Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

An action-packed slog

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

During the time this drama is set, I was deployed to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center as a member of the USAF medical corps. While a number of the depicted situations weren't perfectly accurate, they did portray the essence of combat medicine and captured many of the emotional dynamics as well. I liked very much how the many conditions and dynamics of deployment were at least broached: insurgents, local terps, illicit recreational sex, lesbian (bisexual?)soldiers, military politics, reaching out to locals and some of the inherent trust issues that exist on both sides, and the heartbreaking violence requisite of life during wartime.Not all kudos here, for the writing and character development could have been better, and had the tendency to lapse into stereotypical characterizations, i.e., arrogant surgeon (Dr. Hill), idealistic internist (Dr. Trang), over-achiever female surgeon (Dr. Gordon), and no-nonsense commander (Dr. Marks). Also a number of plot twists disappointed for their already-done expectedness in other media.I appreciated this show and its complex elements; of course the medicine wasn't perfect nor were the uniforms/military protocol, but all in all, it was a rather insightful look into military medicine at its finest--saving lives under the incredible pressures of war. Additionally, I do make the note which must be bared in mind: Hollywood (or Toronto), rarely depicts occupations and their intricacies accurately simply for lack of dramatic effect. It is the provenance of the creative arts to take license with 'the truth.'All said, I enjoyed this show and was able to comfortably relive some events from my own life, which was an engaging experience. For a fairly comprehensive look into combat hospital life, check out the 2008 documentary by Terry Sanders, "Fighting For Life" filmed at stateside and in-theater military hospitals.Finally, in reading the varied reviews here, I find the disinterest/criticism of certain comments to be less about the content of the show and more reflective a commentary on the American (and Canadian)public's apathy toward these wars and its less than one percent of Americans engaged in them. I hope some entity will find the wherewithal to reincarnate this show and bring this much-needed perspective back on air in the future.

I have watched every episode and the final episode did something that very few shows or movies have been capable of doing - it made me cry and not just a little sniffle but full out tears. This was not because I did not realize this is only a television series, it was because it made me remember that there have been more than a hundred Canadian men and women who have given their lives while wearing the uniform of our country in Afghanistan.This show does not have the comedic insubordination of M.A.S.H. and it does not focus on the nurse viewpoint of China Beach. Instead this show decides to portray life as best it can in a multi-national military mobile hospital in a foreign country during wartime. We do not get information about what is happening in Afghanistan very often here in Canada and to be honest, most Canadians probably don't want to know because the truth is much harsher than most of us could stomach.Kudos to the developers, producers and writers of this show because they are walking a very thin line between trying to tell a story that needs to be told while maintaining a compassionate point of view and, I suspect, dealing with DND overseers to ensure accuracy.The detractors of this show have been far to eager to find fault with the show to the point of bringing up inane arguments like "it is too soon to show something like this." Have we forgotten the series - Over There - that came out very shortly after the invasion of Iraq? Overall the acting is excellent and it does provide us with a glimpse of day to day life in Afghanistan for SOME of the people who are stationed there. I applaud the show and hope for its continued success and future seasons.

Are viewers ready for another 'doctor show'? Are they ready for a show that deals with a situation that dominates the nightly news? Regardless of recent activities abroad, it's obvious that the producers are only interested in recouping their investment.While some may 'try' to compare the show to a past military themed comedy, the show smacks of a road map to 'China Beach'. It's hardly a comedy and it doesn't take a writing wizard to figure out that the most successful shows that have a theme that encompasses a particular military conflict are usually written and produced several years after the fact so as not to inflame relatively fresh wounds. Completely bad timing! But who can expect writers and producers to figure that out? I do – if they're Canadian. Only US producers make mistakes like this.Anyone that's been to Afghanistan, (three years here), knows that the show is quite unrealistic in many respects. No need to go into details, because there are so many.

I watched the first 4 episodes of Combat Hospital and was underwhelmed with this new show. There appears to be very little character development done and only one storyline per episode. The writing is poor at best. Thanks to Canadian content laws we will see lots of this show as there does not appear to be other Canadian made shows to replace it....yet. There are some interesting characters in the show but the lead actress Michelle Borth is not lead material. She does not have what it takes to carry this show. Elias Koteas is a fine actor and does a great job of portraying Col Xavier Marks. Writer Gub Neal has done some fine writing in the past but the episodes he wrote for this show are lacking.I would have a hard time recommending this show to anyone.