HBO Presents Generation Kill: Must-See TV for All Americans

HBO is now in its fifth installment of "Generation Kill", based on the best seller by Evan Wright, a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine who traveled with the First Recon unit of the Marines during the opening days of the Iraqi invasion. The ongoing series, which airs each Sunday evening at 9:00 P.M. Eastern time, is not to be missed.

They're not mobsters, they're not undertakers, nor are they today's version of the 'Brat Pack'. They're U.S. Marines involved in the first days of the Iraqi invasion, as told by the first-hand account of Wright, who traveled with them, lived with them, ate (roasted dog) with them, and whose photo of his girlfriend bought the Marines much-needed supplies in an unlikely way. The most fascinating character to me is Brad, "The Iceman", the stolid, handsome Marine in charge of the unit with which Wright;s character travels. As the series progresses, we learn more about this obviously well-educated young man whose baby-faced demeanor has changed dramatically by episode four, "The Burning Dog". He has seen American troops decimate villages populated by Iraqi women and children; he has seen his own men forever changed by a split-second decision that turned out badly. We learn that he was adopted by an "upper middle class professional couple who provided me with over 2,000 years of upbringing based on the teachings of the Talmud". His cool composure even in the most difficult of situations appears to falter. While setting up yet another roadblock in their attempt to divert the Republican Army troops, one of his men mistakenly 'jumps the gun' and shoots a car that doesn't stop after a warning shot. The young soldier is literally and figuratively frozen after he sees what he's done; it's Brad, the Iceman, who coolly removes him from the front line and into a Humvee so as to collect his thoughts. It's Brad who approves the decision of his cocky young driver - another fan favorite with post-war musical aspirations - to trade the photograph of the reporter's pretty girlfriend to members of another Recon unit in exchange for much-needed batteries. Carl is the voice of sanity in the desert.

Wright himself takes a carefully constructed, minimal role in the series. His easygoing demeanor, his willingness to pick up a rifle when the squad is under fire, and, perhaps most of all, his attempts to stay quietly in the background while writing as quickly as he can, makes for a sharp contrast of Civilian versus the HooRa men. When the unit is literally trapped at the front line of an ambush at the foot of a bridge, you can see the terror in his eyes of a man who may have bit off a bit more than he thought when he'd signed on for this assignment.

There are many truly reprehensible characters in the series: the C.O. who has no idea how to lead under fire, the C.O. whose brash decisions place his own troops in grave danger, but perhaps none more so than Godfather, the raspy-voiced career Marine who calls the shots. The actor who portrays him does a magnificent job of portraying a man at peace with war.

There are still four more episodes in this series to air. HBO runs re-runs of previous episodes on a rotating basis, so it's not that difficult to catch up with the action. It is an investment not just in viewing time but in emotion as well in watching this really excellent series, and it's worth every bit. "Generation Kill" is an up close and terribly personal look at the war in Iraq for what it really is: an exercise in futility that seems to have, unlike the HBO series, no end in sight.