A previous review, from a former serviceman, said it was much harder to write about the military than cops, but I suspect he's never been a cop...
To a civy, this has a couple of things right about it that that poster (who I can understand might be miffed by incorrect details), seems to have ignored.
First off, 24 proved that lots of people kind of like tech speak. From my contact with forces people, they DO talk in acronyms a lot (As a computer industry worker, meaningless acronyms don't impress me much...).
Secondly, it's exciting. In the same way that real police work is 99% slow methodical sifting of evidence and cross checking, the real military world (even of special forces) would probably bore the average viewer to tears. Hours and hours of waiting for something to happen and then more hours of stealthy evasion wouldn't work in a 1 hour slot.
Thirdly, I think it manages the men out defending freedom/families at home worrying and waiting balance extremely well. The women aren't weak and foolish (again, my limited experience of military families suggests the women often get to be pretty self-reliant), but they have the same frailties and fears anyone might.
Sure, timelines and tactics are compressed or circumvented to get a storyline into a 50 minute programme and there are some fabrications to help the stories along (everyone living nearby, the CO doing the dirty with one of his men's wife - although I'm sure it's happened), but it deals with the action in an exciting and convincing way (for the casual viewer - A bit like a Tom Clancy novel reads), whilst attempting to deal with the impact of these things on people's lives.
The mil-sim and former military purists might not like it, but to the average viewer, it's (like 24 or The Shield) quality TV entertainment that leaves you thinking, at least a little, when it's over.
To a civy, this has a couple of things right about it that that poster (who I can understand might be miffed by incorrect details), seems to have ignored.
First off, 24 proved that lots of people kind of like tech speak. From my contact with forces people, they DO talk in acronyms a lot (As a computer industry worker, meaningless acronyms don't impress me much...).
Secondly, it's exciting. In the same way that real police work is 99% slow methodical sifting of evidence and cross checking, the real military world (even of special forces) would probably bore the average viewer to tears. Hours and hours of waiting for something to happen and then more hours of stealthy evasion wouldn't work in a 1 hour slot.
Thirdly, I think it manages the men out defending freedom/families at home worrying and waiting balance extremely well. The women aren't weak and foolish (again, my limited experience of military families suggests the women often get to be pretty self-reliant), but they have the same frailties and fears anyone might.
Sure, timelines and tactics are compressed or circumvented to get a storyline into a 50 minute programme and there are some fabrications to help the stories along (everyone living nearby, the CO doing the dirty with one of his men's wife - although I'm sure it's happened), but it deals with the action in an exciting and convincing way (for the casual viewer - A bit like a Tom Clancy novel reads), whilst attempting to deal with the impact of these things on people's lives.
The mil-sim and former military purists might not like it, but to the average viewer, it's (like 24 or The Shield) quality TV entertainment that leaves you thinking, at least a little, when it's over.