YOU'RE IN COMMAND
Real Screen
2004

Anyone who has ever wanted to test their mettle as a military commander now can without even leaving the sofa. Command Decisions will give viewers the opportunity to see how an army was deployed during Roman times, or how strategic combat movements played out during the Vietnam and the first Gulf War conflicts.

The series, from Emeryville, US-based Hoff Productions, puts its audience right into the action. The 13 half-hour segments, destined for The History Channel in New York, use a blend of drama and quiz show elements. Archive footage and reenactments of the skirmishes are accompanied by analysis from experts such as U.S. Army General Norman Schwartzkopf and historian Patrick O'Donnell, who weigh in on the battles, the commanders and the politics of the time.

Viewers can test their knowledge and intuition by answering multiple choice questions. They get to pick what they would do given the same intel as the real leaders, and are then presented with the historical response and shown how the real events played out.

Each episode is budgeted between US$75,000 and $125,000, and pilot episodes featuring Julius Caesar and Schwartzkopf have already been delivered. The project will wrap in September.

Nick Rapp