The Pacific

[Chris]

I'm surprised nobody posted on this today. The first episode was on HBO last night. I'm going to have to watch it again. I don't know if my expectations were too high or if I just missed something. I was having some difficulty in spots following the charachters.

[mikes280]

i watched it also , i liked it but you are right it is going to take more time to learn all the key players in this Mini. Did you watch the pre show they had where they tell you about the show and how it came to be done. If you did not if you can find it, it may help.

[Expensive Date]

Saw the replay after 12:00 was tired and missed the first 10 minutes was kinda hard to follow.Think we were expecting something like Band of Brothers.Will probably get better when we have watched a few.
My uncle was first wave on Guadalcanal he has passed and never would talk about it wish he had.

[Expensive Date]

http://www.historyplace.com/unitedst...r/timeline.htm


Interesting timeline.

[mikes280]

http://www.historyplace.com/unitedst...r/timeline.htm


Interesting timeline.

yes it is thanks

[pullmytrigger]

had a hard time making whose who....too......thought it was a first episode thing.....

[Chris]

I watched it again- much easier. I also missed some things the first time around.

[tommymonza]

Hope it gets better, It will be hard to live up to Band of Brothers.

[Tyler83]

Yea it was hard to follow, but I did think the graphics\imagery was great!

[redhotsommer]

Just downloaded it...can't wait to watch it tonight. I have the box set of Band of Brothers and I've watched it at least 10 times. I love me some history.

[Indy]

Hope it gets better, It will be hard to live up to Band of Brothers.

I think it's going to be hard to live up to that too. If I compare the first episodes of The Pacific and BoB, BoB wins hands down. Much better character development and it gives you a sense of where they came from.

I have to say I was disappointed in the first episode of The Pacific, one thing I thought would have helped was to have a two hour first episode to really hook you in, the one hour episode left me a bit disappointed.

[Chris]

I agree with that. My impression of the charachters is that they're not all that interesting. They seem bland and two dimensional. The three main charachters all achieved significant things during the war, but as charachters, they're off to a slow start.

I'm also concerned that there may be a bit more of an anti-war slant to this one. BoB stayed back from that somewhat. Towards this end of the first episode, they showed the wounded soldier blowing up two US medics with a grenade. Then they showed the "torture-killing" of the fleeing Jap soldier. Probably happened more than once. But in a brief story like this, it was much less of a contextual touchpoint and more of a stand-out piece in the episode. Maybe they were trying to show that the Japanese were insane fanatical warfighters and also were just soldiers- some that really didn't want to be there or end up dead. The finding the picture and the doll in the pack sort of tied into that.

I hope they don't go preachy with this one.

[Indy]

Watched the first episode again last night and I have to say I was less impressed than the first time and that wasn't too good.

I want to be impressed however, I want this to be as good as BoB but that is a lofty goal. Maybe the second episode will hook me in.

The one scene where Chesty Puller comes into the room and talks to his troops is almost an exact copy of when Col. Sink came into the room/bar with his newly commissioned troops in BoB. While I'm sure that happened in real life and is an important moment prior to battle, they have to be careful not to recreate BoB because they'll lose viewers. It's a hard goal to achieve, not to be like BoB but be the same in terms of quality, script, characters, battle scenes.

Thankfully people like Stephen Ambrose, vets who wrote books, interviews, and media machines like Hollywood have brought to our generation plenty regarding that incredible time, the stories dwarf anything fictional I've ever read or watched, however I hope I'm not getting burned out by it.

[mikes280]

I DVR'ed the first one and i plain to watch it right before the 2nd one in hopes to pull it all together. I think if we look at this like another BoB we will be disappointed it is a whole different story by different men. I feel that with 10 years sense BoB the technology is going to be much better so everything will feel more real if that is possible.

[Indy]

Any other thoughts now that the second episode has aired?

I'm having problems differentiating the first episode from the second: chat a little, dig in, shoot some Japs, chat a little, move on...

This is disappointing me quite a bit so far.

And what' s with the one hour segments? What is this...CSI?

[Chris]

This one was the setup to Sgt. Basilone's MoH which becomes a centerpiece in the story later.

That's the problem with the War in the Pacific and why it's never been told in much detail. There's no massive land campaigns on familiar territory. It was guys island hopping in smaller groups.

I think the director has made a mistake in how the episodes are shot. Most of the action is at night. And I think they've gone for the effect of showing the realism of the darkness. But I'm having a hard time figuring out what's going on. The terror of the darkness is being well represented, but I can't figure out who's doing what. I'll probably re-watch the second one tonight.

If you recall the scenes in BoB where they were being shelled in the Ardennes Forest at night, you could see what was going on very clearly. Obviously, jungle warfare is much closer and darker, but the action is being absorbed by the setting.

This is turning into a commitment.

[Indy]

The terror of the darkness is being well represented,

Glad it's working for you, but I have none of the sense of anticipation that I had prior to battles in BoB.

but I can't figure out who's doing what.

I'll second that.

I wish my wife's dad was still around to comment on the series, he was in the Sixth Marines during WWII. My two uncles who saw action in Normandy and the Ardennes saw BoB and said it was as good as you could get for a movie.

[tommymonza]

Chit i missed the second one but it sounds like i didn;t miss much. Thats to bad i was really looking forward to watching this,I hope this is just a glitch.

The uncle of one of my buddies in church back years ago was in the Bataan Death march and he spoke with our Sunday school class about faith and what he and all the others went thru with those jap bastards.They were beyond cruel.

[Chris]

Glad it's working for you, but I have none of the sense of anticipation that I had prior to battles in BoB.

.

It's not really working for me. They are conveying that being in a pitch black jungle and having to bump into a guy that wants to kill you to find them is frightening. But I still cant figure out what's going on.

This is the problem of comparing European Theater action to Pacific Theater. In Europe, you had the same sort of battles they'd had for centuries. Massive movements of forces against each other. Predictable action. In the Pacific, it was a different enemy and different tactics. And completely different than the representations we've seen of small-unit combat in Vietnam. Plus, the major action in the Pacific was the naval battles.

I'm guessing once they get to Iwo Jima it'll turn.

[Chris]

Episode 3 recap-

Marines go to Australia. Drink and screw local broads. Hero sent home.


There. I just saved you an hour.