Army Wives - Did You Watch It?

My cable TV provider finally got around to figuring out that I have been getting free TV.  I have always had access to loads of channels, and didn't realize that though I was only paying for basic cable they had provided me with enhanced cable which is $45 more per month. 

Since I am on a very tight budget, I've had to live with basic cable and have started watching Lifetime TV which I previously thought was only "chick-flick" made-for-TV movies.  I have discovered that Lifetime offers much more --- including a great new series, Army Wives. 

The first episode which aired tonight at 10 PM has me hooked to watch next Sunday night.  Basically the show tells the stories of four army wives and one army husband (his wife is a career army officer).  Each one of them has a very different personality and an interesting past.

My favorite army wife is Roxy (Sally Pressman).  A pretty young bartender from the wrong side of the tracks who has two little children by two men, Roxy marries her army husband after knowing him for only a few days.  When she arrives at the army base, she struggles to fit in with the other women on base.  She is tough, loving, and fun to watch.  The other wives are aghast at her abbreviated outfits and her tough demeanor. 

Denise (Catherine Bell) is a woman deeply in love with her husband.  She is a victim of family violence but we are surprised to see who is the perpetrator.  This is a very different role for Catherine Bell.  She is a waif-like bruised woman who seems to be walking through her life rather than living it.

Pam (Brigid Brannagh) is a curvy redhead who is a surrogate mother currently carrying twins to earn extra money for her family.  She doesn't want the other army wives to know that she has agreed to give up her babies and is forced to reveal her secret when she goes into labor at a party.

Claudia (Kim Delaney) is a strong woman whose ambition for her husband to become commander of the army base affects her life in many ways.   She is kind of like a "mother" to the younger women.  

Roland (Sterling K. Brown) is a psychiatrist whose wife, career army officer Joan (Wendy Davis)  returns from a tour of the middle east with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Viewers can see that it's going to be a wild ride for Roland as he tries to save his wife from self destructing.

I think the hallmark of a good series is that you are left with lots of questions at the end of the show.  Will Roxy's husband get upset when he learns that she has taken another job as a bartender?  Will the other wives begin to like Roxy?

And how about Denise?  Will her ambition for her husband cause problems in the marriage?  Do any of the wives actually like Denise or are they just friendly to her because her husband is a high ranking officer on the post?

What will happen when Pam has to explain that she has given birth but has no babies?  Will other people find out what really happened?  Will her spendthrift husband mend his ways?

Poor Roland.  His wife gets drunk, dances on the bar. and passes out.  Only when he receives a call to pick her up does he realize what has happened.  Will their marriage survive her war memories and out-of-control behavior?

I can't wait for next Sunday's episode.  Did anyone else watch Army Wives tonight?  Did you like it?  Who was your favorite character?  I hope I'll have some Gather friends who will join me in watching this great new series.