The Pacific

[Col Deadmarsh]

Watched Part 1 of the new HBO series last night and it's looking pretty good so far.

Since the mini-series centers around 3 main characters, there was the obligatory setup for each character which meant pre-war scenes back at home. But once they landed at Guadalcanal, it got pretty interesting.

There was one good action scene at night and you can tell that they put a lot of money into the production of the series when watching it. The only thing that struck me as somewhat of a negative is that the 3 actors chosen for the main characters seem somewhat forgettable. Then again, I thought this about Band Of Brothers when I first saw that too, comparing it to Saving Private Ryan and the A-list actors that were involved in that project.

Hopefully with time and some more character development, the actors will grow stronger in their roles.

[Stalins Organ]

Hopefully they already grew stronger, since filming finished May 2008.

[gunnergoz]

Don't forget that, with the exception of John Basilone, many of the players in the film are only 17-20 years old, with personalities as yet largely unformed. They grew up on those battlefields and became the men they were later. It is entirely credible to me that they chose to begin the film with these personalities a bit blank and generic, to be shaped and molded by subsequent wartime experiences.

My two bits. And yes, I really enjoyed the first installment. Every time I drive to L.A., I have to drive past Basilone Road on I-5 at Camp Pendleton. A supervisor I had some years ago was a Marine Raider and knew John personally. So all this means a great deal to me and I really want to see these stories told well.

There have already been complaints that officers are depicted in a monochromatic way in the series, mostly full of bluff and bluster and not too bright or gutsy. What I have seen so far is the depiction of one company commander who failed to live up to the test of combat. Unlike the young marines under him, this man probably had years to build up a persona and peacetime presence that got him through the officer ranks...but it was not sufficient to hold him together in actual combat. Then too, he was older and perhaps had a family, had had lots of time to consider his own mortality and desire to be somewhere, anywhere, else. So he ended up being relieved in disgrace. From what I heard and read, many of those disgraced officers ended up tragically later on, either suicides or drunks and vagrants. The kids they led had less to look back upon and no idea of what to expect, so perhaps the trauma of combat was a bit easier for them to take. It is said that the anticipation of combat and imminent death is harder than the actual experience on some individuals. I don't know, but it rings true. It must be a very personal and individualistic thing. I've read many war memoirs (admittedly few by combat failures) and they all have their own take on what happened to them and how they reacted.

So I'll wait to see the other episodes to find out if officers are fall guys and patsies in the series. It is well known that Tom Hanks' father was a naval officer who despised the navy and many of his peers, so it could be that that disdain has been carried over to the series. But surely we will see some depiction of the good officers, a number of whom are named by Sledge and other writers as being heroic and inspiring leaders. Many of them did not come home alive. They made the same sacrificed as did their enlisted. I hope to see that balance in the series too.

[JonS]

... I've read many war memoirs (admittedly few by combat failures) and they all have their own take on what happened to them and how they reacted. ...

"... and no birds sang" by Farley Mowat (though I don't know if I'd call him a combat failure, exactly)

An incredible, astonishing book.

[Nicdain]

Looking forward to see this series as I enjoyed BoB so much. Unfortunately in Italy it will be broadcasted on pay tv starting 9 of may. I will have to wait till the DVD box is out...

[Elmar Bijlsma]

Liberal Dutch downloading laws FTW!

[noxnoctum]

Ya saw it, very excited for next episode. I hate watching TV shows when they actually air, much prefer to marathon it on a weekend or something

[Sgt Joch]

I saw the first episode, nicely done. I thought the battle of the Tenaru River was nicely filmed, not a head on Banzai charge, but shows the IJA troops actually maneuvering to outflank the Marines.

aftermath was very close to the real thing as well:

looking forward to the next episodes.

[MeatEtr]

By the way, that sunrise aftermath scene, what is the translation of that Jap soldier screaming at the Marines? It appears he wanted the Marines to kill him, which they oblige him. I have not read any of the books, did something like that actually happen? It certainly feels plausible, seeing all your comrades slaughtered around you could invoke a nervous or mental breakdown.

[Elmar Bijlsma]

Not so much a nervous breakdown as an overwhelming sense of shame of having failed his comrades and emperor, I would think.

He would rather be Eurytus then Aristodemus.

[Herrjung]

I am told the Japanese soldier at the end was saying 'Come on!' (or 'Come at me!'). Also, he said 'Kill me!' in between. Great episode. Looking at the period B&W photos of the battle, I couldn't quite understand how many of the dead IJA soldiers appeared to be neatly half-buried in earth. Now I guesss I know. The images were powerful and are staying on my mind.

[Col Deadmarsh]

***2nd Episode***

Again, the firefight scenes are very well done. What I continue to have a problem with is that one character looks and acts just like another. Seems to be a product of bad writing and mediocre acting.

I mean, is it just me or did the characters in BOB stand out more?

[Michael Emrys]

What I continue to have a problem with is that one character looks and acts just like another.

I've only watched the first episode so far, but I had no problem distinguishing the characters the second time I watched it. The only reason I had any trouble the first time through was because I didn't yet have a fix on who they were. Once I had a definite character in mind with a definite personal history, I had no trouble picking him out of the crowd, and that goes for all of them, even most of the minor ones.

Michael

[noxnoctum]

Ya I definitely like BOB more. This is pretty good, but feels more heavy handed/occasionally clichéd..

I had huge expectations though. It still beats pretty much all non-HBO programs.

[Hawkmek]

Episode 3 was a snoozer. It had sex, but no combat. Did they really billet at a stadium? I agree with Deadmarsh, they all seem the same. Maybe they'll stick out more as the show progresses.

[MeatEtr]

It'll take awhile to get to know the characters a little bit, at least the ones that don't die. We've all probably seen BoB at least a few times through by now. I recall a bit of who's-who in the first few episodes of BoB as well.

[Sgt Joch]

the third episode was boring, after the canal, seeing an autralian soap opera is a poor choice. Hopefully, the action picks up in #4.

[gunnergoz]

Episode 3 was bound to raise eyebrows among some folks. But the Australian interlude was an important part of the wartime experience of many Marines. Was it's inclusion in the series essential to telling the story of Marines Leckie/Sledge/Basilone? That's a matter of personal opinion of course, but I'm glad that the producers at least tried. I suspect that there will be war scenes aplenty to come in the next 7 episodes...

BTW I've just re-read Sledge's book and will next buy Leckie's. Basilone's authorized biography has been re-published and I need to locate a copy (passed one up on the shelf but had no cash with me and the next day it was gone.) So far, the series is fairly true to Sledge's account, at least for feel and flavor, if not minute details.

[JonS]

Ep.1 debuted here last night. Impressive. Tom and Steve certainly have a feel for recreating a military environment by now. The scenes on the ship were well done. The night naval battle was well done, as was the "where the fvck is the navy?" scene the next morning.

I may never sing Happy Birthday quite the same way again

[Michael Emrys]

I may never sing Happy Birthday quite the same way again

Yeah, that was the best part. The guy got the accent exactly right.

Michael

[MeatEtr]

+1 to making it the standard song for birthdays:

I would love to get a grenade for my birthday someday.

[souldierz]

I would love to get a grenade for my birthday someday.

But with the pin still in it I hope:D

I haven't seen this series yet, but you can bank on it that I will.Looks very good.

[gunnergoz]

It grows on you as you see the characters evolve through their experiences...which was probably what they intended.

[Tero]

It grows on you as you see the characters evolve through their experiences...which was probably what they intended.

On that same note: after watching three episodes some rather annoying features have emerged:

- PC language. No period dehumanization and rough/racist talk among the Marines about the enemy

- casually shrugging off a war crime (strangling a wounded enemy)

- combat scenes are basically machine gunning down waves upon waves of enemies a la the best war games around (the average war movies about Marines in the Pacific done in the 50's are more convincing and have more action than the series so far)

- "heavy Marine casualties" consist so far a few dead marines and a suicide by a nude guy

- general girlie plot features

- music score is straight from BoB

The feeling I have gotten so far is the makers have used a stop watch to calculate the spot where story parallel has gotten too close to reminding the viewer of the current Iraq campaing and they have shifted the storyline accordingly.

In general, it seems to me parallel with Iraq seems to have adversely influenced very heavily how the series has been written.

[Pak40]

- PC language. No period dehumanization and rough/racist talk among the Marines about the enemy

This is an overstatement.

- casually shrugging off a war crime (strangling a wounded enemy)

This is not what I got out of the scene at all. I think the two guys watching were appalled that their fellow Marine did such a thing. Yet at the same time they knew why the Marine did what he did. Chalking this off to "casually shrugging off a war crime" is gross misinterpretation of the scene. Also, you may be aware that this is based on Sledge's own memoirs, so it maybe this is filmed exactly as it happened. (I personally haven't read his book yet so maybe I'm wrong about this)

- combat scenes are basically machine gunning down waves upon waves of enemies a la the best war games around (the average war movies about Marines in the Pacific done in the 50's are more convincing and have more action than the series so far)

I'm not exactly sure what you want to see here. These battle scenes are based on the experiences of the 3 main characters in the series. The Japanese really did use these human wave banzai attacks repeatedly. Do you want them to show ahistorical battle scenes or scenes mimicking 50s hollywood movies which we know are all inaccurate or cliches?

- "heavy Marine casualties" consist so far a few dead marines and a suicide by a nude guy

I guess the last episode showing marine's heads and limbs being blown off didn't get your attention?

- general girlie plot features

Yea, I agree. Stupid girls should not be in the series because they had nothing to do with these soldier's lives during the war. [insert sarcastic emoticon here]

- music score is straight from BoB

I guess a little heavy metal distorted guitar would have gone with the Marine's beach landing a little better.

The feeling I have gotten so far is the makers have used a stop watch to calculate the spot where story parallel has gotten too close to reminding the viewer of the current Iraq campaing and they have shifted the storyline accordingly.

In general, it seems to me parallel with Iraq seems to have adversely influenced very heavily how the series has been written.

I fail to see how this parallels Iraq. Maybe you can enlighten us?