Having read the positive reviews for this series, most peoples' take on it seems to be that it accurately captures the gallows humour of an armed forces unit.
Fine. So be it. But those folks must also allow for the opinions of Civvy Street, where any review is based solely on the series' merit as a comedy drama.
I'm not sure it's even such a good subject for this treatment. We don't have the benefit of hindsight here that we had with the likes of MASH and Dad's Army; the rights and wrongs of this current-day conflict haven't yet been chewed over sufficiently to make it worthwhile looking for the funny side. This makes the whole project feel a bit cynical, like it's cashing in parasitically, looking for laughs in the wrong places and milking an unfunny scenario for financial gain.
Sure, the real-life situation could indeed flip from the mundane to the tragic in seconds, but would everyone still be laughing post-flip? The dialogue is glib and smart-ass and unrealistic in the same way that MASH scripts could be; but it's just not funny. Couple that with the drama school-grade performances, distorted guitar riffs, slow motion action sequences and the inane macho posturing right from the opening credits, and you've got something that - to me at least - feels quite sickening.
Fine. So be it. But those folks must also allow for the opinions of Civvy Street, where any review is based solely on the series' merit as a comedy drama.
I'm not sure it's even such a good subject for this treatment. We don't have the benefit of hindsight here that we had with the likes of MASH and Dad's Army; the rights and wrongs of this current-day conflict haven't yet been chewed over sufficiently to make it worthwhile looking for the funny side. This makes the whole project feel a bit cynical, like it's cashing in parasitically, looking for laughs in the wrong places and milking an unfunny scenario for financial gain.
Sure, the real-life situation could indeed flip from the mundane to the tragic in seconds, but would everyone still be laughing post-flip? The dialogue is glib and smart-ass and unrealistic in the same way that MASH scripts could be; but it's just not funny. Couple that with the drama school-grade performances, distorted guitar riffs, slow motion action sequences and the inane macho posturing right from the opening credits, and you've got something that - to me at least - feels quite sickening.