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The Pacific : Hanks and Spielberg’s ‘Band of Brothers’ successor

Executive Producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks of the hugely successful ‘Band of Brothers’ have teamed up again for another World War II based series, this time focusing on the Pacific Conflict and the fighting involved at Guadalcanal, the jungles of Cape Gloucester, the trenches of Peleliu, the island of Iwo Jima and the bloody amphibious assault on Okinawa. Unlike the original series that was a factual recount of exploits of ‘Easy Company’, the inspiration for this series comes from two memoirs of soldiers who served in this campaign: ‘With the Old Breed’ by Eugene Sledge and ‘Helmet for My Pillow’ by Robert Leckie.

The trailers are certainly promising and have the ingredients of another wonderfully produced series; swapping the drab and gloomy backdrop of the European Theatre to the bright and vibrant jungles of the Pacific where the juxtaposition of the horrors of war will contrast against the beautiful idyllic paradises.

For me, ‘Band of Brothers’ is probably one of the most endearing and emotive TV series I currently own. Beautifully shot, superb acted with a mainly unknown set of actors (at the time), 100% sympathetic to exploits and wishes of Easy Company; it is certainly no surprise that the series was critically acclaimed and a firm favourite with many across the cultural spectrum.

Hmmm. Toasty.

Of course, the real question will be whether ‘The Pacific’ will be as successful as ‘Band of Brothers’? Based upon the prestige of the previous series it will certainly grab some ratings, but I’m wondering whether it will capture the same poignancy and gravity as its predecessor? Having the understated and humble veterans of the Easy Company recounting their experiences of the episode about to be played certainly gave it grounding when watching the action scenes and stronger attachment to the characters. ‘Band of Brothers’ was all about ‘Easy Company’ and while each episode flits focus across a huge cast of characters, often to the detriment of a first time viewing, you sensed the ‘esprit de corps’ and the motivations that drove ordinary men to perform extraordinary feats for their comrades.

Can ‘The Pacific’ blend two stories into one and still capture the breadth of experiences from the lowly private to the combat commanding officers in ten episodes? I certainly hope so! The Pacific theatre is certainly ripe for a ‘Band of Brothers’ take but will it be able to distance itself away from recent films such as ‘The Thin Red Line’, ‘Letters from Iwo Jima’ and ‘Flags of Our Fathers’. Here’s looking forward to this March…