E-Ring - Military Minds

Into what has become a recent sub-genre of network television -- that of the government operational-situation drama -- NBC's newest entry, "E-Ring," boldly enters the arena.

Sharing the same network as the hugely successful "West Wing," "E-Ring" draws inescapable comparisons to its popular predecessor. Simply put -- what "West Wing" did for the White House, "E-Ring" does for the Pentagon.

Helmed by Hollywood uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, E-Ring is set in the all-powerful outermost ring of the Pentagon's five concentric corridors, where special-ops military responses to the ever-changing world situation are planned and executed. As one might expect, such an open-ended, dynamic setting lends itself to an almost limitless list of scenarios -- ripe for the traditional hour-long TV drama format.

The basis for "E-Ring" centers around a newly-assigned special-ops Army major, Jim Tiznewski, or "J.T.," played superbly by Benjamin Bratt. The series follows Tiznewski from his initial posting to the Pentagon from his former field-operations status as he reports to his new C.O., played by film veteran Dennis Hopper in a canny bit of casting. Along the way, the pair deal with up-to-the-minute intelligence reports from around the globe, determine which are deserving of immediate military attention and then apply the appropriate response.

Bratt and Hopper are joined by a well-placed supporting cast, including Anjenue Ellis as the tough-as-nails Marine Sargent who serves as the logistical guru who holds the Spec-ops planning office together; Kelly Rutherford, who plays the high-ranking civilian counsel acting as a legal liaison between the Pentagon and the White House; Joe Morton, as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Spec-ops who serves as the ranking decision-maker for Bratt and Hopper; and, in another bit of brilliant casting, former "Brat-Packer" Andrew McCarthy as a slippery Congressional liaison (a casting choice not unlike that of Rob Lowe in the early seasons of West Wing).

Although original plans for the series apparently called for Bratt's character to be married, those plans were changed in favor of having "romantic interests." It is hard to imagine that the first of these "romantic interests" could be improved upon -- at least from a plot standpoint -- as his first live-in girlfriend is a covert CIA operative who sometimes "unofficially" hands him key bits of intelligence. This development should remain an interesting sub-plot for many episodes to come.

What impresses me, as a viewer, is that the show has the ring of authenticity. Although I have never served in the military, a friend of mine has -- even spending time in the Pentagon itself -- and reports that, although the show has the usual amount of TV glamorization added to it for dramatic purpose, it has enough accuracy to hit close to the mark. Characters in the show might bend the rules occasionally, but respect for chain-of-command is inherent throughout.

Also impressive is that the show does not take on a level of high-handed moral "preachiness" which might mar a lesser show. The main theme to "E-Ring," if there is one, is that the military takes care of its own -- because others won't -- and this is done with a minimum of political strings attached.

Between the excellent cast, intelligent story lines which are suitably complex without being burdensome and the high-quality Hollywood-like production values undoubtedly insisted upon by Bruckheimer, "E-Ring" has the potential to be a sure-fire hit -- providing NBC gives it enough of a chance for it to find its audience.

Grade: 9, out of 10.

I enjoyed this show to no end. It was great, a thousand times better than it's same slotted ABC competition. It showed the military from a perspective that few people get to see. I love that fact that Benjamin's character was is in the Delta Force and is able to give his battlefield perspective, when important military decisions are made. As a Non Commissioned Officer myself, it is all to rare when you see officers concentrating on the men and mission and not the politics. These few officers are greatly appreciated by people such as myself. The show was complete from top to bottom. It had great suspense and conflict and it told a great story. IT's like getting to see a great Jerry Bruckheimer produced movie every week. I saw zero flaws in this show. It was so realistic that it's scary to see how much insight the public has to the Department of Defense. Politics versus Soldiers is the classic struggle that we face everyday. There is nothing on TV better than this show

We want E-Ring returned to it's original prime-time location. It made Wednesday evening something to look forward to. Enjoyed the action & the personal interchange of the characters. Ventures into the Middle East are informative. We considered E-Ring an intelligent introduction into the workings of our military & state departments. A look into our covert shenanigans is helpful in keeping the American people aware of our government's activities in other nations. Excellent & interesting cast! Powerhouses like Dennis Hopper & Benjamin Bratt really added spark! We were also really looking forward to MSgt Jocelyn Pierce's budding romantic relationship. Hopefully, E-Ring will return! Soon!

Overall, I enjoyed the show but the nomenclature got on my nerves. The producers need to research and use the correct terms. Boskowitz was not an "agent". In the intelligence world, an "agent" is a foreign national who provides information to the agency. Boskowitz is a CIA officer. CIA employees take an oath of office. The Chinese "asset" was not an "asset". She was an "agent", a foreign national who provided intelligence. Aside from making all the CIA characters look like bumbling careerist fools, the show was pretty good but, please, use the right names for people, positions and things! It ruins the authenticity of the show when these details are not correct. I'll look forward to future shows.

Critics of this show say there is a fundamental flaw with the concept of E-Ring: the main characters, including the protagonist played by Benjamin Bratt, are not really heroes.

The line of thinking says that characters have to operate completely autonomously to be considered heroic. The comments I've seen point out that Bratt and his colleagues (including boss Dennis Hopper) direct others to do the work but need to get approval from above for that work to be carried out. In other words, they don't DO anything themselves.

I watched the episodes I've seen with a jaundiced eye, the critics' words in mind. But Bratt comes off as, while slightly arrogant and naive, a true crusader who is learning to work the system to get very heroic things done. Along the way he designs some pretty creative military missions.

Jerry Bruckheimer may be stretching himself a little thin, but this one is pretty darn good. I would give it 7 out of 10. For one thing, the acting and writing (discounting a few egregious clichés) is better than CSI: Miami.