Brigid Brannagh Interview
Beginning with the show’s second season, “Army Wives” has received Department of Defense access and support. Has that changed the show?
Absolutely. The first year we were on our own. We tried to get the uniforms right, but God knows we heard about how much we screwed up the berets. The only advisors we had the first year were ex-military and ex-military for quite a very long time. There had been changes and differences that we weren’t aware of and we didn’t have access. Last year, the DOD was happy with the show. The first year, I think they were afraid we would be reflecting really negatively on the Army. I think they felt really good that more than anything the show was a depiction of family life in the Army. They offered to come in and help us. Those who were serving and the families seemed to appreciate that. It’s just more accurate, more authentic.
Are there any particular episodes that have had a strong impact on you?
We went to Walter Reed (Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.), which was unbelievable. I don’t think I could ever recover from that. It was amazing. We showed an episode there where we had a funeral for an MIA soldier and it was at the beginning of the year where we finally had gotten everything right with the military’s help. The folks at Walter Reed just after we finished the scene they gave us a standing ovation.
What was your reaction to the early reviews of “Army Wives” that compared the show to “Desperate Housewives” with humvees.
If anybody compares me to anything that is good, that’s working, that’s a success, I’ve got no complaints about that whatsoever. I think Lifetime wanted to distinguish “Army Wives” as being quite different from “Desperate Housewives,” which it is. The “Desperate Housewives” are all just rich, and they can literally run around the block setting fire to each other’s houses. I mean they have a lot of time on their hands. The difference is most of the cast of “Army Wives” on the show are totally broke. Claudia Joy’s character does the best because she is a general’s wife, but I think there is a real difference in that one show is trying to be based in reality. I think “Desperate Housewives” literally tries to maintain a great unreality. But hey, it is a bunch of women hanging out in the same neighborhood, trying to wear cute outfits and being funny. It’s all good.
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