The Pacific

[Winston Legthigh]

I've been waiting for this series for a long time. It starts next Sunday. Discussion will ensue.

[BreezyGrass]

If its anything like Band of Brothers - which I'm sure it will be - it should be off the wall!

[Basil II]

One time I wish I had cable.......

 

My dad served in the 13th Air Corps in the Pacific Theatre.......he was always thankful that he did not end up up on the front lines.... His favorite planes to work on was the P-38 and B-17 bombers.

 

 

-Robert

[sgtpepper64]

I'm really excited for it too. I loved the original Band of Brothers.

[BreezyGrass]

If HBO has any wisdom they will allow both mini series to be available on their on demand so you can go back and forth. Two totally different arcs completely but I think that would be cool.

 

I've read Stephen Ambrose's books. I see that the three main arcs of the Pacific are based off of three soldiers who were authors and wrote memoirs about their time in the Pacific Theater. I'll have to do more research. Ambrose's books are worth seeking out. If the Pacific has any of the history of ol' Easy Company we're in for it good!!!

[Winston Legthigh]

If HBO has any wisdom they will allow both mini series to be available on their on demand so you can go back and forth. Two totally different arcs completely but I think that would be cool.

 

I've read Stephen Ambrose's books. I see that the three main arcs of the Pacific are based off of three soldiers who were authors and wrote memoirs about their time in the Pacific Theater. I'll have to do more research. Ambrose's books are worth seeking out. If the Pacific has any of the history of ol' Easy Company we're in for it good!!!

The series is based on two of the soldiers memoirs. Very dry reading, but there's not many WWII books written from the front line experience.

And HBO has BoB on demand currently.

[BreezyGrass]

The series is based on two of the soldiers memoirs. Very dry reading, but there's not many WWII books written from the front line experience.

And HBO has BoB on demand currently.

 

Are they worth picking up do you think? I've been seeing them add new BoB's every week. Just waiting to see if there is an overlap if they keep BoB's on and if its worth it to A/B it and watch both Theaters happen. I'm sure it will be - I have a vacation coming up and the wife is going away so I got some down time on my hands...

[kidsmoke]

My dad was one of the paratroopers who jumped on Corregidor to retake it from the Japanese...he tells of the Japanese firing up at the troopers as they drifted down, some dead from Japanese fire before they even reached ground. Dad has some really fascinating, but often horrific, tales to tell from his time in the Pacific Theatre.

 

The paratroopers he jumped with were going on poor military info, and found far more Japanese on the island than they had expected. The Americans ultimately prevailed, but not easily. Cheers to the courage of those men!

[Winston Legthigh]

Are they worth picking up do you think? I've been seeing them add new BoB's every week. Just waiting to see if there is an overlap if they keep BoB's on and if its worth it to A/B it and watch both Theaters happen. I'm sure it will be - I have a vacation coming up and the wife is going away so I got some down time on my hands...

Why not? I picked them up from the library a couple months ago. Very straightforward plain style of narration - awful awful experience for the soldiers. Both the enemy and the weather conditions were brutal and merciless. It was a slog to read because nothing good really happens other than our side outlasting their side.

[OOO]

I'm super excited for this, and my dad is off the wall excited. His dad was in Europe in WWII, so he loved Band of Brothers, but he himself is a Marine, so he's really gearing up for this one.

[BreezyGrass]

Interesting article in the NYT that I found this morning. Like I had imagined The Pacific is going to focus more on the individual struggle of war as opposed to the unity found in Easy Company. Anyway, here's the link for a pretty good read: NYTimes - The Pacific

[Winston Legthigh]

Good start to the miniseries last night, though I think the narrative is going to be tougher than Band of Brothers to keep cohesive.

 

With Band of Brothers, you had the same guys together (pretty much) for the whole war. For The Pacific, you have 3 different narratives from 3 guys who don't really interact.

 

One note - the butchered GIs that the group encounters was actually a memory of Eugene Sledge, who has yet to enlist (in the series timeline). I wonder why they attached it to Robert Leckie's narrative? It was a very quick shot, but if you looked closely, it was exactly as Sledge described it: a beheaded guy with his own cock stuffed in his mouth.

[Central Scrutinizer]

Good start to the miniseries last night, though I think the narrative is going to be tougher than Band of Brothers to keep cohesive.

 

With Band of Brothers, you had the same guys together (pretty much) for the whole war. For The Pacific, you have 3 different narratives from 3 guys who don't really interact.

 

One note - the butchered GIs that the group encounters was actually a memory of Eugene Sledge, who has yet to enlist (in the series timeline). I wonder why they attached it to Robert Leckie's narrative? It was a very quick shot, but if you looked closely, it was exactly as Sledge described it: a beheaded guy with his own cock stuffed in his mouth.

Thanks for the clarification ... and yes, that's what I thought it was from the image.

 

I thought the initial show did a great job juxtaposing this U.S. mindset of going in and kicking ass, and the initial confusion and the mystical enemy, appearing from nowhere and circumstances changing dramatically from night to day.

[Winston Legthigh]

I thought the initial show did a great job juxtaposing this U.S. mindset of going in and kicking ass, and the initial confusion and the mystical enemy, appearing from nowhere and circumstances changing dramatically from night to day.

That's a great description.

[lamradio]

Good start to the miniseries last night, though I think the narrative is going to be tougher than Band of Brothers to keep cohesive.

 

With Band of Brothers, you had the same guys together (pretty much) for the whole war. For The Pacific, you have 3 different narratives from 3 guys who don't really interact.

 

One note - the butchered GIs that the group encounters was actually a memory of Eugene Sledge, who has yet to enlist (in the series timeline). I wonder why they attached it to Robert Leckie's narrative? It was a very quick shot, but if you looked closely, it was exactly as Sledge described it: a beheaded guy with his own cock stuffed in his mouth.

 

Reminds me of a similar scene in Platoon. At least I think it was Platoon. No beheading, but schlong was definitely in mouth.

[BreezyGrass]

Missed the first night! Can't wait to get home today and watch it. Damn power went out Saturday morning and didn't come back to 10pm last night. I couldn't make it to the encore at 11pm. Hopefully it's on demand today.

 

Will post thoughts.....

[bjorn_skurj]

My little homie Joey Mazzello is in this, but since I am too poor to afford HBO, I am not watching this.

[bigshoulders]

This series will be out on DVD and Blu-Ray June 15, just in time for Father's Day.

 

Edit: Forget what I just said. HBO has now retracted that statement, but still hints that it would be released in the second 1/2 of the year.

[bjorn_skurj]

My grandfather got shot in the ass at Guadalcanal, but he died (last year, not as a result of the ass-shooting), so he won't be watching it either.

[kidsmoke]

My grandfather got shot in the ass at Guadalcanal, but he died (last year, not as a result of the ass-shooting), so he won't be watching it either.

 

I salute your grandpop's sacrifice!

 

Seriously, I do.

[slice_oftheday]

I really enjoyed the first episode, looking forward to the subsequent episodes.

[BreezyGrass]

First episode thoughts:

 

Certainly a more personal account of the war in a totally different theater to be sure. A complete and different feel that Band of Brothers. Different but in a very good sense. It seemed to me that the 52 minutes or so flew by in comparison to BoB which felt a epic in its episodes. I'm sure this will chance though as the series gets legs and starts to weave the stories from the different perspectives.

 

When they were bedded down for the night bout 3/4 of the way through and the are watching the Naval battle at night was unreal. That must have been something to watch. And thinking that our side was kicking the ass only to find out that our Navy was gone come morning. That was a huge moment in the episode last night I thought. That and when they were getting checked out by the doc and the fresh troops come in and see their brothers in arms...been through the ringer...truer words probably were never said.

 

I didn't catch the image of the slaughtered soldiers that clearly and couldn't make out anything specifically. How did you know that is wasn't his experience? From the books I would suppose?

 

Overall, a good start to what I'm sure is to be an excellent series. I'll have to rewatch the episode for fuller clarity.

 

Good stuff!

[Winston Legthigh]

How did you know that is wasn't his experience? From the books I would suppose?

Correct. It was exactly as Sledge had described it.

[moxiebean]

When they were bedded down for the night bout 3/4 of the way through and the are watching the Naval battle at night was unreal. That must have been something to watch. And thinking that our side was kicking the ass only to find out that our Navy was gone come morning. That was a huge moment in the episode last night I thought. That and when they were getting checked out by the doc and the fresh troops come in and see their brothers in arms...been through the ringer...truer words probably were never said.

Yes, the Naval battle at night scene was haunting. So much so that I had a similar dream/nightmare Sunday night involving a silent Cloverfield-ish all-destroying robot.

[BreezyGrass]

It must have been something else to have witnessed that for sure. I actually could envision the star spangled banner being written. It certainly came to mind. Obviously it being written before hand, but I would imagine a fight like that being much more amplified than what Scott Key witnessed. Wild stuff.