NebLWeffah ....some people have said. First of all let me say I'm from Canada and I have the greatest respect for our troops and our peacekeepers and can only guess at the horrible situations they must find themselves in every day. Canadian peacekeepers are known the world over for their professionalism and courage. I can sympathize with some that feel Canadians are been shown in a very poor light here and yes, there are great inaccuracies in the equipment and uniforms...please, a Ferret armoured car? But, the show isn't about that. It's about the aftermath of an ethnic cleansing war and how people are trying to get back to their lives while still under the control of corrupt regime and living with very old hatreds. It happens to take place while Canadians and others were involved and there to bear witness. As a story of corruption, greed, power and what amount to ineffective world scrutiny, I think it's first rate. I like the characters, I like the action and I like the setting. Although I've never been there, it looks and feels like Bosnia to me. I can disregard the inaccuracies for the sake of believing that there is a peacekeeper base somewhere in a hellish place with real soldiers who are real people dealing with real life and real temptations. I love Nick Mancuso, he plays the monster type very well. I like the Canadian major because he's just a guy from Alberta trying to do his best. My favourite character is Colm Meaney though, he is the personification of evil and represents all that is the worst about a place like that.I give this show credit for telling a story, not for being a documentary which it isn't. It's a soap-opera-action-drama-fact-based-fiction and it does a pretty good job.As an aside, I love the UN force name - Transitional Unification Force - 'TUFOR'. I can't think of a more perfect name for a bunch of Canadians - great in-joke if albeit unintenional.

Badgerly ZOS is exceptional in nearly every aspect. Notably, the story line is solid with intertwining sub plots, and the acting from a primarily Canadian cast is outstanding. Each episode leaves me guessing and waiting for more.Canadians are not known for their dramatic acting abilities, but Nolden (Cpt. Kovacs) and Davidovich (Mila Michailov) are captivating in their portrayals of strength tempered with uncertainty. Doucet (Major Desjardins) gives a truly heartbreaking performance while trying to atone for his actions and protect the one he loves.ZOS is accurate in its depictions of violence. The gore is realistic and not for the feint of heart.I was exceptionally impressed by the unconventional and perhaps unpopular views that ZOS was able to express through its characters and story. Azzopardi shows us a film that steps away from mainstream American interpretation of war and peace. Many of the UN officials have their own agendas far beyond peacekeeping. Titac, a westerner, is perhaps the most cruel and corrupt of all characters; meanwhile, the Imam, a Pakistani/American religious leader, is against violence and promotes Christian relations and tolerance. For Canadians, it is sometimes hard to acknowledge that we are just as prone to immoral behavior as our Southern neighbors in war zones; nonetheless, Azzopardi forces us to accept that Canadian soldiers can are just as prone to theft, drugs, illicit sex, and general poor choices.In response to the negative reviews: I cannot help but feel that you're missing the point of a television production. Yes, perhaps their uniforms are improper and the wrong vehicles are being driven ... does the average viewer really care? No. I was too interested in the story to really be knit picking - I mean, its a fictional town anyways. If you want a completely historical account of the Canadian presence in Sarajevo, I suggest you find a documentary. A 100% completely accurate film without any Hollywood flare added would be quite dull...

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.

Robert B. Marks I've just watched the preview of the first episode on TMN On Demand. This is a very good show, with solid performances and developed characters.On a personal note, I'm very happy to see Canadian military activities trumpeted at last. My country doesn't advertise what it's doing nearly enough, and it is doing important work. And, peacekeeping has to be one of the hardest jobs for a soldier to do - it's good to see somebody has finally dramatized it, and dramatized it well.This is not a series for the faint of heart, however, and that needs to be stressed. The violence of a zone that requires peacekeepers - in this case a fictional town in the Balkans - is not shied away from. A key point of the pilot involves two children straying into a minefield. A mine goes off, and a small boy bleeds to death from a severed leg as a peacekeeper tries to rescue him without being blown up herself. The violence is graphic and realistic, and the viewer is forced to face head-on the horror of a situation that most of us try to forget exists, but is all too real.There are some issues, however - the show is not perfect. Colm Meaney plays a chilling Muslim fanatic re-arming his side for the next round of violence, but his Irish brogue stands out like a sore thumb, and makes his character seem to be a star vehicle rather than an actual person. An attempt at a Balkan accent would have been better. And then there's the militia leader wearing nothing but a Speedo, overcoat, and belts of bullets, who is a bit on the strange side, and a naked Major who appears as a vision and curled up on a bed, who is downright bizarre. Hopefully these will see some explanation in future episodes.So, this is a show that is definitely worth watching, but if you aren't prepared to deal with the heart- and gut-wrenching reality of a place that has been torn apart by war, you might want to give this one a pass.