Combat Hospital

This show is reminiscent of *M*A*S*H insofar as the effect of being a hospital in an active war zone, but has very little of the comedy associated with it.

It's very hard to judge an entire show based on just a few episodes, but I liked both of them a lot, enough to look forward to the 3rd episode.

For those of you that might be intimately familiar with such surroundings, it might not seem worthwhile to watch this show, but for those of us that only know 2nd hand, it might help us to understand them better.

During the time this drama is set, I was deployed to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center as a member of the USAF medical corps. While a number of the depicted situations weren't perfectly accurate, they did portray the essence of combat medicine and captured many of the emotional dynamics as well.

I liked very much how the many conditions and dynamics of deployment were at least broached: insurgents, local terps, illicit recreational sex, lesbian (bisexual?)soldiers, military politics, reaching out to locals and some of the inherent trust issues that exist on both sides, and the heartbreaking violence requisite of life during wartime.

Not all kudos here, for the writing and character development could have been better, and had the tendency to lapse into stereotypical characterizations, i.e., arrogant surgeon (Dr. Hill), idealistic internist (Dr. Trang), over-achiever female surgeon (Dr. Gordon), and no-nonsense commander (Dr. Marks). Also a number of plot twists disappointed for their already-done expectedness in other media.

I appreciated this show and its complex elements; of course the medicine wasn't perfect nor were the uniforms/military protocol, but all in all, it was a rather insightful look into military medicine at its finest--saving lives under the incredible pressures of war. Additionally, I do make the note which must be bared in mind: Hollywood (or Toronto), rarely depicts occupations and their intricacies accurately simply for lack of dramatic effect. It is the provenance of the creative arts to take license with 'the truth.'

All said, I enjoyed this show and was able to comfortably relive some events from my own life, which was an engaging experience. For a fairly comprehensive look into combat hospital life, check out the 2008 documentary by Terry Sanders, "Fighting For Life" filmed at stateside and in-theater military hospitals.

Finally, in reading the varied reviews here, I find the disinterest/criticism of certain comments to be less about the content of the show and more reflective a commentary on the American (and Canadian)public's apathy toward these wars and its less than one percent of Americans engaged in them. I hope some entity will find the wherewithal to reincarnate this show and bring this much-needed perspective back on air in the future.

Why are summer shows frequently better than the regular season? Furthermore, why are many of the British and Canadian shows better? Is it the actors' training, the scripts, all of the above?

In any case, I think that Combat Hospital has excellent scripts and great acting. Anyone who thinks this is a M*A*S*H knock-off is very mistaken.

I understand the concern expressed by the Canadian veteran, but I respectfully disagree. I think that more people need to be reminded of the sacrifice our Coalition forces are making. I think that it is more likely that people will watch a drama vs another documentary. I believe that it shows a caring and concerned medical staff.

I hope it gets picked up for the fall season.

i found this to be a brilliant drama portraying life and drama around a combat hospital. it is nothing like m.a.s.h and how anyone can compare it to it is ridiculous . but i was very disappointed to hear that there wasn't a second series and personally feel this should be reconsidered. i found it helps to portray the stress and the life that our forces have to deal with every day and how their lives live on the edge every minute of every hour of every day yes it has some not so factual element's but don't most dramas at least this one has more elements of truth than most dramas. I'm proud of our men and women that are deployed over seas and i think that it was a great idea for this series to of been made just a shame there isn't going to be another series

Well....I am up for new shows and thought this was worth watching. Sad to say, it is just too hard to get through. The acting is fine and all.....but for some one who has been to Afghanistan multiple times, I was hoping for something more realistic. The story lines have no depth and the scenes are unrealistic. Example....episode 2 starts with a tarantula walking across the shower wall and the Canadian Doctor shoots it. Later it is referred to as a camel spider. Anyone who has seen a camel spider knows what they look like and they are very aggressive. That was no camel spider. The show is not gritty and not powerful enough to get veterans to watch it and be impressed. Maybe that isn't the focus group intended....but that is the group really passing judgment. Suggestion for the producers/writers and directors.....go for something along the line of The Unit if you can't muster up HBO quality (The Wire/Rome for example). The Unit was exciting to watch, good story line and fine acting....even close to something that is realistic. Too bad it got cut as the story line was just developing. Just hope this show gets better....still watching and jury is still out.