Remember Band of Brothers? HBO presents: The Pacific

[Dread]

Watched this last night, very impressed. Looking forward to episode three!!
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[Talon]

I've watched through the first 5 episodes and although I think the series are great so far, I wasn't as impressed with it as I was with Band of Brothers. You don't get as much invlolved with the characters as in BoB. And so far there are only three main characters; Leckie, Basilone and Sledge. Bascically it's following those three characters throughout the storyline instead of the entire outfit as it was in BoB.
I guess because of the fact these series are produced by Spielberg and Hanks again you'd be more tempted to compare it with BoB which in my opinion differs greatly from The Pacific.
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[buck/dave]

yeah ... you should see the meltdown on "the Pacific" messageboard on imdb ... people are bitching left and right about "it's not as good", "no character development", etc.

but, the hot topics on that messageboard are why the series is "lilly white" w/ no black "characters", that it gives the impression that the US won the war single-handedly and that it disses Australia ... in other words, a lot of narrow-minded people who, 1) have not read the books 2) know nothing about history and 3) are just plain trolling.

i like TP a lot ... it's way different from BoB, but the books that it is based on are different as well; a historian's presentation based on interviewing vets (BoB) vs. the memoirs of two men who fought the battles (TP) ... i read Sledge's book over 10 years ago ... Ambrose's book doesn't hold a candle to "With the Old Breed" IMHO ... most graphic, brutal and disturbing book about combat I've ever read.
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[Mats]

The last episode is very good. It s the one where they have to cross the airfield. Very intense and graphic. Unbelievable actually, that they would basically run through a wall of bullets and mortar strikes to take the airfield. As Sledge said later "I have never been so terrified in all my life". It must have been pure hell for those guys.

I am liking it more as the series progresses. I think I am going to have to watch it over from the beginning to really appreciate the earlier episodes and the story line as I did with BOB. I think I have watched BOB 4 or 5 times.
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[buck/dave]

any verdict on this miniseries?

I loved it ... and I've pre-ordered the DVD set on Amazon. I am not going to compare it to BoB like many have ... mainly because I feel they are totally different. A lot of people are bitching about it not being BoB II, there was no character development, it gave the appearance of the US winning the war single-handedly or how Marines were portrayed as more barbaric than the Japanese, etc. I took it for what it was worth, a film adaptation of two Marines' memoirs (Sledge and Leckie) and an account of a truly brave man (John Basilone).

I think it created an incredible cinematic portrayal of the horrible combat fought in the Pacific Theatre (the Okinawa episodes were simply amazing). The ending was poignant and it will stick with me for a long while. I though the actor that played Sledge was superb, as wer the actors who portrayed the humble John Basilone and the erratic SNAFU.

I've DVR'd the entire series and plan on watching all the episodes again ... there is so much to soak up. What did you all think?
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[Talon]

I still have to watch the last two episodes but I am very impressed with the series. As Buck said you shouldn't compare it with BoB as it is a very different story based on a very different book.
I was tempted to compare it with BoB as I suppose most people that have watched the series do, seeing as it was a Spielberg/Hanks production again.
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[Mats]

How many are there? 10? I've got one more to go.
Basilone - unbelievable. I can't believe he went back. The image of the Japanese civ with the baby - unreal.

Basically I wasn't really impressed with the first few episodes, not just because of BOB, but I think they failed to bring the audience into the story far enough. The last 4 or 5 episodes have been great. I need to watch them again from the start. Much better than BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP.
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[Rowdy_Azell]

Ok It grew on me except all the love story smoochy stuff belch. My only problem is my free HBO trail ran out after episode 8. Are the last two episodes worth it

[Whiskey]

[InsaneFool]

I loved the last two episodes, The Pacific did a much better job of wrapping up than Band of Brothers IMHO.

In Band of Brothers all we got was a voice over and a scene of them playing baseball, but with The Pacific it actually follows Sledge back to the U.S. and how he deals with what he went through.

Don't get me wrong, I love both series, but I think they are both excellent for completely different reasons.
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[buck/dave]

I read "With the Old Breed" about 10 years ago and it blew me away. After watching "The Pacific", I felt compelled to read Leckie's book "Helmet for My Pillow" (which I'm reading now) and it's a great book as well (not as graphic as Sledge's book, but Leckie is a great storyteller).

Anyway, by reading these books (like BoB and the rash of other books surrounding it), I am getting a better understanding as to what parts of "The Pacific" are accurate and which parts are creative filler ... explains a lot IMHO.

I also purchase RV Burgin's book "Islands of the Damned" ... it is next on the docket. As Sledge's Sergeant, I figure he contributed quite a lot to the series ... I believe he's the only surviving member of Sledge's squad.
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[MikeZero]

I really didn't like the series. God damned shame, too. I was really looking forward to it.

I felt like it was the equivalent of showing a highlight reel of the N.O. Saint's 2009 season, but only showing every penalty, fumble and interception of the year.

I was covering it for Big Hollywood and had to stop after episode 4. I don't make my money as a critic and it's not good business to shit on other people's product when you might be going to them for work in the future. Besides, Dale Dye has become a friend of mine and I didn't want to insult him.

The only part of the series that moved me was when Sledge's dad sat outside his room in the last episode.

PJTV's Bill Whittle came over (almost) every Sunday night to watch it and our catch phrase became "Fuck you, Pacific."

Disappointing.
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[buck/dave]

wow MZ ... I admit I'm a little shocked. I must be missing something though, because many Marines feel the same as you regarding the series. What was it exactly that bothered you about it? Was there an element of Hanks' ridiculous commentary conveyed in the actions of Snafu and others? Overall, I thought it portrayed the Marines as an ultra tough fighting force that dealt with some of the most miserable fighting of the entire war. Yeah, European theatre gets all the romantic glory, but the Pacific was like fighting in Hell ... that's the way it came across to me.

I thought the combat scenes at Peleliu and Okinawa were excellent and I really like the Basilone story that quietly drifted alongside the centralized Sledge/Leckie stories. I've DVR'd all the episodes and I'm rewatching an episode every now and then ... and I find that I like the series even more.
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[MikeZero]

Wanted to let you know that I saw your post, Buck, but don't have time to get into it right now. When I get some time, I'll explain further.
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