Valor

I made it 12:45 in. This show is a disaster. The writing, acting, direction, editing. Most shots last 1 second or less and they switch mid dialogue almost every time. It changed so fast I felt like a needed 3D glasses. The scenes don't even make sense on a realistic timeline. I'm not even sure it deserves 3 stars. There is no way this show will survive beyond it initial ordered episode count. This isn't one of those guilty pleasure bad shows. This one will give you a tic and IBS.

I feel this is one that you got to give a little bit of time. At first I wasn't too impressed as the storyline took off in a way that I found difficult to follow. Then there's the lack of chemistry between the actors, especially Madani & Ian. They are a love couple, yet she seems to have a lot more going for her with Gallo. I'm not talking characters per say, but the actors. Could be personal, I am not a fan of the actor who plays Ian Porter (Charlie Barnett). I kept watching it semi-reluctantly, because I had run out of better things to watch. Then I found it gets better after a few episodes. So this is really one you got to give a little bit of a chance. It's got more drama than for instance Seal Team and it's not as fast paced and good as The Brave, but the series does have its own charm. Considering the bad reviews I'm quite sure it'll get canceled nonetheless. In a way a pity. Sometimes a cast simply needs a bit of time to get into the groove. And one should ask if the actors are to blame for this or simply the story writing and/or casting. I really think Charlie Barnett is a very weak link. But that could be just me. I don't like the looks of him, grin.

Really? This guy wears a beard like he's in a Special Forces unit? Also, why would he wear it in garrison., stateside?

Her ponytail, tights as uniform pants? Yeah, okay. Whatever Hollywood decides I suppose.

Next time get better military advisers.

Truly awful. The lead is caked in make-up, struts about as if she's on a cat walk in front of her fellow soldiers and officers. She argues at her senior officers instead of respectfully debating an issue. All around spend time apologizing to and for her when she mucks up or has hurt feelings. And the cliché of her just being a strong woman in a man's world is laudable. When you cock things up it's on you and you alone. Stop whinging. Feminists must be cringing at this. The scripts are trite and full on tropes. Realism. Er. Where? People in the armed forces should probably watch this before a battle/maneuver to give them a laugh at it all, if that's the outer perception.

...this would be it.

I'm not a stickler for depicting *every* scene with 100% military accuracy, but....

-Squad leader knowingly letting the copilot fly the helo while high on painkillers the day after almost crashing into the forest -Secretly shutting off both engines during training, just to see if she could auto-rotate without crashing -CIA operation lead making sexually suggestive, disrespectful remarks to a male solder in front of a group of others, several high ranking. -A politician, and mother of the lead intelligence officer, referring to him in a formal briefing as "my son." -covering each other's multitude of lies and breaches of regulations. -75% emotional drama during missions (90% the rest of the time) rather than at least *trying* to act like an actual military operation. -A woman sprinting 2 miles then immediately doing 100 push-ups, and pops up smiling, like if she just bent over to pick up a $100 bill. -Pilots having a tense, emotional discussion while in the cockpit prepping for take-off, flipping switches and starting engines, without ONE WORD of pre-flight checks, then continuing said discussion during the flight, again, without uttering a single technical/aviation term the whole flight. NOT ONE. (Oh, she did say "tail rotor" once.) -Unrealistic portrayal of the ethnic make-up of characters: A dozen+ minorities in lead/primary roles, 2 white people with more of a side-story and a smattering of other Caucasians who are either an arrogant jerk, a sexual predator, a stereotypical nerdy white person, corrupt/bad guy or token scene-filler who doesn't speak. (I like to see inclusion of *all ethnicities and genders,* but why would you intentionally alienate a potentially large number of viewers by pushing down that group or casting them in a negative light?)

But, if you are ok with a brain-dead, sexually charged drama that happens to be in a military/warfighter backdrop, this show is for you!