As HBO revels in the light of about 17 bajillion Emmy nominations for its miniseries John Adams (OK, it's only 23), the pay cable channel debuts Generation Kill, another miniseries about a key time in American history.

But this time is much more recent, as Generation Kill takes place only five years ago, at the start of the Iraq War. Based on the book by Evan Wright and brought to TV by the inimitable team of David Simon and Ed Burns (The Wire), the miniseries focuses intimately on a small cadre of Marines from the First Recon Battalion, the first soldiers to enter the country:


Though it is so recent, we are already so far from the war as it was then that we can view this production in hindsight. Indeed, it's painful to watch these Marines traipse into Iraq, all bluster and macho confidence, knowing that things don't go exactly as planned. Two episodes in, little mistakes are already popping up, whether it be bringing camouflage suits that aren't meant for the desert or shooting men they mistake for soldiers, but who are actually civilians who surrendered earlier and were turned away by order of the higher-ups.

These soldiers are boys who grew up on video games. They want to shoot, shoot, shoot (one spends the whole second episode whining every time he doesn't get to engage the enemy fighters), but at least they realize that if they die, they don't just get another life and start at the beginning of the level. They are aware of their own mortality but disregard the mortality of their enemies while also being amazed at everything they see.

And they're funny. Not just in the ironic, makes you think way of hearing talk about blowing through the country when we know what happens, but in the less demoralizing, actually funny haha way. With little else to do than sit in their trucks and wait to fight, they argue and bitch and philosophize in sardonic, filthy, pop culture-laden conversations. It's been a long time since I've heard early Avril Lavigne, but hearing Corporal Ray Person wail out "Sk8er Boi" while they plan the next move brings me right back to my youth, as well as poignantly presents how well these soldiers have separated their desire to kill from their everyday consciousness.

Who knows if the Emmys will be as kind to Generation Kill as they were to John Adams, but regardless, it is an eye opener to get an inside look at the men leading the charge into battle. Who knew Avril had such a foothold among men in their 20s trying to kill people in another part of the world?