Chuck Lorre and crew are presenting us with a setup we've never seen before. These characters represent a sizeable segment of American society, and unless you know someone who's been in the military recently -- or is related to or involved with someone who's been deployed -- you really don't know much about what that segment is experiencing. The government learned during Vietnam that to keep public opinion supportive, you can't let the news cameras go in with the troops. So most of what we know about what caused the challenges returning soldiers are facing today is by deduction only. Now here's The US of Al giving us a closer look.
In this episode, we see Al drawing out the main character and his estranged wife, and he does so in a manner that reveals the hurt while dressing the wound. It's very touching. It goes just far enough without becoming dramatic. And then the end of the episode shows us that what we've been picturing regarding Lizzie's storyline is not quite accurate. (Don't you love it when a show does that?)
I look forward to watching this series push the boundaries into new territory.