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15 January, 2002
Combat Missions
With the series Combat Missions, USA Network is taking the whole reality series craze in a new direction. The point of most such series is to take normal everyday folks and put them into odd situations away from home and see what happens. To make it even more interesting a competitive element is introduced to make it a game. Certainly the "reality" tag seems inappropriate since the very nature of these shows is to put people into situations that they would never normally find themselves. Unscripted would be a better way to describe these shows. Combat Missions on the other hand takes seasoned veterans of the military and police and puts them into simulated mission situations. So, for once the show revolves around people doing what it is they were trained to do.
The show is centered around an invented military base constructed just for the series called Camp Windstorm and located somewhere in the Mojave Desert.. There are four teams: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta. The teams are constructed of men from the Green Berets, Marine Recons, Navy SEALs, Delta Force, SWAT and CIA Special Ops. The men are randomly sorted into six man squads which will compete against each other in various contests.
Each episode has two teams squaring off against one another. They compete in training exercises that can earn them points toward the main contest. The centerpiece of each episode is a mission. For example in the first episode each team will attempt to take out an enemy tank. The losing team then has to single out one of their team for discharge. The eventual winning squad gets to take part in an individual competition to select a champion.
Since the show is a bit different from other reality series, you have to wonder who USA hopes to appeal to as an audience. Perhaps they hope the current war on terrorism will make people more interested in seeing our troops in action. Perhaps they hope that fans of action movies will tune in for the simulated combat. The only certainty is that those who watch reality shows to see people sniping at each other over trivial issues will come away disappointed by this series. The men in it are highly trained professionals and take what they do seriously. They do not like to lose and they consider it a dishonor to leave one of their own behind. That means they don't take well to the voting someone out concept. The producers anticipated that and gave them a loophole, the option to draw swords (think drawing straws) to send someone out.
The actual missions are clearly the high point of each show. The men are equipped with laser systems that indicate hits so that they know when they have hit an opponent or been hit themselves. This is apparently the same system used by the military for combat exercises. Even though the system is based on lasers, the weapons do fire blanks so it still looks fairly real. The types of missions are heavily varied so as not to favor any particular group. Missions include rescuing a downed pilot, taking out a missile guidance system, taking out a tank, rescuing a hostage, busting a meth lab, destroying a fuel dump, rescuing a prisoner and an urban assault.
The camp is run by original Survivor cast member Rudy Bosch, himself a veteran Navy SEAL. He hands out mission orders and discipline when ever needed. He has a small staff to help him run the camp. The camp is equpped with a club, staffed by two lovely bartenders and a recreational area where the men can shoot hoops or toss around footballs in their spare time.
The series is fairly fascinating, though not for the usual reasons for a reality series. This is a chance to get a good idea how the military works and thinks. These men have trained for years to do their jobs and as such have very specific mindsets for those jobs. You won't find the same kind of idle chit chat and he-said, she-said dialogue found in other reality series. These men want to carry out their work as efficiently as possible and they are not interested in getting rid of anyone on their team. Their is a lot of pride at work here that gives the series a distinctly unique feel. USA claims that this is the most expensive reality series ever and that is a very believable claim. The equipment, camp and sets all look highly realistic. Military vehicles such as tanks, trucks and helicopters are used liberally as needed.
The opponents are a vaguely described Shadow group that seem to have some degree of military training but also seem interested in theatrics. When hit they tend to throw themselves down for a better combat feel. The series also makes use of some gas explosions to give the proceedings even more realism.
If you dislike the usual style of reality series you might want to give this one a chance. If you just like watching some good action you might want to give this one a chance. If you want whiny contestants looking to stab each other in the back to win some cash, then go elsewhere. The USA Network series premieres on Wednesday January 16, 2002 at 10PM EST.
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