The Conflict in Iraq,
A New Television
Drama From Bochco
By JOE FLINT
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
July 15, 2005; Page B1
War is hell -- but is it good television?
At the end of the month, News Corp.'s FX cable channel is set to launch "Over There," a gritty hour-long drama about an Army unit fighting in Iraq.
From "NYPD Blue" co-creator Steven Bochco, "Over There" will offer up more than enough blood and gore to unnerve advertisers and viewers: In the first episode, a main character loses his leg when a roadside bomb rips apart a U.S. military truck. An Iraqi character has the upper half of his body blown apart on screen, leaving his legs to continue walking for a second or two.
Marking the first time a scripted TV drama has taken on the topic of a real-time war, "Over There" will be beaming into living rooms at the same time as horrific real-life images from Iraq are filling newscasts and U.S. soldiers are coming home in flag-draped coffins.
Mr. Bochco says "Over There" will be apolitical. "It's not about policy and politics. It's about life and death," he says. But with plots that revolve around prisoners, rules of combat and even the media, it may be impossible for some viewers to avoid reacting to the show in political terms -- giving potential sponsors another reason to be wary.
In the intimate medium of television, audiences historically have been given a bit of distance: The 1970s sitcom "M*A*S*H" became a huge hit with viewers by serving up a dose of comic relief and antiwar sentiment toward the end of the Vietnam War. But "M*A*S*H" was set in Korea. "Over There" is likely to seem much more real.
"War has everything you need for television -- the drama of 'Law & Order,' the action of '24' and the blood of 'CSI,'" says Chris Gerolmo, a co-creator and the show's head writer. "I'm sure it will be a little too intense for some people," Mr. Bochco adds.
Messrs. Bochco and Gerolmo didn't reach out to the military for help on "Over There." Doing so might have given them access to bases and equipment, but it also would have required the Army's approval on stories. "I understand the Army won't like a solider getting his leg blown off," Mr. Bochco says. "It doesn't sell the Army, on a certain level." Kathy Ross, director of the Army's Los Angeles office of public affairs, says, her concern with the show is that "people will look at it and say 'Yeah, that is how it really is.' "
FX has a reputation for taking chances. Its other hit shows include "The Shield," about a rogue cop, and "Rescue Me," about the exploits and troubles of New York City firefighters after Sept. 11, 2001. "Over There," with its focus on war, will present FX with unique challenges. Unlike Time Warner Inc.'s premium cable channel HBO, which has thrived by giving its subscribers violence-filled shows such as "The Sopranos," FX needs to sign up advertisers.
"I would think they'd have a difficult run," says Bill McOwen, executive vice president at Havas SA media-buying firm MPG. Mr. McOwen says he liked the first episode of "Over There," but he wonders if the series will prove too harsh for some advertisers. In the second episode, soldiers working a checkpoint discover what lurks in the trunk of a car. "What automotive [company] wants to be associated with car bombs?" Mr. McOwen asks.
When controversial shows become hits, advertisers have been known to overcome their squeamishness. "There is always skittishness at the beginning," says Shari Brill, vice president of programming at Aegis PLC's media-buying unit Carat. "But if the audience goes there, advertisers will follow."
Bruce Lefkowitz, executive vice president, Fox cable entertainment sales, says the first episode of "Over There" is sold out, and he doesn't anticipate trouble selling future episodes. Some advertisers, he acknowledges, will steer clear. "Johnson & Johnson is never going to buy 'Over There,' " Mr. Lefkowitz says.
Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures has signed on for at least one episode, plugging its military movie "Stealth." Toyota Motor Corp. has bought time, too. Nancy Hubbell, a U.S. spokeswoman, says Toyota thinks the show "will be informative and not sensationalized." Ad agency, Publicis Groupe SA's Saatchi & Saatchi will monitor episodes, she says.
Brewer Anheuser-Busch Cos. is betting "Over There" will attract young male viewers. "This is a pretty honest and real depiction," says Tony Ponturo, vice president of global media and sports marketing, adding, "We feel comfortable because it is so well done."
Mr. Bochco's "NYPD Blue" broke network-TV barriers with partial nudity and salty language. ABC withstood pressure from station affiliates and advertisers to clean up the show. But once it became a hit, content concerns faded. "On FX, you're going to have less difficulty selling your advertising time," Mr. Bochco says. Sponsors "don't come looking for 'Mary Poppins' and get shocked when they get 'Rescue Me.' "
Mr. Bochco can count on the support of FX President John Landgraf, who proposed the idea of a war drama last year, when he was the newly hired entertainment chief at FX. He was named president three months ago. It had been years since "Tour of Duty" and "China Beach" -- "and those were about Vietnam," Mr. Landgraf says. "It struck me as amazing that ... there had been nothing done about the [Iraq] war."
Mr. Bochco, Mr. Landgraf's first choice to produce the show, balked at first. Not only had he never been in the military, he told Mr. Landgraf, but he also was wary of dealing with war politics. "I've never been comfortable using my shows as a platform to espouse political views of any type," Mr. Bochco says. He came around but decided to focus on the grunts and the families they left behind in the States.
The show, with a July 27 premiere, may prove to be a comeback for Mr. Bochco. While a few of his past shows, such as "Hill Street Blues" and "L.A. Law," were TV milestones, some of his more recent efforts -- such as "Blind Justice" on Walt Disney Co.'s ABC -- haven't fared as well. He sold a show to HBO, but the network ultmately passed. "Nobody hits the ball out of the park every time they step up to the plate," Mr. Bochco says. Cable networks, of course, don't need the mass audiences that broadcast networks do. "If we can get to four or five million viewers on FX, we're a hit," Mr. Bochco says. |
