Fans that have complained about the first two episodes of “Stars Earn Stripes” can finally feel relief as the show finally gets its sea legs, settling down into an entertaining show that isn’t a mockery of the military.

The show takes a turn for the serious with the competitive spirits rising in this third episode. A new mission titled “Rapid Detonation” and new weapons to train with continues to test the Stars as they work toward earning more money for their respective charities. As of this episode, $150,000 has been donated to various military charities and this is a priceless irreplaceable experience for the stars who want to earn more than just a chevron patch.

This episode featured an expanded focus on the lives of the Stars and Operatives. In this case, Talon Smith, a U.S Navy Corpsman and his wife gave birth to his daughter during the course of the show’s premiere earlier in the summer. There are a few moments during the show where he is featured talking about how Laila Ali’s charity for the Military Child Education Coalition might have impacted his family during the course of his military service. A touching moment to be sure, it does well to highlight the efforts of the charity work by the stars.

This show though, suffers from a lack of transparency that keeps many viewers guessing. The elimination format is nearly always the same and by now it’s no secret to anybody how to win and not get sent home. Yet at the same time, viewers don’t know exactly how close the other teams are to watching the elimination, which may or may not give non-contestants an unfair advantage. Viewers with questions just do not know how much behind the scenes work there is and that makes them wonder if everything is 100% fair.

Speaking of fairness and equality, thus far the show has given a slight advantage to the four man squads who have gone after the first squad in the elimination challenge. Knowing is half the battle and so the squads that go after the first team learn critical tips that might save time. The caveat though is that so long as the second and third teams communicate well and their run is flawless, this foreknowledge is useful. One wrong move though, and it doesn’t matter what sort of knowledge you have, you’ll still come in last.

The flip side of knowing beforehand how well the first squad did is a huge amount of pressure to place on themselves as both a star and an operative. In some cases it’s intimidating and in others it’s motivating. This all comes down to each individual team of operative and star. Communication is again key in order to shoot with greater accuracy and reduce congestion during the timed mission.

Many of the Star and Operative pairs have bonded through the trials and all teams have created great communication as each scenario has progressed. For example, the friendship between Actor Dean Cain and U.S Navy Sniper Chris Kyle; they have a friendship that has grown out of Deans’ awe-struck first impression and turned into a mutual respect for one other. There are also other examples such as WWE Diva Champion, Eve Torres, and Green Beret, Grady Powell, who exhibit a bit of chemistry but remain firmly friends. Both of these teams have a good time this episode as the winners of the “Rapid Detonation” operation.

Hopes for the show to be a long running entertaining success with an extended season is turning out to be fruitless since the two hour Season Finale is fast approaching next Monday. The show so far has kept on going with the same format so if this is true, the finale will open with another sudden death elimination right on the spot.

Sadly, the elimination format needs refreshing and some high octane fun for the finale. It is indeed up to the skill of the Stars to shoot their way to victory in the coming episode. The Stars doing the shooting is realistic but not too terribly entertaining since they lack the service of the real military service men and women.

Rating: 3.5/5 For a show that would have been better had it been longer, showing both an unrefined quality that is only now smoothing out just as the season finale starts being promoted, and a steep learning curve that keeps the stars from being truly entertaining. 

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For all intents and purposes, the second episode of “Stars Earn Stripes” is essentially the same as the first. There is an intro, some training and the mission itself between squads of four men and women. At the end there is a shootout between the stars of the losing squad and someone goes home. That is the long and short of it in summary. Yet that isn’t the whole story either since NBC seems to be ending the show as quickly as politely possible.

This episode had some marked differences from what one might have expected as the episode following a show’s premiere. The second episode comes off feeling more like episode one, part two than its own stand alone episode. Chiefly, this is because the start of the episode picks up right at the end of the elimination from episode one. That isn’t a bad thing in and of itself, except what the episode starts out with is a bonus shootout between the winning team members. The winner gets an automatic pass for the second episode and goes onto the 3rd round of competition.

If that weren’t enough to make it seem contrived, the shootout, where both winner, Eve Torres and winner, Nick Lachey from the first episode need to fully suit up in full gear to take two shots at a short distance with a scoped rifle. It felt like a cheap excuse that producers used so that the numbers were even again. The logic follows that if the show had to eliminate one team of star and operative at a time, it would take much longer.

Additionally, the show was literally cut short by an entire hour. The premiere was a two hour NBC event yet episode two was only one hour. It is true that with one team gone and one given a pass to the next round, there are only three full four man squads in competition, the show seems to be trying to wrap things up quickly. Still, even though the literal time may have been cut short, the sense of time felt the same as that of the first episode, which means that episode two is still entertaining despite its faults.

On that subject, the training that takes place during the episode is mostly accurate except for one thing: the shooting distances in practice versus the mission itself. There is a vast gap in distance between what is shot in practice and the needed longer range distance for shooting during the mission. Though the stars shoot well, the close distance for the shooting in practice and some close quarters shooting during the mission isn’t going to challenge any serious shooter with a scope.

All is not bad though, as fans will rally for their favorite stars to earn stripes and break through their challenges. Whether mental or physical, NBC does a good job of showing the stars at their best and worst, proving that courage is doing the right thing despite being scared. There are moments where the celebrities are scared straight at some of the repelling and helicopter exits that they have to perform, but “Stars Earn Stripes” shows the human element of military operations very well.

The continued charity work is one of the few saving graces in a show that is being slammed hard by reviewers and international press. The charity money being generated for the armed services and law enforcement is integral to the success of the show and remains one of its core appeals. This part the show does right, rewarding even the eliminated stars with charity money for their participation in these missions.

Many people watch “Stars Earn Stripes” to respect the military while others want to see some action. Regardless of whichever option is chosen, the show is at least mildly entertaining while working towards a good cause. The show desperately needs to shape up to continue any sort of positive ratings climb but more than anything, it seems like NBC is cutting things short with a double elimination next week. This makes for what seems like a quick and hasty exit so that NBC can move on to better things. It seems that this is one show on the way out.

Rating: 3/5 For a show that has one or two redeeming qualities but needs a lot of work on many areas.

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The first episode of “Stars Earn Stripes” was a two-hour jam-packed premiere that paired notable star celebrities with professional operatives. These operatives come from many branches of the U.S armed services and law enforcement agencies, each with many years of hard earned skills put to the test under years of military service. Notable stars for the show include entertainer Nick Lachey, boxing champion Laila Ali, movie star Dean Cain and football player turned action star Terry Crews.

The reality show centers on each star and their operative coaches. Operatives train their recruit as well as participate in each of the challenges, aiding their stars on the road to earning their stripes. Each week a new stripe is added while the losing two teams move onto a head to head elimination. From introduction to ending, training footage is shown mixed in as flashbacks and present time events as the show slowly builds momentum. This is a good format and leaves the show feeling well paced, if only a tad routine.

The ultimate prize is 100,000 for the military charity pre-chosen by the winning celebrity. In between the first elimination and the last, other smaller donations will be made the charity of every team at the end of each week. This is a laudable goal and one of the key redeeming features in a show that has otherwise been labeled a show that unnecessarily glorifies war and armed violence.

The challenges are no easy feat though, with live ammunition and explosive ordinance a staple for this show. There is nothing campy or cheesy about this show. It bills itself as a real life reality experience and so far the first episode proves this in spades. There is no shortage of surprises as the winners and losers aren’t who viewers might initially have expected.

Not surprisingly, admiration is ever-building between the stars and their operatives. In a twist, while these military operatives cannot talk about their missions, the stars make it known that they greatly appreciate the service that the men and women of the armed forces provide. Yes, there is admiration for the stars themselves but in this case, it is the operators who blush at some of the praise heaped on by the civilian celebrities.

Through the mud and under the barbed wire, over the water and up in the air, military operations of all types are included in “Stars Earn Stripes”. Land, sea and air insertions are littered in this episode alone as the stars experience first-hand the hardships and triumphs of a successful armed intervention. There is excellent use of point-of-view cameras on both the star and the operative, showing viewers the exact visual situation of each person in the field.

The one knock against the formatting for this specific episode is that of the four squads, Alpha and Charlie squads go into the mission completely blind with no knowledge of the mission details. They have a basic dossier on what type of mission, the exact locations and tasks that need to be performed but nothing else. Bravo and Delta squads however, are shown real time video footage of Alpha and Charile Squads as they complete the mission. It is true that nothing in real life is fair, but this may be taking it too far, giving Bravo and Delta Squads an unfair advantage. It seems that NBC and the show producers embrace this philosophy; either knowingly or accidentally.

Thus far, the first episode revealed the two hour format for a mostly practical and physically realistic show. No real bullets are fired at the stars in this episode, though plenty of explosions go off left and right, adding to the chaos. The stars themselves pack live ammunition to take out mobile non-human targets and physical structures. As host, Samantha Harris has to brush up a little bit, this isn’t “Dancing With The Stars” after all. Only the second episode will reveal if any changes have been made to the format of the show as the four man squads break rank and only the stars with their operatives remain in teams of two.

Rating: 4/5 For excellent reality TV premiere that captures the harsh tasks of the military but needs refinement in pacing and execution.

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