HBO's The Pacific

[worth]

ummm hello!?!?!

This series is about the individual soldier. The soldier on the ground had no idea about the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Why would it be included in the series?

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by Sliver

It will pretty much be par for the course with this giant let down of a series if that comment is all we get on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Because that isn't what the series is about. It is more about the individual struggle of war in a completely foreign environment. It isn't about an all encompassing look at World War II on the Pacific front, it is a series about three individual soldiers from 1941/42-1945.

I think people might be hating this series because it is seemingly popular to hate this series.

[burn_baby_burn]

Maybe the producers could have catered to the masses more by trying to portray the Pacific Theater as the more cool war. Have John Basilone played by The Rock. Have him run around the jungle with his shirt off with two ribbons of machine gun bullets crossing his chest like Rambo. Have Lechie played by the vampire dude off of Twilight (girls love him). Have Eugene Sledge played by Hugh Jackman. They could show how fun it was to be in the Marines, killing Japanese. Maybe at the end they could have a real cool pilot with a popped collar bombardiers jacket and aviators on played by somebody like David Caruso. When he is about to hit the switch to drop Little Boy he can tilt down his aviators looking right into the camera and say "Astra la vista baby!".

I'm so glad they didn't dumb this series down or jazz it up to appeal to Joe Six Pack.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

Maybe the producers could have catered to the masses more by trying to portray the Pacific Theater as the more cool war. Have John Basilone played by The Rock. Have him run around the jungle with his shirt off with two ribbons of machine gun bullets crossing his chest like Rambo. Have Lechie played by the vampire dude off of Twilight (girls love him). Have Eugene Sledge played by Hugh Jackman. They could show how fun it was to be in the Marines, killing Japanese. Maybe at the end they could have a real cool pilot with a popped collar bombardiers jacket and aviators on played by somebody like David Caruso. When he is about to hit the switch to drop Little Boy he can tilt down his aviators looking right into the camera and say "Astra la vista baby!".

I'm so glad they didn't dumb this series down or jazz it up to appeal to Joe Six Pack.

ugh, unbearable post.

[burn_baby_burn]

I was reading about Operation Downfall, which was the planned invasion of Japan following Okinawa.

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

Found this interesting detail.

Nearly 500,000 Purple Heart medals were manufactured in anticipation of the casualties resulting from the invasion of Japan. To the present date, all the American military casualties of the sixty years following the end of World War II—including the Korean and Vietnam Wars—have not exceeded that number. In 2003, there were still 120,000 of these Purple Heart medals in stock.[48] There are so many in surplus that combat units in Iraq and Afghanistan are able to keep Purple Hearts on-hand for immediate award to wounded soldiers on the field

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by nik-

ugh, unbearable post.

Don't lie, Hugh Jackman and The Rock would have been awesome.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

Because that isn't what the series is about. It is more about the individual struggle of war in a completely foreign environment. It isn't about an all encompassing look at World War II on the Pacific front, it is a series about three individual soldiers from 1941/42-1945.

I think people might be hating this series because it is seemingly popular to hate this series.

Has it occurred to you that a lot of people are let down by this series because it isn't very good? I'm 33 years old. Like I would hate a tv show just to be a follower...that's ######ed.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Has it occurred to you that a lot of people are let down by this series because it isn't very good? I'm 33 years old. Like I would hate a tv show just to be a follower...that's ######ed.

I disagree that it isn't very good - just because you don't enjoy something doesn't mean that it isn't good. I know people who do not appreciate Rembrandt but they still admit that his paintings were good. I can see how some people wouldn't like it - it isn't a typical war movie, it is attempting to show a war from a human standpoint through the eyes of three men at the time.

What about the series don't you like though? Just saying that it sucks and that it isn't Band of Brothers doesn't add much.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

I disagree that it isn't very good - just because you don't enjoy something doesn't mean that it isn't good. I know people who do not appreciate Rembrandt but they still admit that his paintings were good. I can see how some people wouldn't like it - it isn't a typical war movie, it is attempting to show a war from a human standpoint through the eyes of three men at the time.

What about the series don't you like though? Just saying that it sucks and that it isn't Band of Brothers doesn't add much.

For the love of god ... yes WE GET IT. It's supposed to be from the human standpoint. It's not a difficult concept to understand.

The problem is they didn't properly flesh out these characters, the cuts back and forth for the first 4 episodes were jarring, the biggest "hero" of the series had such poor character development that it was hard to even care about his story.

We understand what they were trying to do. People aren't disappointed because they went with a different angle. People are disappointed because they feel the angle wasn't executed well.

So can we stop with this blanket statement claiming that we just wanted some dumb action shoot em' up and that's why we aren't satisfied with the show?

To clarify, I'm not just saying this is you doing this MMM, a lot of the viewpoints of the detractors are getting dismissed as meatheads wanting an Arnie movie.

[Hemi-Cuda]

yep, the series is just too damn choppy to get into. you get a battle episode, then a cooldown shore leave episode, then a couple more battle episodes, then a love episode, then a "Sledge looks reflectingly at stuff" episode. there is absolutely no flow nor any reason to get attached to these characters

i'd also say the acting is no where near Bob's caliber. if i watch Sledge or Leckie, i see an actor trying to play a part. i never had that feeling in BoB

[Boblobla]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

i'd also say the acting is no where near Bob's caliber. if i watch Sledge or Leckie, i see an actor trying to play a part. i never had that feeling in BoB

Leckie is the only character in the show I have felt any sort of attachment to. Then after the episode they had of him when he was at the hospital, we didn't see much more of Leckie.

[peter12]

The Atlantic put in a mediocre review of the show.

Also, E.B. Sledge's books are some of the finest war memoirs ever written. It's ... gritty stuff and strips a lot of the idealism of Hollywood away. As usual, I'll stick to books over the screen.

[Komskies]

Need more Ronald Speirs!

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by nik-

For the love of god ... yes WE GET IT. It's supposed to be from the human standpoint. It's not a difficult concept to understand.

The problem is they didn't properly flesh out these characters, the cuts back and forth for the first 4 episodes were jarring, the biggest "hero" of the series had such poor character development that it was hard to even care about his story.

We understand what they were trying to do. People aren't disappointed because they went with a different angle. People are disappointed because they feel the angle wasn't executed well.

So can we stop with this blanket statement claiming that we just wanted some dumb action shoot em' up and that's why we aren't satisfied with the show?

To clarify, I'm not just saying this is you doing this MMM, a lot of the viewpoints of the detractors are getting dismissed as meatheads wanting an Arnie movie.

I agree.

They have a profound story and they're just not telling it very well.

Cowperson

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by nik-

For the love of god ... yes WE GET IT. It's supposed to be from the human standpoint. It's not a difficult concept to understand.

The problem is they didn't properly flesh out these characters, the cuts back and forth for the first 4 episodes were jarring, the biggest "hero" of the series had such poor character development that it was hard to even care about his story.

We understand what they were trying to do. People aren't disappointed because they went with a different angle. People are disappointed because they feel the angle wasn't executed well.

So can we stop with this blanket statement claiming that we just wanted some dumb action shoot em' up and that's why we aren't satisfied with the show?

To clarify, I'm not just saying this is you doing this MMM, a lot of the viewpoints of the detractors are getting dismissed as meatheads wanting an Arnie movie.

Its kind of interesting how the people who love The Pacific can't understand how other people don't like it. Or that people who hate The Pacific can't understand why people would like it. Obviously I love it, and I can't for the life of me understand why somebody wouldn't like it. Not saying that people are wrong for not liking it. I just don't get why they wouldn't. It must cater to certain personalities or social styles.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

Leckie is the only character in the show I have felt any sort of attachment to. Then after the episode they had of him when he was at the hospital, we didn't see much more of Leckie.

I swear I'm the only person on here that likes Sledge. I def hear the people commenting about his blank stares, ya they do overuse that a lot. I don't think he's some amazing character or anything, but rather I just found that he's the only character I could relate to and put myself in his shoes, especially his first couple episodes when he was green.

Come on, how can anyone not like Sledgehammer? He's a young Peyton Manning's clone! ...actually maybe Eli.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

I swear I'm the only person on here that likes Sledge. I def hear the people commenting about his blank stares, ya they do overuse that a lot. I don't think he's some amazing character or anything, but rather I just found that he's the only character I could relate to and put myself in his shoes, especially his first couple episodes when he was green.

Come on, how can anyone not like Sledgehammer? He's a young Peyton Manning's clone! ...actually maybe Eli.

What does he do in the show? In the books, he was a mortar-man who only occasionally engaged in close combat.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

Its kind of interesting how the people who love The Pacific can't understand how other people don't like it. Or that people who hate The Pacific can't understand why people would like it. Obviously I love it, and I can't for the life of me understand why somebody wouldn't like it. Not saying that people are wrong for not liking it. I just don't get why they wouldn't. It must cater to certain personalities or social styles.

I guess you can look at it one of two ways.

In "The Pacific," you are likely seeing the war a lot of grunts would see, that anything beyond a few hundred yards of where they happen to be sitting is irrelevant to their own war, their own fight simply to survive to the next hour or the next day.

In that sense, they may well be communicating that story pretty well. It's just a day to day grind in the rain, muck, dying and killing, mind-numbing, as one of the real veterans of the campaign said before one of the episodes, "to the point where you just don't give a damn anymore."

They're also doing a pretty good job communicating the fanatical nature of their opponent as well plus the overt racism felt by one side and the complete contempt the common Japanese soldier felt for the Americans.

"The Pacific" is the story of the individual while BOB, even though it had stories of individuals, was more a story of the "team," that being Easy Company, from start to finish, and it's place in history.

I don't "hate" "The Pacific" . . . . . . I just find it more difficult to relate to. That doesn't diminish the importance of the story being told.

My two cents.

Cowperson

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by peter12

What does he do in the show? In the books, he was a mortar-man who only occasionally engaged in close combat.

I think he's been getting his hands dirty lately. But its not so much what he does, but rather just how he takes everything in, especially the first couple episodes when it was overwhelming. On his first action episode when they stormed the beach you were basically seeing it all from his eyes, I just felt it was the first time I was actually able to put myself in one of the character's shoes and relate to them.

I don't mind some of the other characters, but they kinda came off to me as too Hollywoodish: Leckie's some brooding stud all the girls wanna f***, Basilone's a smooth war hero all the girls wanna f***, etc. But the way they portrayed Sledge is just as some regular, young, green, intelligent but naive kid from a good home who has no idea what he's getting himself into.

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

I guess you can look at it one of two ways.

In "The Pacific," you are likely seeing the war a lot of grunts would see, that anything beyond a few hundred yards of where they happen to be sitting is irrelevant to their own war, their own fight simply to survive to the next hour or the next day.

In that sense, they may well be communicating that story pretty well. It's just a day to day grind in the rain, muck, dying and killing, mind-numbing, as one of the real veterans of the campaign said before one of the episodes, "to the point where you just don't give a damn anymore."

They're also doing a pretty good job communicating the fanatical nature of their opponent as well plus the overt racism felt by one side and the complete contempt the common Japanese soldier felt for the Americans.

"The Pacific" is the story of the individual while BOB, even though it had stories of individuals, was more a story of the "team," that being Easy Company, from start to finish, and it's place in history.

I don't "hate" "The Pacific" . . . . . . I just find it more difficult to relate to. That doesn't diminish the importance of the story being told.

My two cents.

Cowperson

You nailed that on the head. I find the experience of the Marines particularly Sledge and his unit to be very interesting. Every year I officiate a Remembrance Day ceremony. I always want to express how great the sacrifice was for the men who served, particularly the ones who died. This series is really portraying how awful the experience is. Still its probably impossible to ever know just how horrible the whole ordeal was.