The Pacific (1 Viewer)

I'm surprised there isn't a thread for this already.

The first episode of "The Pacific" airs Sunday night (the 14th) on HBO. Remember that it's also daylight savings time again, so double-check any PVR recordings you have set up.

Personally, I can't wait. If the show is even half as good as "Band of Brothers," it will still be one of the best things ever on television.

I'm actually interested in seeing this series.

where was the character development that made me fan of Band of Brothers from episode 1?

amazing production values though.

Originally Posted by Adam_S

where was the character development that made me fan of Band of Brothers from episode 1?

amazing production values though.

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Personally, I think it's a little too early to have actual character delopment, over just a single episode. I would find that pretty unbelievable. Further, I don't think BoB actually had it either in the first episode, but rather focused on character *introduction,* something that was missing from The Pacific in a way.

However, I don't slight the show for this. BoB was mainly concerned with showing us the brotherhood that develops between soldiers in close combat situations, so we were thrust into boot camp with Easy Company, given heroes and their names, heck, we were even given a villain of sorts.

The Pacific Theatre was quite different than the war in Europe, and I think that's one of the things The Pacific is going to show. Also, the series seems to be focused less on the Marines as a group, and more on a few individuals, showcasing the effect war has on the human psyche. The show is based on what are arbuably the two greatest American military memoirs (With the Old Breed an Helmet for My Pillow), so I'm sure we'll see a few highly personal stories, rather than a picture of the Marines as a whole.

As far as the first episode goes, I thought it was great. I especially liked how it started on the home front. In BoB, we got a few stories here and there about girlfriends, brothers, et cetera, but The Pacific showed us the families. I found the two scenes with the fathers particularly great.

All of the stuff at Gaudalcanal and Tenaru were stellar. They did a good job of showing a few ways in which the Pacific Theatre differed from Europe. An enemy seemingly endless in number, crashing into the Marines like waves on a boat hull. Stranger still was the Japanese unwillingness to surrender, instead hoping to kill just one more enemy if possible--the scene where the soldier blew himself up after being found was something widespread.

The part where the soldiers taunted the last remaining Japanese soldier was the best part of the episode. The frusteration and anger on his face, the vocal barbs from the Marines, the killing shot from Leckie. It was a very different war, and this scene showed it.

My only real issue was with my HBO feed. My centre channel was *very* low in volume, and I struggled to hear about half of the dialogue.

I loved it.

Production and visual FX are amazing.

The Pacific will focus on three real Marines. I read the bio on one of them - his story was incredible. I'll leave out any spoilers but just mention that he first joined the Army in 1939, didn't see any action, and turned around and joined the Marines.

fantastic episode! this will be superb on bluray!

Originally Posted by Adam_S

where was the character development that made me fan of Band of Brothers from episode 1?

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I've yet to see this, but based on Band of Brothers, I'd answer "the same place where it was in Band of Brothers": Characters in Band of Brothers didn't come into their own until a some episodes in. I remember that being one of the chief complaint leveled at that show in it's early episodes "great stuff but kinda hard to figure out the characters!"

--
H

It was OK But the Actors in BOB could'nt be beat.Loved the Guy that went on to be in "life" and Ron Livingston was good also.Plus maybe it's from My Homicide Days I Loathe Jon Seda.

HBO has the first episode available via streaming at their web site. The quality very good but I have FIOS so there was plenty of bandwidth. You do have to register to see it (free).

Also, their player was a little weird with FireFox. The full screen setting wasn't full screen. However it worked fine in IE.

-Keith

Fully enjoyed the premiere and the look at the 3 leads at home. I felt this episode got the series off to a good start and I am eagerly awaiting the next episode.

Doug

Outstanding television. Ready for part two. Pacific is based on two books by two of the characters we met last night, one being the kid with the heart murmur, and we've already seen pics of him in a helmet so he gets out there somehow. What a contrast in settings, though! BoB - yeah they had foxholes and snow and stuff, but they also had time in french villages, etc. These guys are plopped down in the nastiest tropical conditions imaginable. I know a fellow who was a Seabee in WWII who tells of a time when, during an attack by the Japanese on his unit, he was buried alive when a bomb went off near his position, and it was several days before they found and uncovered him.

Loved the first episode, can't wait for more.

I have become an avid fan of WWII history over
the years, watching as many documentaries that
I can get my hands on. The best documentaries
I have seen is KEN BURNS "THE WAR" and

"WWII IN HD COLOR."


The best dramatization I have ever seen is BAND

OF BROTHERS. You can imagine how much I
have been looking forward to its follow-up, THE

PACIFIC.

Excellent series premier. Loved the backstory
and the effects are outstanding.

Here is what worries me...

The war in the Pacific was brutal. The Japanese
dug themselves in hard and that war went on from
Island to Island seemingly forever.

I don't know how I can best explain this, but I
am wondering if the limitations in scenery (being
one jungle Island after another) is going to slow
the pacing of the story.

My fears are probably unimportant here as I am
certain the human story will take center stage.

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein

I have become an avid fan of WWII history over
the years, watching as many documentaries that
I can get my hands on. The best documentaries
I have seen is KEN BURNS "THE WAR" and

"WWII IN HD COLOR."

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Slightly off-topic, but have you ever checked out "The World at War?" As military historian (well, former, I'm currently changing career paths ), I consider it my personal favourite doc. on The Second World War. If you haven't watched it, and you have 22 hours just waiting to be spent, give it a shot. "The First World War," based off of the excellent work of Hew Strachan, is probably my favourite doc. of the First World War.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_at_War

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0426688/

"The World at War?"

highly recommend - but a harrowing watch

I watched the entire DVD box set last year over about a week, and it left a big impression on me

BOB on Blu-Ray is a stunning watch, highly recommend

the Pacific has definitely got me excited!!

If you have DirecTV, they are showing The Pacific on their channel 101 HD. You don't have to subscribe to HBO to watch the show. Looks like they are showing it the Wednesday night after the Sunday premiere on HBO.

Gotta love DirecTV. I thought I was going to have to wait till this came out on blu-ray to watch it.

Doug

[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]have you ever checked out "The World at War?"
[/COLOR]

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[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]
Been wanting to watch this forever. Probably
will at some point. Heard it is very bias towards
the European viewpoint of the war.[/COLOR]

Wow. The battle scene in episode two was amazing. The characters are getting fleshed out more, despite lacking large amounts of dialogue. Also, the two episodes have really highlighted what set the Pacific Theatre apart from Europe.

Heard it is very bias towards the European viewpoint of the war.

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Well, it is specifically told from the British point of view, which is hardly surprising given that it is a British production made largely by and for people who had personally experienced the war, drawn mostly from British archival sources and overseen by British historians. (I'm sure neither the French or the Russians greeted the series with unalloyed joy over the way they were depicted. Ironically, of all the major participants in the war the Germans probably have the least cause to complain about their treatment in WaW. But then the Brits, especially the British military, have always had that "professional respect across the trench lines" feeling about the Germans, something notably lacking in their attitude towards the French and the Yanks. I remember reading a line from a - British - book once that said, "Erwin Rommell was unquestionably the Brit's favorite enemy general of WWII. The Americans do not seem to have had one.")

Most American documentaries on the war are similarly "biased", if that's the word you choose, towards the American point of view. I can only assume that French, Russian and German documentaries about the war similarly tell the story mostly through the eyes of French, Russian or German politicians, soldiers and civilians. It is simply the nature of the beast.

All in all I think The World at War is an extraordinary achievement, with no more than the usual transatlantic misunderstanding and confusion. (Some of the problems arise less from British bias than from simple ignorance about Americans and how things work over here.) As I recall Monty comes off rather better than I think he would in a more objective work, and Patton and Eisenhower rather worse - but the reverse is true of many American documentaries, which often give short shrift to our allies in general.

I would no more avoid WaW because of its British perspective than I would Ken Burns The War or Band of Brothers because tell American stories from an American perspective and don't depict what the British, Canandians, French and Russians were up to.

You pays your money and you takes your choice.

Regards,

Joe