Claire
I have been lucky (if that's the right word) throughout my life thus far never to have been involved in conflict or wars of any kind personally, so I don't have any experience of knowing whether this show accurately depicts a real life portrayal of trying to enforce a UN brokered peacekeeping mission. All I will say as a viewer is that I could not watch beyond the third episode, I almost gave up watching after the first episode but wanted to try and stick it out to watch the entire 8 episodes, I could not.I was not prepared for the scenes of torture, mutilation, full frontal nudity male and female and an horrific gang rape of 2 of the non military peacekeepers one male, one female. The crude, course language all the way through it and drug use (in one scene a child ingests a drug while a man and a woman have rough sex on the bed he is hiding under). This show is extremely violent and crude and I would not let children watch it at all.All that said, I don't doubt that things like this, and possibly worse go on in places like this where there is little or no law and order, so do I want to see it in a TV show - no.
jawyant-1
Top quality drama set in a the midst of a peacekeeping mission in the former Yugoslavia, this series has no doubt drawn fire from critics for its less-than-complimentary portrayal of Canadian peacekeepers (among others) and of the peacekeeping mission itself. Far from being unrealistic, one fears that it is far closer to the truth than we are willing to admit. The story is strong and acting is far above average for Canadian productions, although it is sometimes a little hard to keep track of the characters. Perhaps that is intentional, to give viewers the same sense of confusion that must haunt the troops in the field on these missions.
ronwismansr
What a great way to start the new year. A Canadian production that is thoroughly entertaining. The writers of ZOS have given us a host of well defined characters without "being on the nose", trying to explain or divulge every little nuance as a new character is introduced. Totally unpredictable, thought provoking, edgy, sexy, funny and horrifying all at the same time.When did you last experience that in one show? TMN is onto something. My only negative is the broadcast I watched on Jan19th had numerous audio dropouts on the soundtrack. I found this disconcerting at times but something that can be addressed and hopefully corrected in future broadcasts. A first rate Cast with first rate Direction, Editing and Cinematography. Congratulations and a tip of the hat to all involved. Can't wait for the next episode. This is a must see.
tdunne-1
I have spent more than a year in the Balkans, and have served in Bosnia Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, and Kosovo, and I have been awarded all four Balkans operations medals awarded by NATO and the United Nations. I have spent 38 years in the Canadian Forces, so I believe I am able to comment on the quality of production of ZOS.The characters do not wear their uniforms properly, and the female captain cannot be wearing a Canadian uniform, the Canadian shoulder flag notwithstanding. First of all, we generally wore our combat uniform -- the khaki uniform that made us resemble a Heinz pickle. The tan uniform the female wears should not have long sleeves, and in any event, our uniform regulations would not permit us to wear the sleeves rolled half-way up the forearm. The tropical tan uniform (and the Balkans aren't in the tropics) doesn't have a long-sleeve version.Her behavior with her superior officer would see her take a short cut to a court martial, with no "get out of jail free" card -- literally.Her beret more closely resembles the coif that Sally Field wore as "The Flying Nun." The Canadian major wears a beret instead of a helmet with a fragmentation vest. We don't protect our bodies and leave our heads vulnerable. We even wore ballistic protective goggles, just in case...The Azerbaijans drove away in a Canadian Iltis jeep, which was, interestingly, showing Canadian emblems.The show is an insult to anyone serving in the Canadian Forces, and more so for those who served in the Balkans.A TMN Customer Care Representative who corresponded with me told me that the production management hired a retired Canadian military officer as their technical adviser. I suggested that he might wish to verify the technical advisor's credentials, because I don't believe he and I were in the same Canadian Forces.If I took the time to look beyond my personal disgust at the abysmal quality of this production, I am sure I could produce a very long list of errors, flaws and technical problems of the first episode.Root canal would be preferable to watching a second episode.