HBO's "Generation Kill": Realistic to a fault?

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Last night was the premiere of the eagerly anticipated HBO miniseries Generation Kill, and like most of the reviews proclaim, I found it well-made and very intense.

And I doubt that I'll watch part two.

It has a great cast, including Oz veteran Lee Tergesen and Stark Sands from Die, Mommy, Die!, and an impeccable pedigree.

It's based on the book by Rolling Stone writer Evan Wright (who was embedded with The 1st Recon Marines) and chronicles his experiences during the first wave of the American-led assault on Baghdad in 2003. It was adapted for HBO by David Simon, who made the brilliant The Wire (and in doing so, gave us the wonderfully complicated gay character Omar).

However, in their zeal to be ultra-realistic, they forgot to include any characters that were worth caring about, especially when they spout wall-to-wall homophobic slurs and insults. I'm not talking about guys occasionally calling each "fag" or making fun of someone's gay tendencies, but a pervasive, and hostile attitude that undermines the rest of the show.

"Fruity" Rudy Reyes

I expected a certain amount of homophobia, of course. The show is about a group of young, insecure, scared men in close quarters, and the easiest way for young, insecure, scared men in close quarters to bond as a group is through macho posturing (it's better to point the finger than have it pointed at you).

In the premiere, most of the gay scorn is heaped on a soldier named Fruity Rudy (played by real life veteran Rudy Reyes). Because he drinks from his canteen with his pinky raised, and is metrosexual (as much as you can be in the middle of a war), he takes the brunt of the "fag" remarks. He's also seen naked from the back in one scene, which is shot in gauzy soft focus, and as the camera slowly pans up his body, it's clear what audience they're pandering to.

Talk about a mixed message.

I spent a few years in the military, so I know that homophobia is pervasive, but I learned how to tune it out. Unfortunately for Generation Kill, it's even easier to tune it out, and nothing I saw in the premiere really makes me want to tune back in.

We've been speaking to some of the guys behind the show and will have more later in the week on the show itself. But in the meantime we're interested to hear your thoughts on the premiere. Was there enough to keep you coming back?