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FOX’s Army life comedy ‘Enlisted’ premieres next week, and the producers are already reading viewers’ minds.
Yes, it’s full of mistakes, from uniform wear to grooming to one big armored vehicle screw-up. But, to make up for the oversight, the show is holding a “Spot Our Errors” contest.
If you watch the premier Jan. 10 at 9:30 pm/8:30 central, take notes on the SNAFUs and send them in, you’ll get a nifty Fort McGee challenge coin.
Nobody is more meticulous about equipment and appearance than a service member, and when the trailer hit the internet earlier this year, the fury was palpable.
In August, show creator Kevin Biegel told Army Times that they’ve since hired consultants to keep things technically accurate.
“Some would say I’m going overboard as far as trying to get things right, but I am crazy right now trying to get everything as right as possible,” he said. “That’s the stuff that we can’t screw up and I feel bad that we did screw some of that stuff up in the pilot.”‘
For details on the contest and clips of the show, check out Enlisted on FOX.
45 Comments
Not wasting my time with this show, nothing good will come of it from what I witnesed in just the trailer. You want to get a feel of being enlisted, join the military.
My name is Sergeant First Class Steve Downey. I’ve been in the US Army for 24 years. Why don’t you request a Army Liaison for your show?
my head is about to explode w/all the technical screwups!!!
Where do go to enter the contest? I clicked on the learn more buttons and all I got was info about the shows , nothing about the contest.
Its a comedy not a f*@!#%g documentary. Don’t get your damn panties in a bunch. And name me one tv show about the military that is 100% accurate
Its a comedy not a f*@!#%g documentary. Don’t get your damn panties in a bunch. And name me one tv show about the military that is 100% accurate
I have mixed feelings as a veteran of nearly 25 years of service, but I look forward to seeing how a light-hearted comedy helps us decompress after more than a decade of war. I am a senior non-commissioned officer and I can say one thing, we take ourselves a bit too seriously more often than not. – If you are old enough to remember M*A*S*H, they didn’t exactly get it right most of the time, but that show was a phenomenal success.
Well, your first mistake was to create a show called “Enlisted”. Someone needs to take you out, behind the woodshed! Your next mistake was to try to get everyone to watch your show by this lame “spot our mistakes” gag! I can’t believe anyone is falling for this!
This should be fun
My 17 years in the Army and now that Im out..I have to watch crap like this… my kids are going to be watching this shit and think tht the Army is fun and a joke…cmon guys get this shit right….at least get the right fucking hair cuts……goddamn….
Tell those actors to get a damn haircut before some Sergeant Major loses his mind.
My husband was not very amused by this so called comedy. It was more of disnonoring than comedy. If you’re going to make it a comedy at least have your actors look realistic. Don’t see the military community being viewers except for the primere to critique the show.
So, when has Fox ever been concerned with accuracy? Why are we supposed to be surprised?
I am more than disturbed with this so called “comedy”. I have served proudly for more than 13 years in four combat deployments only to see my uniform and branch made out to be a joke. We tend to make fun of so many things in the world however there are some things that should be left entirely alone. You may asn well make a comedy on the death of loved ones KIA. My children have decided to enlist in the Armed forces and now they get to this trash for your good laugh before they come in. How does a free country look to outsiders seeing our own people making a mockery of our military. I am deeply saddened and will not be watching not even to give a critique. Proud Servicemember!
Guys, can we all relax? First off its a comedy not a documentary. Second, from what iv seen on my deployments I say the show isn’t too far off 😉
AF vet.
No way would I ever join this “Contest.” All it boils down to is a cheap way to fix their mistakes. If they were really interested in portraying the military in a positive manner they would have hired a liaison to guide them correctly. Like most things in America, the military has become nothing more than a joke, and those who serve now are there for Americans to laugh at. Screw you, Fox, thanks for making the service look like a joke!
I am a Senior “Enlisted” still going with 21 years service. When I first saw the preview, I was pissed and upset with how it potrayed soldiers. But now thinking back to before I was in the Army, I loved M*A*S*H, Stripes, Private Benamin, and even In The Army Now(After I joined). I get upset with the world being too sensitive and there I was doing the same. Those goofball military movies didn’t stop me from thinking the Army was full of goofballs, and neither will this. I just hope it is funny. I could give you some real life scenarios which are hilarious and true.
If this is supposed to be fun to win a coin. I don’t think this is the best way to come about it. I have been in the Army 12 years this month. Everyone who is knows that you get a coin for something good. Comedy is fun yes but with everything that is going on in the military right now. Right now is not the time to be trying to make a show poking fun at the military. We have Courtesy Patrol walking around bases looking for these type of deficiencies now you want to make a show poking fun at it. How can we expect Soldiers to take Courtesy Patrol seriously? I get annoyed when I see Soldiers sagging their acu pants. Because that uniform stands for everything a Soldier is willing to die for. Whenever a Soldier is out and about in their uniform they are representing the Army. I think whoever created this show did not consult with the right people. I for one will not be watching this show. Because when you care about your job you will take it seriously unlike this show is doing.
Okay people, I may not have over 20 plus years of military experience but I have been on 2 deployments, the first one was bad and the second one wasn’t as bad as the first, but one thing I learned was to appreciate life. You may find this show disrespectful but its supposed to be a comedy not a documentary. Its 2014, don’t have your panties in a bunch. Time goes by too fast to be whining about the little things in life and besides you say its “disrespectful” to the military, look at yourself first. Because just remember, you aren’t perfect yourself. Just remember all those “disrespectful” things most of you guys or gals do when you’re off duty. And if people think FOX makes jokes about the military service, why don’t most of you guys say something when networks makes jokes about police officers and firefighters. Most of you just need to get a life.
Jose, cmon guy this is clearly an army thing maybe if it was about the AF you could have a comment worthy and valid.
AV
This show will bring nothing but disrespect.
I dont even know where to begin. Maybe you should hire an Army Liaison or military advisor.
Wow you guys are uptight
ok, all those complaining that this is a cheap way to fix their mistakes. you are or were in the military so attention to detail, if you read the literature underneath the video it says that they do have consultants to keep them accurate. honestly if they made a documentary about basic/AIT and what soldiers do in their personal time it would be mostly a comedy. I doubt they are going to do anything that would create a negative view for the military.
26-year vet who has been looking forward to this silly little sitcom, it seems like slapstick humor like SGT Bilko and Gomer Pyle, USMC. I too was a bit ticked they couldnt at least get some of the basics right, glad to see they are trying to make it right for future episodes. I am a bit puzzled by the negative backlash and heat that is coming out on this, but hell if Joe aint bitching about something then he aint Joe.
Fellow Soldiers & Veterans,
My name is Greg Bishop, and I am a partner in Musa Military Entertainment Consulting. We were the lead consultants on the show “Enlisted” AFTER the pilot. I’d like to weigh-in here to offer some context, perspective, and facts.
First, the pilot episode does not reflect what the show becomes. The producers of the show DID hire some consultants on the pilot (not us), but for reasons I’m not aware of, the results were what you’ve seen in the trailer. Trust me, we had the same response you did. We screened the pilot and while there were many funny and heartfelt moments, the technical mistakes (uniforms, grooming standards, weight standards, etc, etc.) quickly took us out of the story…the price we Veterans pay for knowing “what right looks like.” But I’ve seen the entire pilot, and the entire season. The show quickly evolves into something much more authentic.
As for subsequent episodes, we helped them fix a LOT of the issues.
The writers needed help understanding the workplace in their “workplace comedy.” We spent hours with them explaining what we called “Army Atmospherics,” the funny stuff Soldiers do, the pranks they play, the trouble they get into, and what it’s really like being a Soldier. Many of the subsequent episodes sprouted from those discussions. We consulted with every department on the production (writers, actors, set design, costumes, props, etc.) to help them get the details as right as possible.
We trained the actors by putting them through a 4-day “basic training” to introduce them to what it means to be a Soldier. (Note: you can watch the 7-part web series on their experience and see how it impacted them and the show here: http://www.fox.com/enlisted/clips/89132099800) ….if you watch nothing else, watch the 7th and last episode in this web series to see the impact this training had.
Is this show going to be 100% authentic?….no….it’s a comedy. But will it disrespect troops? No way. I wouldn’t work on it if it did.
Our company has worked on dozens of projects (film, tv, video games, advertising), and we’ve never worked with a production more dedicated to getting the details right and supporting troops. They hired dozens of Veterans as cast and crew, they adopted Operation Gratitude as their philanthropic cause, and they hosted a Veteran “right seat ride” on Veterans Day where select members of a group called “Veterans in Film & Television” (vftla.org) got to shadow key players and department heads on the set.
Anyone who’s ever spent any time near Soldiers knows that while their mission is serious business, the Soldiers are often very funny. You’ll laugh, cry, and likely see some things, situations, and characters in the show that reflect your own experience in some way.
Finally, troops have been complaining for years about Hollywood not portraying them accurately, and with good cause. But here we have a production company who acknowledges it, apologizes for it, and went above and beyond to remedy the problems…..when have you ever seen that out of Hollywood? Let’s not pile-up on them until we have an informed perspective.
I recommend giving the show a few episodes before passing judgement.
Gregory Bishop
U.S. Army (ret)
You know- for a bunch of soldiers who’ve been fighting 2 wars for the past 13 years, there sure are a lot of thin skinned people. In the immortal words of SFC Hulka, “Lighten up, Francis.” It’s a TV show.
Does it really matter? Every movie with military is so far off course on uniforms and appearances. I saw a photo from this show and the first thing that stood out is the hair cuts. Holy crap our regulations are public and they didn’t look at that or pictures of Soldiers in public! Wow who in the military has hair cuts like that?
Great there is show “about” life as an enlisted soldier. It’s a comedyand thus not trying to be serious nor is it supposed to be acurate. Nobody wants to watch a show about acurate military life (cleaning barracks, filling out NCOERs, ammo request, OPORD formating, BRM, etc) The show would tank in the first few minutes of airing. It’s entertainment not a documentary. Too many people with hurt feelings. Don’t watch it if you don’t like it.
There are so many things that happened to me at my unit that this has great potential for a good comedy if you can capture the good funny side of soldiers. The closeness of us makes it easy to poke fun. Like impersonation of your superiors and those blue falcons always messing up.
I recently retired in 2013 and I’m actually looking forward to the show. I was also a Drill Sergeant so I’ve seen it all and I look forward to the comical relief.
~A females perspective~
It’s a spoof. Me and a couple other retirees were discussing all of the nonsense we had to put up with while we were still in and our actual service was had several spoof’s to. Like not being allowed to put your cold hands in your pockets, but then not being able to wear gloves because “it wasn’t the uniform” I have to admit that regulation there had made me the hardcore, fierce combat vet that I had become. For that I thank you. Through discipline I was able to block out the numbness in my fingertips like a ninja. But what I am really grateful for was the lesson of being on time. Showing up 10 min prior to the 10 min prior motor stables formation was invaluable to my now success. See you on the drop Zone!
I’m amazed at the negative responses and judgments from everyone that hasn’t even seen the first episode yet. They’re ate up. They got it. They’re trying to fix it. Leave it to service members to shun any attempt that anyone else in the world tries to make to help the rest of the country understand SOME of the aspects of what life like a soldier encompasses. Pathetic.
The show did an does have a military advisor. Please do research prior to venting. I am looking forward to the fun and publicity. Please don’t take the show too seriously. Like MASH, it is just a show for fun.
When I first saw the trailer I thought it was funny but didn’t think I’d watch Enlisted because it didn’t accurately represent the Army I know. Then I saw the Enlisted cast on Katie Couric and got interested enough to google search it. The guys who came up with the idea for Enlisted were military brats, not soldiers themselves, so they wanted to make a show that would be fun yet bring attention to soldiers like their father. And when they made the pilot episode they didn’t have enough money in their budget to hire a military adviser. After FOX bought 13 episodes, they did hire military consultants who let them know they’d messed up a few things. So they’ve owned up to the mistakes, and are pledging to get it right with our help. Why wouldn’t we want to watch a comedy that makes us laugh, rather than cry at our hardships? I’d rather watch a silly episode of Enlisted than a bunch of rich, greedy jerks arguing over who is going to screw the biggest percentage out of some poor, desperate fool’s invention on Shark Tank! The more attention given to soldiers, the better so I will be watching and supporting this show every Friday night.
I wonder if medical professionals moaned this much when Scrubs came out. Or police officers with Reno 911 or the newest, which is actually pretty funny, Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I should check their forums to see if they are crybabies like some of you.
Never knew fellow soldiers lacked a sense of humor, would not be capable of laughing at ourselves for a bit, or would be such whiners!
It’s a comedy show!!! Lighten up!!!
I can assure that the fabrics used on the uniforms are the genuine ACU Universal Camouflage Nylon Cotton Ripstop Fabric. We supplied the fabric to the company that provided the uniforms and they did specify that the would only use the real article.
Larry Fink
MAGNA FABRICS
It’s sad to see all of you be so negativity towards this show . I just watched this show and thought it was awesome. I’m surprised to see so many people that are being uptight about a show that is a comedy, it’s meant to be funny and ridiculous that’s why it’s a comedy. Everyone should appreciate that fox would support troops and make a show that supports us in the service. People in this generation need to grow up and stop being so sensitive. Be appreciative ,people are so quick to judge .
Army tape and name tape are velcroed, skill badges are sewn on
There is always a line in film/TV where reality meets creative license. As it’s been said already, this is not a documentary – it’s a TV show that’s not intended to provide some laughter and heart to the tube. However, I do definitely think it would be optimal if everyone would take time daily to think about the men and women in the military who are in it for real. Give this show a break- it’s got funny dialogue and major laughs as far as I’m concerned. Give Sgt. Perez (Angelique Cabral) more scenes, willya? She is fantastic and worthy of more dialogue.
Wouldn’t ya know …. I missed something in my comment. What I intended to say was that it’s a TV show intended to provide some laughter …. etc. (Remove the word “not”)
okay? 🙂
So MASH is out, Also no more Sgt Bilko. Not the movie with Steve Martin. Anyone on here ever watch the original with Phil Silvers? What about Andy Driffith and “No time for Sergeants? With every sporting event in America having some sort of tribute to our Armed Forces and the bravery of our servicemen in the news all the time, does anyone think that America will think that all of our services are like this?
The comments made about the SGM freaking out over AR-670-1 mistakes is right on though. 🙂
Almost forgot about “stripes” with Bill Murray.
Operation Petticoat is another.
I served proudly in the Active Army, Guard, and Reserves. I also know when to not take things so seriously.
I’ve watched the first three episodes of this and find it very funny. When you look past the face value (all the things you all are complaining about) and start to see the stories that this show is attempting to tell you might enjoy it as well.
M.A.S.H. was one of my favorite shows growing up. I still watch it to this day when I see it on T.V. Shows like this use humor to capture an audience that isn’t involved or that doesn’t fully understand what we go through and explains it to them. CPL Klinger wasn’t a cross dresser, he was a Soldier searching for a way out just like some of the Soldiers in todays Army try to when they are deployed. IF the producers of this show take on the responsibility of giving our story to the public, the same public that is starting to forget that we are still at war, then it can be very good. I’m going to continue to watch until I believe otherwise.
The butthurt is EVERYWHERE.