HBO is about to present its big summer viewing event: Generation Kill, a seven-part miniseries about the start of the 2003 Iraq invasion, based on the nonfiction book by Evan Wright and produced by The Wire creator David Simon (see profile, p. 7). In addition to the battles dramatized on screen, HBO is battling on two other volatile fronts. One is the rocky history of TV series and theatrical films covering this still-current war, with audiences resoundingly rejecting projects even when big names are featured on the screen or behind the scenes. And if that's not enough of a minefield, HBO also has to hope that Generation Kill can recapture some glory stolen recently by the network's increasingly high-profile rival, Showtime. So Generation Kill, when it arrives July 13, boils down to three key questions.
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