Don't Watch

All day I've been reading that Creator Steven Bochco has a suggestion for anyone who plans on finding his new television drama disrepectful to the brave soldiers who are still fighting the battles in Iraq he's fictionalizing in Chatsworth: "don't watch." No doubt some people will take him up on it: call it a pre-emptive click.

Hasty?

"Over There" is a ripped-from-the-headlines show about the war in Iraq -- a sort of "Islamic Law and Disorder." As such, it comes armed with more than its share of controversy. To be fair, I haven't seen it yet -- it hits the airwaves here in LA in about an hour. (But to be fair, I plan to.) Why the fuss? It addresses a topic that is not only combustible and polarizing, but also...still developing. So much about the Iraq War is still up in the air; some believe it needs to land before we attempt to catch it.

They feel it needs to end over there before we import it over here.

I suppose it's true that most great television, literature, and other forms of high art (and basic cable) benefit from a little hindsight. "M.A.S.H." comes to mind. So does The Iliad. The Bible wouldn't have been quite so conclusive with the opening salvo: "In the beginning, I'm thinking of a word."

But those days are over. These days viewers want relevance. They want now. I do too. Which is why I'm already pitching a show about our upcoming invasion of Syria. I've got the first six eps already sketched out. I just worry that Adam McKay's "Untitled North Korea Project" might pooch it.

But then there's today's headlines...