I expect to be reviewing the DVD of "Over There" at length in about a week, before its March 21 release. But given the way people keep commenting on this blog about "Over There," I thought I would give you some details about the set.

It's four single-sided discs, and in widescreen format.

The ''selected episodes" with commentaries are the pilot (series co-creator Chris Gerolmo and co-producer Joan Gerolmo), "It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding" (military advisor SSgt. Sean Bunch and Iraqi advisor Sam Sako and "Spoils of War" (actors Luke McFarlane, Erik Palladino, Keith Robinson, Kirk "Sticky" Jones, Omid Abtahi, Lizette Carrion and Nicki Aycox).

There's a  six-minute featurette called "Weapons Debriefing" and a segment called "Tour of Duty: Filming 'Over There' " that runs close to 80 minutes.

As I said, I'll be writing more when it gets closer to the release date. I have to get through a pile of DVDs coming out on March 14, my hours at work were hectic and tonight brings "American Idol," "The Amazing Race" and other mandatory-in-my-house viewing.

FX will begin reruns of "Over There" on Jan. 14. Since fans of the show have been very passionate, including in a lot of comments for this blog, I talked today to Chris Gerolmo, co-creator of the Iraq-war series with Steven Bochco. I expect to have a story derived from our interview in the Beacon Journal next week. But given all the interest in the show in the blogosphere, I decided to post a few notes here.

Who killed Underpants? Gerolmo says the likely candidates were either Dim or Sgt. Scream, although there was an outside chance it was Tariq.

In other words, he doesn't know. He said he learned from Bochco that one of the benefits of a serialized story is that you don't have to answer questions right away — and he hadn't settled on an answer to the Underpants shooting.

Same thing with the Doublewide nickname. The show hadn't had to explain it — although it came teasingly close in the final episode — so Gerolmo and Bochco hadn't worked out an answer.

Now that "Over There" has been canceled by FX, Gerolmo said there are no plans for the show to resume production somewhere else. He would like someone to come up with the money for a two-hour movie explaining what happened to all the characters, and thinks Bochco would enjoy that, too. But no one has offered to pay for it.  There is a DVD of the show coming out later this year. (Chris thought January, but I've seen a couple of listings saying late March.)

If there had been a second season, Gerolmo has some ideas about where the character were going, although he hadn't discussed the ideas with Bochco, and Bochco was very hands-on about storylines. And with Bochco's long record of success, Gerolmo was happy to have the help. Still, Gerolmo was thinking that:

– At least one of the regulars would have to die. The show considered killing one in the first season but the producers came to like everyone too much to let them go too soon. A possible fatality in the second season: Doublewide, since she was not a central figure in the infantry stories. (Chris acknowledged the problem of writing the women soldiers into episodes, since women weren't allowed to be in a regular infantry unit in real life, and Bochco insisted the show reflect that.)

– Bo and Terry's marriage would run into trouble. Bo would get back into the Army but wouldn't be allowed to go to Iraq, working in recruiting instead. Terry, though, would become vocally anti-war and become famous for her stance.

– Dim's and Brigid's marriage would get stronger.

– Characters would grow and change, as they had in the first season (with Chris pointing to Smoke as one character who changed noticeably in the first season).

– Stories being considered for the second year included the group working with upper-middle-class Iraqi expatriates returning from England, interaction between the soldiers and reservists and the platoon protecting a civilian construction crew. (Probably for a generic company. Chris said the show was never allowed to mention Halliburton by name.)

In sum, the show had plenty of places to go in a second season. Too bad FX didn't think there were enough viewers to keep it going.

Chris, by the way, has just finished a pilot for another series for Bochco's company. And people who liked the "Over There" theme (which he wrote and performed) may want to look for his CD, "I'm Your Daddy," which is for sale on amazon.com.

– Still more comments have been added to the previous posts about "Over There." You can find them below. I continue to marvel at the passion for the show. Clearly FX missed something in giving up on the show so soon (and I want to go back and look at it, and see more plainly what was missed).

A TV executive full of boldness and daring would find a way to bring it back — and I mean do more than put on the reruns or issue a DVD. Unfortunately, real boldness and daring remain in short supply in television.

Yes, there are a lot of shows I love, and some of them take fascinating risks in their narrative and their character. And since, as I have said more than once, everything on TV is about politics, you don't need to do a show about a war to make a political/social point. But "Over There" managed to be political, and more than political, and entertainment, and more than entertainment.

– Although this blog is about television, it is also about the life of a TV critic. Today, that life included hanging around my younger son's school for about an hour and a half, since he was up for a part in his school musical and was waiting for the cast list to be posted. He got the part he expected to get, and it's a pretty good one, and I was happy for him. That news, and waiting for that news, was more important than anything I saw on TV or said about TV today.

More important, too, was our shopping for parts for a school project, the two of us going over his list and trying to figure out which hardware would work. (The next challenge will be putting all the pieces together to match a diagram that did not come with assembly instructions.)

Also more important than TV was dinner for three — me, wife, younger son — out and about, and talking in the relaxed ways families are lucky to get to do. Dinner was followed by a huge laugh at my expense in the car; my wife was amused almost to the point of tears. And I'd rather have had that dinner, and that laugh, than spend a couple of hours with the TV on, even if it was my favorite show. There were years when I wouldn't have realized that, or would have pushed the thought aside because I felt the need to get through a pile of review tapes. I am glad those years are over.

– The day and night were not TV-free, of course. We tried to kick back tonight with "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." Funny parts, some good star power, but still basically ordinary. Not in a league with a good couple of hours of "Lost" or "Veronica Mars," to be sure. Movies may loom bigger in the public consciousness than TV, especially when the movies include a tabloid-inspiring couple, but that doesn't make them better than what you see on the small screen.

About a month ago I wrote a post titled "Bad News for 'Over There' fans," about the cancellation of the FX series. It may have had a small audience, but it unquestionably had a passionate one. Comments are still coming in about the show. Go the post, and you can read them.

2006 UPDATE: Yes, "Over There" is still canceled. And thank you to all the readers who have posted comments about the show. You may also want to look at the January posts on this blog, which include one about where "Over There" could have gone if it had been picked up for a second season, and who might have killed Lt. Underpants.

In announcing the end of "Over There," its acclaimed Iraq war drama, FX went to some lengths to explain its decision. Here's how it went:

FX will not renew Over There for a second season based on the series' ratings performance over its 13-epsiode run. (Please see ratings information below).

Statement from John Landgraf, President and General Manager of FX Networks
"I'm deeply proud of Over There, which was beautifully produced, acted, written and directed. The series was arguably the most critically acclaimed new television show of the year, a fact which made the decision not to renew it all the more difficult. That decision was motivated entirely by Over There's ratings performance and our belief that the numbers were reflective of what the show is about, rather than its quality or entertainment value. While are passionately committed to fostering great television, we are an advertiser supported network and the size of our audience is vital to our bottom line.

"It was a deeply gratifying experience for everyone at FX to work with Steven Bochco, Chris Gerolmo and their immensely talented and dedicated team of collaborators, whose artistry was reflected in each episode."

RATINGS INFORMATION

• For its 13-week run (Wednesdays, 10 PM ET/PT), Over There averaged 2.1 million total viewers and 1.3 million Adults 18-49.
• Over There enjoyed a very strong premiere with 4.1 million total viewers and 2.4 million Adults 18-49.
• Over There leveled off to an average of 2.1 million viewers and 1.3 million Adults 18-49 for episodes 2-9.
• Over There then began a steady decline, eventually bottoming out at 1.35 million viewers and 882,000 for the season finale.
• Over its final four episodes, Over There averaged 1.6 million total viewers and 990,000 Adults 18-49.
• In comparison to FX's other drama series (most recent/current season):

       Nip/Tuck is averaging 4.1 million total viewers and 2.9 million Adults 18-49 (#1 in basic cable on A18-49)
       The Shield averaged 3.2 million total viewers and 2.0 million Adults 18-49
       Rescue Me averaged 2.8 million total viewers and 1.8 million Adults 18-49

(End FX material)

That's a very long way of saying it wasn't politics that killed the show, it was a lack of audience enthusiasm. And I feel a little guilty about not paying closer attention; I don't have a Nielsen box, but if I had watched more, I might have written more about "Over There," and maybe someone with a Nielsen box would have tuned in.

And I very much liked "Over There" in the early going; the first episode had problems but by the third, you could see a show that was worth the time and effort. Still, somewhere along the way, I stopped watching.I would DVR it, and set aside the review discs that came in. My wife was watching every episode, and loving them, and insisting to me that "you really should be watching this." But somehow there was always something else to fill my time.

In that way, "Over There" was my "Carnivale," another high-quality show that many people just decided not to watch. When the days and nights are full of obligations, including TV shows, sometimes a really good one gets lost.

But my wife is going to be really ticked.