blanket statements for the entire war, something that's impossible to do while it's still ongoing. Generation Kill does so much more just being about the people on the ground. It's incredible television and yet another trophy in an amazing year for HBO. The network has produced one of the best new dramas (In Treatment), one of the best films (Recount), and the two best mini-series (John Adams and, now, Generation Kill) of the last six months. Who needs Tony Soprano?

There's a surreal quality to Generation Kill that is actually what really makes it tick. Let's be honest. What's going on over there is sometimes completely insane. If Kurt Vonnegut had written this thirty years ago, we'd marvel at his satire. But Generation Kill is based on a non-fiction book written by an embedded journalist. This crazy sh*t happens. Like what? Reporters buying their own Kevlar on Ebay before going into a war zone. Soldiers not being able to have mustaches because the administration was worried about Iraqis invading as undercover agents (and, of course, a lot of them are forbidden by religion to shave). Horny boys hyped up on liquid fuel, singing Avril Lavigne songs, lying in wait for hours at a time with nothing exciting to do but feel the rumble the tanks make on their junk when they roll by - Iraq was a messed up place in more ways than one.

Of course, the way it was and is most messed-up is much more tragic than massacred pop tracks (but Burns and Simon are smart enough to allow for dark humor amid the horror so GK doesn't come out one-note). And Generation Kill is completely fearless. Mangled children, killing stray dogs for fun, insane soldiers with a desire to kill - Generation Kill is not for the weak. But what truly separates it from many other fictional war pieces is its refusal to vilify the soldiers on the ground. They're stuck in deadly situations with often-confusing orders, rolling past dead and mutilated bodies, including children. They're up over 24 hours at a time, using crappy equipment, and largely bored out of their minds. They're given orders to kill ANYONE with a gun, even if they're going in another direction and so far away that they can't really tell if they have a weapon or not. Can you blame them for wanting to kill anything?

You may notice careful readers that I haven't even gotten to the plot of Generation Kill. It's not that important. To be honest, after the first hour, airing this Sunday, I wasn't yet sure who was who and where Burns and Simon were going. Two hours later, I'm still not one hundred percent. Naturally, for most of us non-grunts, the character that will be easiest to identify with is the reporter (Oz's Lee Tergesen) who travels with a crew of soldiers in the days leading up to the invasion of Iraq. Most of Generation Kill is actually dialogue-heavy. These guys sat around a lot and drove from one point to another for a long time. When the action does kick in, it's intense and very realistic, but it's not about that.

Actually, it's when the action kicks in that the one complaint I have about Generation Kill often kicks in. Sometimes the dialogue is TOO smart. When a convoy is completely pinned down in a horrible ambush, I'm not sure that I believe that anyone is cognizant or straight-faced enough to say "Happy birthday, bitch. You're about to get shot in the face." Moments like that, while fun, make a very realistic mini-series feel a little fictional. Luckily, those moments where it doesn't feel genuine are few and far between.

HBO only sent the first three hours of Generation Kill and my DVR is already scheduled to record the final four. Considering most of the Iraq War movies lost my attention after twenty minutes, the very fact that I'm still riveted halfway through this seven-hour ordeal is a sign in itself that it stands alone. Give it a chance and make sure not to give up after the first, crowded hour - the project settles down into a more traditional groove in the next two episodes with characters to care about and arcs to follow. We hate to sound like a broken record, but it really has been quite the year for HBO, a network that appeared to be in serious trouble recently, but by valuing daring work like In Treatment, Recount, and, now, arguably their best mini-series since Band of Brothers, they've reclaimed their position as a creative force that can't be ignored.