Line #4 Series/ERing


1	[[quoteright:314:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ering_2509.jpg]]
2
3	Executive produced by Creator/JerryBruckheimer, ''E-Ring'' was a military drama set in the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin E-Ring]], or the outer ring, of the Pentagon. Major James "JT" Tisnewski (Creator/BenjaminBratt), a veteran Special Forces operator, is plucked from the field and given a desk job as part of the Special Operations Division of the E-Ring, responsible for the planning and deployment of covert US special operations worldwide. With his superior Colonel Eli [=McNulty=] (Creator/DennisHopper) he struggles to navigate the bureaucracy of the Pentagon in order to gain approval from the Joint Chiefs of Staff for numerous controversial missions around the globe, from rescuing American agents in China to battling insurgencies in Southeast Asia (and at home).
4
5	The show struggled from the onset, due to being pitted up against hit shows such as ''Series/AmericanIdol'', ''Series/CriminalMinds'' and ''Series/{{Lost}}''. It was eventually canceled after [[ShortRunner 22 episodes]] were filmed.
6
7	----
8	!!Tropes:
9	* BadassBureaucrat: There are a few. Samantha "Sonny" Liston comes to mind.
10	* BedouinRescueService: JT and his Special Forces team were rescued by a friendly Afghan village during the invasion. The plot of ''Christmas Story'' is JT and his team trying to get supplies and arms to the villagers, so they can defend themselves from the Taliban during the winter months.
11	* BeleagueredBureaucrat
12	* BigDamnHeroes: ''Escape and Evade''. [[spoiler: JT is sent to Iraq to investigate a Special Forces team accused of carrying out illegal operations on Iranian soil. JT is ambushed, captured and finds himself lost on Iranian soil. The special forces team save his life at the end of the episode.]]
13	* BittersweetEnding: ''Weekend Pass'': [[spoiler: the US Marines are exonerated and the Surinamese throw off their corrupt leader. But one of the Marines is dead and it's left open to interpretation whether it'll be a FullCircleRevolution.]]
14	* CigarChomper: Colonel [=McNulty=]
15	* ClearMyName: ''Weekend Pass''.
16	* ColonelBadass: Colonel [=McNulty=], who survived four years in captivity during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar and is unafraid to speak his mind. [[spoiler: JT becomes one when he is promoted halfway through Season One.]]
17	* DuringTheWar: UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror.
18	* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: It's a show about Special Operations. This should clue you in quickly.
19	* FictionalCountry: Averted.
20	* TheFundamentalist: A given in a show about UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror. But not just radical Islamists. See the entry for WesternTerrorists.
21	* HeroWithBadPublicity: In ''Weekend Pass'', [[spoiler: the two US Marines accused of raping a Surinamese girl were actually trying to save her from the real assailant.]]
22	* IDidWhatIHadToDo: JT and Colonel [=McNulty=], all the time.
23	** "Escape and Evade". A US Special Forces team are accused of illegally treading on Iranian soil, because of exasperation with the terrorists they are hunting simply being able to hide in Iran without consequence. [[spoiler: They also save JT's life.]]
24	** In "Weekend Pass", [[spoiler: General Kuwendi uses this trope to justify framing the accused Marines, so he can launch a coup against the corrupt, economy-destroying President.]]
25	* InHarmsWay: Captain Bobby Wilkinson, JT's old Special Forces buddy, has difficulty adjusting to the idea of a life outside the army.
26	* InvisiblePresident
27	* ItsPersonal: "The Forgotten", when evidence arises that a Navy SEAL presumed KIA after his chopper crashed is actually being held by the Abu Sayyaf separatists. Algazi feels [[MyGreatestFailure guilt]] because he called off the search and rescue, and [=McNulty=] takes it personally because he himself was held captive by the North Vietnamese DuringTheWar.
28	** Exaggerated in the two-parter "Cemetery Wind". [[spoiler: JT's girlfriend Angela is killed by Colombian drug traffickers as payback for an operation years earlier. JT goes off the grid to finish the job and take revenge of Angela's boss, CIA Director Raymond Metcalf, who leaked the information that got her killed.]]
29	* MilitaryCoup: [[spoiler: In "Weekend Pass", the Surinamese military attache, General Kuwendi, frames the Marines accused of rape in order to launch a coup against the corrupt President.]]
30	* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: Numerous episodes, which cause conflict between the more pragmatic civilian suits, such as Aaron Gerrity, and the combat veterans (JT, Colonel [=McNulty=] and Steven Algazi), who take it very seriously.
31	** [[spoiler: JT finds himself in the middle of this situation when he is captured in Iraq and finds himself on the loose in Iran.]]
32	** This is also the premise of ''The Forgotten'', where intel suggests that a Navy SEAL presumed killed may actually be alive and held by the Abu Sayyaf separatists.
33	* NoPartyGiven: Which party is in power is never named.
34	* ObstructiveBureaucrat: A major problem for the SOD in planning missions, especially in regards to the civilian consultants.
35	* OfficerAndAGentleman: JT is this to a [[IncrediblyLamePun T]].
36	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Assistant Secretary of Defence Steven Algazi and Head Council Samantha "Sonny" Liston, as well as the Joint Chiefs.
37	* SemperFi: Marine Master Sergeant Pierce, who serves as an assistant to Colonel [=McNulty=]. ''Weekend Pass'' has two US Marines ([[spoiler: falsely]]) accused of raping a young girl in Suriname. Algazi is a 20-year veteran of the Marines.
38	* ShellShockedVeteran: Colonel [=McNulty=] and JT's father. Bobby Wilkerson has signs of this [[InHarmsWay when not in combat.]]
39	* SmugSnake: Aaron Gerrity and CIA Director Raymond Metcalf.
40	* [[StraightMan Straight Woman]]: Sergeant Pierce.
41	* VastBureaucracy: The Pentagon.
42	* WesternTerrorists: "Delta Does Detroit" has a Christian Fundamentalist group of the Racial Supremacists/Right Wing Militia Fanatics/Western Religious Terrorists type taking Muslims hostage in a mosque.

Context Series / ERing