'68 Whiskey' Episode 1: Army veterans, medics point out technical inaccuracies in the new Paramount show
This story contains spoilers for the Season 1 premiere of '68 Whiskey'
When '68 Whiskey' premiered on Paramount Network for the first time, it opened to positive reviews from its audience. The American military comedy-drama is based on the Israeli TV series 'Charlie Golf One' and follows the adventures and misadventures of a group of multicultural Army medics deployed in Afghanistan.
Many viewers found the dark comedy appealing and entertaining with the series protagonist Sam Keeley's Cooper Roback earning brownie points for his performance.
In the first episode, Roback gets the idea of a brand new business venture that stands to mint a lot of money. Obviously, this scheme ends up landing them in quite a lot of trouble, but not before proving that Roback's antics aren't always foolproof.
Within that one hour, many viewers even picked their favorite characters. '68 Whiskey' received its fair share of criticism as well.
Many viewers — army veterans and army medics — took to Twitter to express their disapproval at the treatment of the story, specifically pointing out the technical inaccuracies.
"@68Whiskey thank you for yet again showing the world that Hollywood has no clue what medical professionals actually do. I lasted all of 30 seconds into the first medical emergency scene before I was physically ill from what I was watching. Pathetic," a disappointed viewer wrote on Twitter.
"Never in the almost 10 yrs I served 4 in a medical unit did I ever see that much crap!" concurred another viewer. Many viewers pointed out the faulty medical procedures shown in the episode.
"Don't tend to watch TV shows about war, they're typically bad. That said, as a Ret. Combat Medic I decided to watch #68WhiskeyTV. OMG 68 Whiskey is a steaming pile. Come on man, troop dying from a tension Hemopneumothorax & hypovolemic shock yet zero large bore IVs started."
"As a veteran who deployed to a combat zone, albeit Iraq in 2006, am I wrong for thinking @68Whiskey just feels like the wrong show for the time, considering we still have men and women getting killed in Afghanistan?" said one viewer.
People also felt personally attacked by the show. "Is this how people see us? I hope this shit gets better. We are not all drug dealers for the middle east, nor sex addicts. This show is offensive."
At the same time, understanding that the show is completely fiction, some viewers chose to cut the show some slack. "@68Whiskey I enjoyed the show. I understand that it's fiction, therefore, my military background doesn't interfere with my enjoyment of a great TV show!"
Will Episode 2 prove to be better? '68 Whiskey' returns for Episode 2 on Wednesdays at 10/9c on Paramount Network.