TV Review: Enlisted

Image courtesy of Fox

Enlisted is a new comedy that premiered last night on Fox. It stars Geoff Stults as Pete Hill, a 'supersoldier' who gets stationed in Afghanistan but after punching out a colonel, gets reassigned to the Rear Detachment Unit, aka the nesting ground for military flunk-outs, where his two younger brothers happen to be stationed at. He also gets assigned the task of finding a missing dog. The middle brother, Derrick (Chris Lowell), is the bitter and rebellious one of the bunch, while the youngest, Randy, (Parker Young) is so stupid that it really should be a crime. He idolizes Pete and I think really wants to be a good soldier, but because he's not all that bright Derrick usually has to babysit him. Upon Pete's arrival, he meets his platoon as well as Sgt. Perez, (Angelique Cabral), who is in charge of the other platoon on base. The RDU soldiers have an upcoming War Games and Pete tries to train them for that, but this platoon is awful. Worse than the guys in Dodgeball before Patches whipped them into shape. Pete's disappointment in not being at war and being relegated to the RDU comes off badly, and an LCD sign displaying "I don't want to be here" couldn't have vocalized his feelings or demeanor any louder. 

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This platoon is incredibly stupid. It's almost annoyingly so. Derrick was bitter and had a nasty disposition almost the entire time, and this finally comes to a head when he reveals that he resents Pete for not keeping in touch with them while he was at war. The next morning, Pete apologizes to his platoon and has a little heart-to-heart in which he acknowledges that the platoon is full of losers, but includes himself in there as well and motivates them to try their hardest in the upcoming War Games. At the beginning of the show, the dad is shown leaving to war and before he goes, he and the boys all put their hands on the other's head. It becomes a custom with them, as the pictures throughout the boys' lives show them doing the same thing. When Pete returns, however, Derrick's not having it. He won't let any of his brothers do it and he won't do it either. At the end of Pete's speech, however, he finally gives in and puts his hand on Randy's head, signaling that he's going to try. It becomes a platoon custom and the platoon goes in to the War Games, ready to win. They still suck, but they end up almost winning the War Games. Pete finds the dog just as they're about to win, and elects to retrieve the dog instead of win the games. He actually could have found it earlier, but wasn't paying attention. LOL After returning the dog to its owner, the brothers are applauded and get some off time to mud ski---skiing through the mud on cardboard slabs while being dragged by a tank--which is how the show ends. 

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As the show progresses, you can understand the brothers a little more. Well, two of them, anyway. Pete's not a screw-up, but he's got a chip on his shoulder about himself the size of Florida. This is especially evident when dealing with his platoon because he knows he's a better soldier than them and doesn't belong there. Derrick's bitterness is understandable, but I can easily see it being the down part of the show if it's not toned down. Not only is this not a drama series, it's only half an hour long. You don't want every scene with this guy to be some rebellious, withdrawn or angry interaction or it will bring down what could easily be a funny series. Because it's only half an hour those scenes stick out a lot more. Randy is....I don't know what Randy is. He's an idiot. He belongs in the Rear Detachment Unit. Putting this guy out in a real war situation would get him and the entire platoon killed on day one. The rest of the platoon is pretty much the same way. But I can see Pete trying to make it work. 

So per usual, here's the good: 

I was glad that they included some bits in there that happen to real military families because of war. Although I said I was a little tired of Derrick's disposition throughout most of the show, it was understandable. Many military families go through that, whether it be on the part of the soldier when their families don't write as often as expected, or on the part of the families when their overseas relative doesn't get in touch on a regular basis. Pete feeling like a failure for not being in war when his men are still there is also really realistic for soldiers who come home early and I like that that was included. 

I'm also glad that Pete got that chip on his shoulder in order before the end of the episode. Undoubtedly he's still going to be high on himself, probably more than he should be, but he's not running around like he's Mr. Cool at School anymore either. But the fact remains that he's there with the Army's answer to The Replacements because he screwed up, which makes him no better than them. It was good to see him finally understand that and try to make the best of the situation. 

I find Randy incredibly stupid, and I'm going to mention him again before the end of this review. But most of the comedic moments during the show involved him, so he gets a thumbs-up by himself. 

I like that there's a female in the midst who isn't dumb, and hopefully won't fall for Pete. I'd like if they became BFF's over time but I don't want them to fall in love. I want to know more of her story, she seems really competent and makes a good soldier, so why is she stuck with The Replacements? 

And here's the bad:

The general stupidity of Pete's new platoon is borderline annoying. Scratch the borderline. It is annoying. I refuse to believe that adults who were this surface level in mentality still got into the Army. I mean, seriously. There was no reason for them to be written that stupid and I didn't find it entertaining. 

Speaking of stupid, that brings me back to ol' Randy. He's like a 10-year-old mentally; how in this galaxy did he get in the Army? It has the potential to be funny, but it also has the potential to get and be really annoying after awhile if we never see any maturity from him. He's a grown man, not a child. I think the writers went a little overboard with making some of the characters unqualified for military careers. 

The entire storyline involving the dog was completely unnecessary. I get that it was partially to show how far Pete's fall from grace was, going from the thick of war to looking for a dog, and it was partially so that the "aww" moment at the end of the episode could happen, but ehh. I really wasn't interested in it at all.





Overall:

This show has potential. It's not innovative, ground-breaking or even gut-busting funny, but it's something light-hearted that will give you a break from the Scandals and True Detectives on the tube and maybe even teach you a little something about family in the process. It's good for a few chuckles, but it's not exactly memorable either; I already can't remember one line from the premiere and I just watched it. It's just okay to me. I would like to see some of these plots develop though, like what happened to the boys' parents and what Sgt. Perez's story is. If the writers tone down the naivety of the soldiers and allow them to progress in some way while still allowing for the moments that I'm sure are a large part of the comedy relief, I'm sure the show will be fine for a season or two. I honestly don't see it lasting longer than that, but I could watch it again. 

Rating:

....don't hate it, but I'm not crazy about it either.