The Pacific

[Tarami]

Tom Hanks explaining things at the begining of each episode.

Speaking of which, he was a bad, bad choice. He doesn't sound the least convincing as a war movie narrator.

[Vaiti]

You can stick a fork in this show. It's done.

Last episode was completely forgettable and a waste of time.

The only slightly interesting bit to me was the Gunny who showered in the rain. He seems to have more depth to his character than anyone else in the show we are supposed to care about.

[Slayerik]

You can stick a fork in this show. It's done.

Last episode was completely forgettable and a waste of time.

The only slightly interesting bit to me was the Gunny who showered in the rain. He seems to have more depth to his character than anyone else in the show we are supposed to care about.

That's being a little harsh. I thought the landing was insane, and well done. The part where Sledge basically had to grab his sack and realize you just gotta put one arm after another and keep pushing on. The fact that he didnt wanna leave that hole....would you?

I am not bitching about the last episode at all...this is basically a war documentary, and that was some awesome war. I'm not THAT concerned about the other parts...I want to learn about Marine combat in the Pacific.

[Vaiti]

Ok, you're right, it was abit too harsh to say it was a complete waste of time. The last 10 minutes or so when something started happening was done alright.
I won't say it was done well tho. I'm not overly impressed with that battle. I don't remember much about it, and I just watched it a couple hours ago.
It could have just as easily have been stock footage of a beach battle from Saving Private Ryan at this point.

I'm being overly critical. But I'm simply not impressed with this show at all, and it's 5 of 12 episodes in. I'm just not and I want to be. It has it's moments... but those moments are just rare. And few. And far inbetween alot of slow paced, forgettable, generic, who gives a shit crap.
I'm rewatching Band of Brothers atm just to wash this episode from my mind fully. I kid you not. Color me jaded 

[tgr]

I was assuming that I would get a sense of the misory on the same level as I did when watching the episode bastogne in band of brothers. Even the last episode isn't even close to conveying anything of the sort. Hell, I'm getting more of an emotional response from watching rambo 4 when they sack the first village.

I'm disappointed by the lack of involvement I feel, and I'm even more annoyed by all the details that are glossed over, like the huge seabattle at guadalcanal. It's ruining everything for me.

Also, I cannot see where the budget went for this series so far, so I'm hoping the remaining episodes pick up the pace.

[FatuousTwat]

I'm guessing it's all the location shots?

Tonight's wasn't bad.

[Ghambit]

Tonight was the best episode so far.  Too bad they've wasted half the Campaign getting here.

[Abagadro]

Great hour of TV. Screw you haters. 

[Tannhauser]

I agree, six was what I subbed to HBO for.  Great hour of TV, and I hope the show is like this the rest of the way.

[tgr]

Great hour of TV. Screw you haters. 

You'd better not be getting my hopes up for nothing.

I'm expecting awesome levels of awesome to make up for the first 5 episodes of suck.

[Nebu]

I don't get the love.  There was more action than prior episodes, but nothing that really tied the viewer to the action. 

The only thing this episode did for me was to really nail down just how stupid and pointless war is.  I don't think that's what they were going for, particularly with WWII. 

[Slayerik]

I don't get the hate.

That was seriously fucking intense combat. I do feel that was the best episode yet as well.

Re-watch BoB. Only thing that even comes close to the intensity of these island fights is Bastogne and the arty pounding they took. And we haven't even got to Iwo yet. The next episode is going to show just how fuckin' horrible it was to get the Japs out of their caves.

There is much about this show that doesn't live up to BoB. The acting and character attachment just isn't there (to be fair I found myself caring about Liechy and his friend there on the boat, I like em both - the guy that dug out the gold teeth is growing on me too). But the combat so far owns it. Brutal. Fucking. War.

[Nebu]

I don't get the hate.

No hate from me.  I'm just not impressed given the past history (BoB) and the budget.  While the intensity of war is important to portray, it's far from the only piece of the puzzle.  I want to know these men.  I want to know what they were fighting for.  I want to know how they feel about what they are fighting for.  I want more character development, better acting, and better dialogue.  Hanks and Spielberg know how to deliver this better which is why I'm underwhelmed. 

[tgr]

Slayerik: I'm not hating, I'm just seriously left wanting after watching the first 5 episodes. I get absolutely no real connection to the characters (except for the australia episode, and even then I was surprised when I was told it had actually taken place over a period of a full year), I get absolutely no feeling for just how much suffering they are going through. A reference to BoB would be bastogne. I think that episode, of all episodes, drove it through just how bad it was during that time. The Pacific hasn't done that so far, and I seriously hope episode 6 and outwards does.

[MournelitheCalix]

I agree, six was what I subbed to HBO for.  Great hour of TV, and I hope the show is like this the rest of the way.

Yeah, I couldn't have said it any better.   This episode was head and shoulders better than all that came before it.  Here is why it worked for me:

1.  Lots of gut check moments.
2.  For the first time, it looked like the people there fighting cared about one another. 
3.  Eugene sledge is a great character, with lots of backstory, and people can identify with him.
4.  Lecky continues to be one hell of a compelling character.  I hope he makes it out, but something tells me he doesn't.

[Musashi]

I donno if this is a spoiler, but you saw the last episode right?  Episode 6?

[Slayerik]

Episode 7 - ok

Episode 8 - Oh FFS, enough goddamn love story bullshit. Yay, John Basilone gets mad pussy. I'm happy for him.

Ugh. About to cancel HBO.

[Nebu]

I don't get the hate.

So... you get it now? 

I found last night's episode to make the intended point, but wished it had spent more time in the field and less in the romance.   I'm about done with the Pacific as a mini-series, but may pick up the books that it was based on.  In that way, it was a success. 

[Slayerik]

Fine Nebu, you win. Though I have enjoyed watching some of the episodes a 2nd time as I am catching my brother up. It's not a bad show, just could have been so much more.

[tgr]

That's precisely what I've been left with, and I've only watched the episodes once each so far. It's not a bad show, but it's not a good show either, and it certainly won't inspire watching it 3-4-5 times as I've done with BoB. It's a shame, I was hoping for 11 hours (I'll allow for the first hour to set the stage) of pure awesome.

[Fargull]

I found last night's episode to make the intended point, but wished it had spent more time in the field and less in the romance.   I'm about done with the Pacific as a mini-series, but may pick up the books that it was based on.  In that way, it was a success. 

Guessing they did not want to just remake Sands of Iwo Jima which is basically John Wayne playing John Basilone (though never officially credited with it to my knowledge).

[NowhereMan]

There are way better ways they could have done that. Fuck they could have done this basic idea half well if they'd done the same story focusing on the Marines being trained, showing Basilone from their view as this ass-kicking gunny, make it some sort of homage to the first BoB episode and have the last 20-25 minutes being these guys shoved out into Iwo Jima following them more than Basilone. They could have thrown in some of the love stuff but concentrated on these recruits training and preparing to be thrown into a theatre of war we've seen and they haven't with Basilone driving them in the same way Schwimmer did in BoB only for a completely different reason (making sure they can survive rather than to show how good he is). It would have been a problem in terms of introducing a whole new range of characters but the alternative they went for was giving us the story of one character, most of which consisted of a crisis of conscience and falling in love. Those make a good storyline but that's not what the show's about and I'd probably have appreciated it more if there'd been less of it.

[Musashi]

Except for what you saw was more or less what really happened to Basilone.  I'm not going to argue over whether they should have spent more or less time on love story, or in the battlefield.  Personally, I find both compelling.  But the problem this show still has is that it's trying to shoehorn too much story into too little time.  These stories deserved more show than they got.  This leaves us with little attachment, and so the love story just feels silly and out of place.  But it's not the fact that there was a love story that kills it.  It's the fact that I've only seen a cameo by Basilone here and there for the past six episodes, and now I'm expected to give a shit about his love life for a whole episode while I know Sledge is sitting on a rock in the Pacific.

I guess I'm just left wondering if this show wouldn't have been better if it would have just picked one dude - probably Leckie or Sledge - and gave him the show he deserved.  Basilone could be a compelling story if it were written as a stand-alone, but it would be an altogether different show.  It's probably not what fans of the BoB series signed up for.  I actually think the best show would be a BoB follow one unit type story with Chesty Puller as the Winters archetype.  That would actually probably be better than BoB, as Chesty is a stronger character where Winters is a little stoic and professional.

There's so much here that's good, and it's a shame too.  Obviously the fight sequences are well done.  The visuals all around are superb as expected.  But the research into little details that piss veterans off when they get it wrong, is outstanding and it deserves credit.  As it is though, if BoB is a 4.5 out of 5, then this is like a 3.  The sloppy story just fucked this up.

[Vaiti]

I actually didn't mind this love story. Was done in a context that didn't bother me, unlike the first one in this series. I'm coming to accept and expect things like this out of this series now. This love story struck me more like the medic love story in BoB, where the one with Leckie was... meh. It just didn't fit. The only thing that really bothered me is how much time they keep spending back in the States with this series.

[Ghambit]

His death scene was the same as his live scenes.

[Musashi]

Yea.  The choice of Jon Seda is unfortunate.  There's no doubt that Basilone was conflicted about his experience, as were all people.  But I don't really know if Basilone was really as introspective as they portray him.  Seda gives us a cold, methodical performance.  Whereas I picture the real Basilone having more of a Dean Martinesque twinkle in his eye - even if in spite of his horrific experiences.

[Nebu]

I'm not sure why, but I really enjoyed the final episode.  It gave the show a very personal touch and paid honor to the men that were used as examples.  I think it brought closure to the series with the possible exception that I would have enjoyed watching Sledge progress a bit more. 

Decent series, but certainly not up to the level of BoB.  I'm planning to watch it through again in a few months to see if the second run through helps with the appeal. 

On a side note: It pisses me off that Basilone's widow didn't get the insurance money... if that's true.  Such a decorated soldier and the government decides to be an ass about a small detail.  Grrrr.

[Vaiti]

I don't get why they threw that bit in. It isn't true. She did get the money. She gave it to his family.

http://www.awesomestories.com/assets/lena-basilone

[Nebu]

Good!  Thanks for that link. 

[Tannhauser]

Well it's over. Not to the caliber of BoB, but it had its moments.  Sledge's story was my favorite and I enjoyed his crazy-eyed friend Snafu.  Not enough combat scenes for me and the show, even with 10 episodes, felt rushed.  Still, I'm glad it got made and it's a good tribute to the Marines. 

[HaemishM]

I had never seen Band of Brothers. I've watched all the episodes of the Pacific and loved it. All you motherfuckers bagging on it baffle me. Maybe BoB was better and this fails in comparison, I don't know. But I thought this had a lot of emotional impact and made me care about the characters. Hell, I didn't even know they were real people until the last bit of the finale. I guess ignorance IS bliss.

[Engels]

I heard that this show was good, but not quite BoB. Haemish, you shoulld just rent BoB. It is 'The Wire' of WW2 series, for real.

[Musashi]

I had never seen Band of Brothers. I've watched all the episodes of the Pacific and loved it. All you motherfuckers bagging on it baffle me. Maybe BoB was better and this fails in comparison, I don't know. But I thought this had a lot of emotional impact and made me care about the characters. Hell, I didn't even know they were real people until the last bit of the finale. I guess ignorance IS bliss.

If you liked this, you'll like BoB even more.

[Nebu]

If you liked this, you'll like BoB even more.

This. 

BoB flowed more from story to story and you felt like you really got to know the players as well as their interpersonal relationships much better.  BoB wasn't quite as gritty, but certainly told the story of the European theater well. 

[Musashi]

Also.  How the hell do you get away with having a penis and not watching BoB at least once?  Your answer will determine the status of your man card.  There are marathons on every national holiday on regular TV and the History Channel.  I've seen it like 12 times.