1. We were reviewing the TV broadcast before and now it's on DVD, so at the end we'll stick on some shit about the bonus features.
2. We're giving some copies of the DVD along a box set of The Wire so it'll all tie in quite nicely.
3. This week's release schedule is so empty that if we weren't reviewing this we'd be reviewing Season 2 of 'Dynasty' instead.
4. It's just that fucking amazing.

Much like 'The Wire', 'Generation Kill' centres on the lives of an eclectic group of characters all suffocated within the institution by which they are governed, in this case the US Marine Corps. The characters are complex and difficult to pin down (i.e. for every wounded civilian they rescue, there's a gay person to take the piss out of or a woman to sexually harass) but are all the more endearing for it, especially wise-cracking Corporal Ray Person (it's Ziggy from 'The Wire'!) whose frequent renditions of Avril Lavinge hits make even the most heinous war crime seem relatively inconsequential.

Also like 'The Wire', the narrative arcs of the seven-episode series are almost unidentifiable, and yet there is a definite sense of progression. The philosophical elements are always on the right side of pretentious and every single dramatic convention imaginable is completely ignored. This is particularly amazing because it makes you realise that bad things don't always necessarily happen when characters are 'having a laugh', or at night, or at moments when the music has died down a bit.

Anyway, this has turned into a bit of a dissertation but the important thing to take away from this is that YOU NEED TO OWN THIS DVD. It's the incredible final season that The Wire never had.

Extras: Who cares?

5 dinner parties at which you'll have the upper hand out of 5

'INTERESTING' FACT: Alexander Skarsgård, who plays Sgt. Brad Colbert, is one of the male models who is killed in the gas station explosion in 'Zoolander'. He's the one who says 'Ex-squeeze me, have you ever heard of styling gel?'

by Charlie Lyne

Win Generation Kill and the complete The Wire boxset here!