ZOS: Zone of Separation

I'm writing this mostly in response to a couple of badly thought out reviews here - one just slags Canadian content and doesn't really give any substantive reasoning for his opinion. It seems he was a bit confused by the plotting.

There are several plot threads being started here and as is usual for an exposition episode, there is a lot of information coming fast and thick, but here it's handled very well without the usual terrible exposition in bad writing like this: "Jack, you're my only brother and I've been very sad ever since mom died and dad remarried five years ago, so I'm upset to see you join the Peace Corp."

There's none of that nonsense here (good writing) and perhaps that's what made the one reviewer confused; he wasn't spoon fed anything.

In any case, several plot threads are set in motion and I'm very interested to see how they resolve.

Another reviewer said NOTHING about the merits of the drama, but simply complained about the most inane "inaccuracies" like what type of vehicle someone drove. Please. Get a life and understand something about television.

On the zostv.com web site, there's some great behind-the-scenes stuff including an interview with the UN peace-keeper who served as the on set adviser who actually served in Bosnia - I think his name was Major John Russell - who is shown directing one of the actors in a scene, walking them through a soldier's thought process.

So it seems that the really important stuff - the reality of the soldiers' situation - is dead on. So if you want to watch a show to see exactly how a beret is worn, go get a documentary. After watching the clips on the web site, I find the "review" that slags the authenticity an insult to the Major who worked on the show and served in Bosnia.

It does seem like a bizarre situation there in the Balkans, but apparently, a lot of stuff in the show is based on reality, like the crazy Speedo Boy character, who actually existed, wandering around the hillside wearing a speedo.

Also - to answer someone else's question, the Colm Meaney character is not supposed to have a Bosnian accent - he grew up in the UK, then came back "home" as an adult. There's a line about it in the first episode and more stuff in later episodes, according to the web site clips.

All in all, I think this will be a fascinating show - something we've never seen from Canada before.

I have spent more than a year in the Balkans, and have served in Bosnia Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, and Kosovo, and I have been awarded all four Balkans operations medals awarded by NATO and the United Nations. I have spent 38 years in the Canadian Forces, so I believe I am able to comment on the quality of production of ZOS.

The characters do not wear their uniforms properly, and the female captain cannot be wearing a Canadian uniform, the Canadian shoulder flag notwithstanding. First of all, we generally wore our combat uniform -- the khaki uniform that made us resemble a Heinz pickle. The tan uniform the female wears should not have long sleeves, and in any event, our uniform regulations would not permit us to wear the sleeves rolled half-way up the forearm. The tropical tan uniform (and the Balkans aren't in the tropics) doesn't have a long-sleeve version.

Her behavior with her superior officer would see her take a short cut to a court martial, with no "get out of jail free" card -- literally.

Her beret more closely resembles the coif that Sally Field wore as "The Flying Nun." The Canadian major wears a beret instead of a helmet with a fragmentation vest. We don't protect our bodies and leave our heads vulnerable. We even wore ballistic protective goggles, just in case...

The Azerbaijans drove away in a Canadian Iltis jeep, which was, interestingly, showing Canadian emblems.

The show is an insult to anyone serving in the Canadian Forces, and more so for those who served in the Balkans.

A TMN Customer Care Representative who corresponded with me told me that the production management hired a retired Canadian military officer as their technical adviser. I suggested that he might wish to verify the technical advisor's credentials, because I don't believe he and I were in the same Canadian Forces.

If I took the time to look beyond my personal disgust at the abysmal quality of this production, I am sure I could produce a very long list of errors, flaws and technical problems of the first episode.

Root canal would be preferable to watching a second episode.

Pay no attention to the negative reviews, ZOS is a top shelf Canadian production. It has all the ingredients of an excellent show; great acting (Nolden), writing, and directing (Azzopardi). I was totally engrossed throughout the pilot and am looking forward to the rest of the series. Some of the other comments rag on it for it's story line and not being realistic, however I would suggest they hold judgement until they see how things play out. It seems to me that all the stories are heading in interesting directions. As for realism, I don't really see any merit in that argument. CSI is one of my favorite shows, but I'm sure it is no where near reality when it comes to the jobs and lives of actual crime scene investigators.

ZOS is a great show, and between this and Sanctuary I am truly impressed with the direction that Canadian TV is heading. I loved it and will continue to pay close attention to this hidden gem of a show.

I just wanted to say that I was fortunate enough to watch hour one and two of this series on an international flight on Air Canada. Although being on a 14 hour flight to the Orient might have clouded my judgment, (oh and it didn't), this show had me hooked from the first 10 minutes! The story line, is great, the writing is great, the acting is great, so all in all, I think it is and will be a great series. I am so upset that I can't find it here in the US. Being Canadian and having my fair share of bad Canadian TV most of my life, I am so impressed with this series so far. I guess I might have to wait until it's available on DVD before I can finish watching it.

oh and to all you critics, watch it again and pay attention.

Great show with great acting, writing and directing along with cinematography! Very compelling plot lines too like the militant Muslim Serb returning home from the UK to run a seedy bar where he runs his underground drug for gun trade and prostitution ring. Also the Serbian and Croatian dialect is bang on which gives the show a great deal more integrity as does the Balkan actors and sets. Hopefully the CBC and Gov't of Canada will continue to fund this great program so it can continue to pick up more viewers. Shows like this don't come around very often so hopefully it'll be around for along time. Keep up the great work!!