DJariya

Synopsis:

jpb07

Really wish I didn't have to wait for it to pop up overnight. It's not BOB but it's better than 99.9% of what's on TV today. I'm surprised that they are going to address Basilone's story from Camp Pendleton to Iwo Jima in one episode.

Rypro 525

as a reminder, the episode is about 65 min (or thats the run time) so pad just in case it goes over)_

Rypro 525

that was jarring and unexpected, post sex, then BAM D Day IWO Jima

Geofferson

Great episode tonight.

whoopdido

Sorry, but the first part, all the way up to Iwo Jima, bored me to tears.

I know just last week I was complaining how The Pacific just seemed to be battle after battle, so now I feel like kind of an idiot saying that I didn't really like everything EXCEPT for the battle scene.

Not sure what it was, but the Iwo Jima battle scene seemed way more interesting to me that most of the previous battles. Can't put my finger on it, but the end was great, but like I said, most of the stuff beforehand was pretty boring. I did like the training sequences though and Basilone's speach about respecting the Japanese soliders.

Next week looks intense.

Osiris3657

I really enjoyed this character development episode alot more than the one focusing on Leckie...think that was part 3 or 4.

greydt

I wasn't bored, but at episode 8, it seems like the makers of this series have made pretty much everything throughout the series either stoic or solemn. The only joy that seemed to have occurred so far was when 1) the guy crapped his pants running away from the hidden Japanese soldier, and 2) Basilone talking about the cup of coffee he had the day after his Guadalcanal experience.

At this point, I don't even want to bother comparing it to BoB - the series is just missing something at a basic storytelling level. Although as usual, the combat scenes are well shot.

Damn, I really hate being the naysayer - I want to like this series so much, but I don't see it having much replay value for me in the future.

LickTheABCs

I was bored up to Iwo Jima too, but it wasn't really the fact that there wasn't a battle or anything, it was John Seda. I never really liked him so I just didn't care about his love life.

dolphinboy

Glad that I'm not the only one who thought most of this ep was boring as hell.

BoB? Not even close by comparison. Overall, very disappointed considering my very high expectations.

Geofferson

Regardless, it makes sense why two directors were credited for this episode. Curious who directed what.

whoopdido

Totally agree. I've been looking forward to this series for years. It's like beating a dead horse, but yeah it's good, but I was expecting SO much more. I've stopped comparing it to Band of Brothers too. I think somebody mentioned it earlier, but one thing The Pacific has done well is show just how GREAT Band of Brothers is.

And to echo your point about replay value. Any time I'm flipping through the channels and happen to catch a rerun of BOB on HBO or the History channel I get drawn into it no matter what episode it is and end up watching for at least 15 minutes. I watch The Pacific on Sunday night and don't even think about it again until the next Sunday. I honestly don't see myself ever watching The Pacific again and that's so opposite from Band of Brothers because I could watch that every day.

outcastja

I really enjoyed this episode, maybe because I'm in awe of Basilone. After reading his wiki-bio, he seems more heroic than the show depicted him to be. I didn't realize in the episode where he held off the Japanese soldiers, that there were about 3000 of them. He could have left the Marines and lived as a hero for the rest of his left, but went back to fight. It's hard to believe he was only 28.

Here's a piece written by a Marine who was there the day Basilone died:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...041,full.story

clckworang

I've been a few episodes behind but finally caught up for this week's new episode. I have to agree with those who were bored through much of the episode. I couldn't get very involved in Basilone's love story. I just didn't feel that emotionally invested in it.

whoopdido

I didn't quite understand the timing of it either.

How long was he at the base and "wooing" the girl before he was shipped out?

I mean it seemed like he met her, she didn't like him at first, but over the span of a couple days he convinced her to go out with him and then within a couple more days they got married. I know that does happen occasionally, but the whole timespan seemed ridiculously short.

Eddie W

That's exactly what I'm not liking about this show, the inability to give the feel of the passage of time. Basilone's been in the mainland for a year already? It's like everything just happens real quickly, without any storytelling behind it. I get a better idea of what happend from the 90 second voiceovers from the survivors in the beginning than I do from the hour that follows.

And the battle sequences are just everybody running around and getting blown up without any kind of scope or drama. Reading the background about Basilone is revelatory because I'm sure not getting that from this program.

It almost feels like a highlight reel from a much longer miniseries.

Red Dog

As soon as he found love, I knew he was as good as dead.

whoopdido

I just looked up Basilone on Wikipedia and it says he first arrived at Camp Pendleton on 12/27/43. He got married on 7/10/44, so almost 7 months after he initially arrived. He seemingly met her right away and got married very soon after he met her, but it was more like 7 months. In the movie he seemingly went right from his honeymoon to Iwo Jima, but he died on 2/19/45, so that was probably another 6 months. So, from the time he first arrived at Camp Pendleton to the time he died, it was almost 14 months. The movie did a TERRIBLE job explaining that passage of time. I literally thought all this happened in like a matter of weeks or at most a couple months.

Now, we just spent an entire year with Basilone. Are they going to explain what Sledge, Snafu and the rest of the marines were doing for the 14 months that Basilone was falling in love? How can they just skip and entire year of Sledge's life?

Dr Mabuse

Another good episode.

Basilone was one of America's finest.

Mordred

Based on that photo, they did a really good job casting Lena.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I had no problem realizing the passing of time in his courtship of Lena. Given that he was transferred to Hawaii for more training before going to Iwo Jima, I don't have a problem with them skipping right from the honeymoon to the beach landing. I really enjoyed the episode.

Mopower

They also did a job casting hot women to replace the real life counterparts.

Bill Needle

No doubt:

mugwump

This was a tough episode to watch since anyone who's read about John Basilone knows how it's going to end.

I've finally figured out what, for me, is missing from this series. In BoB the elderly veterans talking at the start of each episode figured prominently in the story and when their names were finally revealed at the very end it was incredibly powerful stuff. Seeing the real-life counterparts to the characters you've just watched through 10 or so hours really grounded the whole thing in a unique way.

But when they finally do the big reveal at the end of The Pacific will we know who any of these men are? The Big Three in the story are all deceased and while I don't want to diminish what these veterans went through I just don't see myself having the same reaction as I did when I finally realized that I had been watching the real Bill Guarnere, Carwood Lipton, etal on screen all that time.

TruGator

They went back in time to show what Basilone was doing since he left Guadalcanal. The time line for last night's episode covered a lot of ground. For example, according to the dates you listed, when Basilone arrived at Camp Pendleton, the 1st Marine Division was at Cape Gloucester (episode 4). Also, Sledge and company were on Peleliu from September - November 1944, and at the same time Basilone was training with the 5th Marine Division to preparation for the Iwo invasion.

I'm sure they will tell you what Sledge and them have been up to since Peleliu because they have told us where they went after every battle so far. They went to Melbourne after Guadalcanal and went to Pavuvu after Gloucester.

I agree with others that this series isn't as good as BoB because it lacks a central narrative. Going back and forth between three main characters allowed us to see different parts of the war, but as a storytelling device it is not as fluid. However, I think it's easier for BoB to have a consistent narrative because it only deals with one company over about a 12 month span, whereas The Pacific is covering 3-4 years. Remember, the 1st Marine Division spent more time in Melbourne after Guadalcanal than Easy Company spent in Europe fighting.

My favorite episodes of the series have been 5-7, which deal with Sledge and Peleliu. I really like the characters of Sledge and Snafu. One of the warmest/funniest parts of the series was when both of them were in a foxhole and the old Gunny was talking to them and left by saying something like "woof woof" and Snafu says something like "what the hell was that?" and then they start cracking up.

whoopdido

Thanks for the information. That's helpful.

But that makes me believe even more than the series failed miserably to properly explain the timing of everything. It seems almost impossible to tell the stories of 3 different people in 3 completely different areas and doing completely different things, but even still, I think they could have done a better job in that respect.