Fort Bliss Monitor

New TV show attempts to portray reality of Iraq conflict

Amanda Hoeser
Stars and Stripes

Courtesy of FX

Soldiers walk a ridgeline as the sun sets behind them on the set of FX’s ‘Over There’ in Chatsworth, Calif.

Pfc. Bo Rider and his wife have sex in every room of their house. Pvt. Frank “Dim” Dumphy and his wife fight. Pfc. Ezmerelda “Doublewide” Del Rio tries to tell her young highchair-bound son where Iraq is. As they all board the plane bound for the war on terror, Rider says, “We into it now, huh?” All nod in agreement.

Over There, the newest series for FX president/general manager John Landgraf, producer Steven Bochco and co-creator/director Chris Gerolmo, pushes the envelope yet again by depicting a show about a war still being fought in Iraq.

Because the series is about an Army unit on their first deployment and the families left behind in the States, Gerolmo and Bochco had to be careful.

“We do lots of research. My wife puts articles on my desk and we watch documentaries, but it’s really just all about young people under pressure,” Gerolmo said.

To try to keep a sense of realism on the battlefield, the cast regulars were put through a seven-day “boot camp” organized by the Gunmetal Group, LLC, the military consultant for the show.

“For a week before we started shooting, we had three Marines who put us through a crash course in military training. They took a lot of pride to make sure we looked and felt as right as possible,” cast member Josh Henderson said.

But television does have its limits.

“We try to keep it very real, but there are certain things that we can’t do because it’s a TV show. Like stand 15 feet apart as we go over the berm, because we wouldn’t all be in the shot,” fellow cast member Eric Palladino added.

Because the war in Iraq has been a point of contention in the United States since the very beginning, the cast and crew of Over There knew they would run into political speed bumps and skeptical viewers, but decided to go on with the series anyway. “I’ve never been one to share my political beliefs with the world. It’s not my job … but if [the show] is going to make people think about the war more, pick up a newspaper and read about it, I don’t see how that is a bad thing,” Palladino said. “I know it’s cliché, but if they don’t want to watch it, they can just change the channel,” he added.

The director also pointed out that while the series does keep track of the unit in Iraq, a major part of the show would focus on the families left behind in the States.

“The first episode is more about the Soldiers and setting up the scene in Iraq. After that, the ratio changes to about 60 percent about the families at home,” Gerolmo said. In the end, the cast and crewmembers were most concerned about one thing. “The whole cast really wanted to bust our butts because we want the people in the military to be able to watch and say, ‘They are doing us justice.’ We wanted to do a show that [the troops] could be proud of, and I think we are achieving that,” Henderson said.

Over There debuted July 27 on FX. FX isn’t the only network tapping military material for new shows. NBC has just announced a new series called “E-Ring” that will focus on the inner workings of the Pentagon. The cast includes Benjamin Bratt and Dennis Hopper and is set to debut this fall.

The Cast

Erik Palladino is “Sgt. Scream.”
Lizette Carrion is “Doublewide.”
Josh Henderson plays “Bo.”
Luke MacFarlane as “Dim.”
Kirk “Sticky” Jones is “Smoke.”
Nicki Aycox as “Mrs. B.”.



www.bliss.army.mil	Published for the Fort Bliss/El Paso, Texas Community	August 11, 2005

<map name="boxmap-b4"> <area shape="rect" coords="0, 589, 120, 600" href="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" > <area coords="0,0,10000,10000" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=&creative=92501&camp=8117&link_code=dl1&path=subst/misc/amazon-cobrand-cc/v3/marketing-from-associates-step1.html/ref%3Db1_assoc_29" > </map>	New TV show attempts to portray reality of Iraq conflict Amanda Hoeser Stars and Stripes Courtesy of FX Soldiers walk a ridgeline as the sun sets behind them on the set of FX’s ‘Over There’ in Chatsworth, Calif. Pfc. Bo Rider and his wife have sex in every room of their house. Pvt. Frank “Dim” Dumphy and his wife fight. Pfc. Ezmerelda “Doublewide” Del Rio tries to tell her young highchair-bound son where Iraq is. As they all board the plane bound for the war on terror, Rider says, “We into it now, huh?” All nod in agreement. Over There, the newest series for FX president/general manager John Landgraf, producer Steven Bochco and co-creator/director Chris Gerolmo, pushes the envelope yet again by depicting a show about a war still being fought in Iraq. Because the series is about an Army unit on their first deployment and the families left behind in the States, Gerolmo and Bochco had to be careful. “We do lots of research. My wife puts articles on my desk and we watch documentaries, but it’s really just all about young people under pressure,” Gerolmo said. To try to keep a sense of realism on the battlefield, the cast regulars were put through a seven-day “boot camp” organized by the Gunmetal Group, LLC, the military consultant for the show. “For a week before we started shooting, we had three Marines who put us through a crash course in military training. They took a lot of pride to make sure we looked and felt as right as possible,” cast member Josh Henderson said. But television does have its limits. “We try to keep it very real, but there are certain things that we can’t do because it’s a TV show. Like stand 15 feet apart as we go over the berm, because we wouldn’t all be in the shot,” fellow cast member Eric Palladino added. Because the war in Iraq has been a point of contention in the United States since the very beginning, the cast and crew of Over There knew they would run into political speed bumps and skeptical viewers, but decided to go on with the series anyway. “I’ve never been one to share my political beliefs with the world. It’s not my job … but if [the show] is going to make people think about the war more, pick up a newspaper and read about it, I don’t see how that is a bad thing,” Palladino said. “I know it’s cliché, but if they don’t want to watch it, they can just change the channel,” he added. The director also pointed out that while the series does keep track of the unit in Iraq, a major part of the show would focus on the families left behind in the States. “The first episode is more about the Soldiers and setting up the scene in Iraq. After that, the ratio changes to about 60 percent about the families at home,” Gerolmo said. In the end, the cast and crewmembers were most concerned about one thing. “The whole cast really wanted to bust our butts because we want the people in the military to be able to watch and say, ‘They are doing us justice.’ We wanted to do a show that [the troops] could be proud of, and I think we are achieving that,” Henderson said. Over There debuted July 27 on FX. FX isn’t the only network tapping military material for new shows. NBC has just announced a new series called “E-Ring” that will focus on the inner workings of the Pentagon. The cast includes Benjamin Bratt and Dennis Hopper and is set to debut this fall. The Cast Erik Palladino is “Sgt. Scream.” Lizette Carrion is “Doublewide.” Josh Henderson plays “Bo.” Luke MacFarlane as “Dim.” Kirk “Sticky” Jones is “Smoke.” Nicki Aycox as “Mrs. B.”.