Tonight was the finale of the HBO series Generation Kill. It was a short series, consisting of only 7 episodes and is based on the book of the same title. GK follows a reporter who accompanied the first recon battalion during the latest invasion of iraq. I stumbled onto it by complete accident, and it turned out to be one of the best things ive ever seen on television.

When I watched the first episode, I nearly dismissed it as boring and almost didn't watch the second. As luck would have it, sunday nights are slow, so I found myself watching again, and then it clicked. GK is not an action packed series, it is not one of intricate plot lines or sensationalism. It is, for lack of a more fitting term, very real.

I am not a military man, nor do I really have any friends/family in the service. I have seen plenty of war movies but until this series, I had no real concept of what goes on in a war. These guys, well mostly kids because honestly most of them are, face situations that most of us could never fathom. The brilliance of Generation Kill is that for me, it really underscored that while even though these guys have training to automate their reactions, they are still humans, out there killing, saving, and trying not to be killed by other humans.

I am a little sad this experience is over. It is impressive how some shows can take a couple of years to build something that i felt in GK in a relatively tiny seven episodes. The actors played their roles to perfection. It's hard to describe the way they presented emotions, or lack thereof during events. Accidental killings (sometimes of children), falling comrades, dissension within the unit(s), and the growing sense that there is no swift transition for iraq.

I have no doubt that removing Saddam from power was a good thing. However, personally, I feel the cost has been too high. Iraq was a disaster before his removal, and it remains as such. Without getting into a political debate, I will just say I hope there is a future for Iraq where people can have the basic rights they deserve.

All in all I just want to say that Generation Kill was a fantastic series. I noticed how some people have criticized it for being boring; war however is not an NBC drama. If you have any interest in getting some real understanding of what this conflict has been like, and can go into it without expecting a blockbuster action movie, you may truly enjoy this. If you have HBO in demand watch it. If they replay the series I will probably be watching it with you. If you can rent it, do so. It's not often performances like this come along.