'Enlisted' goes for laughs, but also serves as homage

[Pete]

'Enlisted' goes for laughs, but also serves as homage

http://www.fayobserver.com/military/article_0020b691-4584-580b-8491-d10975a20242.html

"When Kevin Biegel began working on a television comedy set in the military, some people told him to stay away.

People have been afraid to make a military comedy, Biegel said, for fear it would be perceived as a slight against the men and women of the armed forces........"

Been a while since the Phil Silvers Show.

And on authenticity.....

"...But that doesn't mean the show got everything right.

Biegel is quick to admit the pilot is riddled with errors, particularly in the uniforms.

Those mistakes are fixed in later episodes, thanks to the consulting firm, Biegel said.

Another change comes in the unit patches seen in the show. While Hill continues to wear a 101st Airborne Division combat patch, the soldiers who can be seen wearing a Fort Bragg-based Forces Command patch in the pilot wear a made-up patch in later episodes.

Biegel, who also has written for "South Park," Howard Stern and the Farrelly brothers, said he's proud of the show, but he's horrified by the mistakes made in the pilot....."

[mark46th]

Haven't seen it yet, but comedies about the military? How about 'F Troop', 'Mchale's Navy', 'Gomer Pyle, USMC', 'Hogan's Heroes', 'Black Sheep' and 'Mash', to name a few?

[BryanK]

From the article:
For source material, Biegel said the show's writers have compiled a bible of more than 100 pages of emails from soldiers recounting personal stories. The show will include some of those tales that non-veterans can relate to, he said, but also will have plenty of inside jokes for [V]eterans.

If there is any material similar to the experiences I've had/seen during my service in a maintenance unit, it should be both depressing and hilarious :D

[Sdiver]

The 'official page' for the show, with a few clips.

http://www.fox.com/enlisted/

[Flagg]

Hopefully it's a good thing and they also take the piss out of some posers in funny ways.

[The Reaper]

How about a reality show with soldiers trying to make ends meet with food stamps, having to shop off post because the Commissary is closed due to the sequester, getting sub-standard medical care for their families, living in a third-world shithole for six months, watching your family have to do without, making your ninth or tenth six-month deployment in as many years, being cheated by inadequate COLA raises because the system is rigged to largely ignore food, fuel, and other costs that real people have to deal with, seeing kids crying because their parent(s) is going to be deployed and miss Christmas yet again, watching retirement benefits you were promised for serving faithfully being taken away, sucking it up and dragging a broken body around the last few years of service because of driving on through pain and injuries to retire and live with those pains for another 30 years, yanking your kids out of school and packing the house up for the sixth time in 12 years because of the needs of the Army, listening to an ass chewing because your haircut or clothing isn't up to the super-standard of some leg SGM you ran into, getting screwed because when the Army was losing a dozen soldiers a week in Iraq, they needed every swinging Richard, but now that things are winding down, the stuff they didn't care about before is now a discriminator and you are being kicked to the curb.

I love my time in the military, and wouldn't change it for the world, but most Americans have no family members or friends serving, especially our elected representatives, who live like royalty and have no freaking idea how hard the average grunt has it.

Yeah, that would be hilarious.

TR

[head]

I saw the pilot on a recent plane ride... didn't find it that hilarious. I tried not to be a prick and wanted to overlook uniform infractions (such as unzipped ACU tops, rolled up sleeves, facial hair and too-long-for-even-SF hair), ridiculous fatness and conduct of the soldiers... but it was just became irritating and distracting. At times, I wish they weren't wearing ACUs or the Army PT Uniform and opted for a generic fatigues or made up camo pattern. Maybe I'm a stick in the mud now and I hope they made some changes... however, I don't watch much TV or sitcoms, so no sweat off my back.

[head]

Yeah, that would be hilarious.

TR

Great post.

[Flagg]

I love my time in the military, and wouldn't change it for the world, but most Americans have no family members or friends serving, especially our elected representatives, who live like royalty and have no freaking idea how hard the average grunt has it.

Yeah, that would be hilarious.

TR

Ditto……

Not that it would ever happen, but I remember as a kid how MASH managed to combine humour with very clear and preachy messages from the other end of the spectrum.

An "Anti-MASH" run on a pay per view channel to push the boundaries could be quite good.

Or would that be "Anti- Good Times" I remember as a young kid?

Not that it would ever happen.

[cbtengr]

hom·age
/ˈ(h)ämij/
noun
1. special honor or respect shown publicly.
"they paid homage to the local boy who became president"
synonyms: respect, honor, reverence, worship, obeisance, admiration, esteem, adulation, acclaim;

I have seen the previews and have yet to see anything remotely related to homage directed at the military.

[PSM]

Well, McHale's Navy didn't actually pay homage to PT Boat crews, either. And that was at a time a PT Boat Commander was Commander in Chief. The difference is that these Hollywood troops are emulating troops that are still at war. M*A*S*H used the Korean War to criticize the Viet Nam war.

Pat

[Utah Bob]

Bullshit.