Mini-series - 10 episodes
Rent Band of Brothers on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Created by: Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg
Based on: Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose
Directed by: Alex Kurtzman
Starring: Kirk Acevedo, Michael Cudlitz, Scott Grimes, Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, Neal McDonough, David Schwimmer, Donnie Wahlberg, Colin Hanks, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bamber, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Graham, Tom Hardy, James McAvoy, Simon Pegg, Andrew Scott
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
The story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord to V-J Day.
Verdict
This isn't just a good show, it's amazing. It's the greatest season of television I've ever seen. From the story, characters, and inspiration, everything about this season is simply exhilarating. It's a depiction of war that shows the excitement, disappointment, destruction, and futility that's intrinsic. Over the season we get to know and care about these characters, and we fear for their safety. Throughout and especially when the season ends, we're touched by their bravery and sacrifice. The writing is impeccable, there are so many smart writing choices in each episode that lend to the narrative. The writers rose to the occasion of capturing a monumental event.
Watch It.
Review
I first saw this show years ago, and I was thoroughly impressed. It was the greatest season I had seen then, and it still is. It's an absolutely amazing experience made all the more harrowing because this story is based on real people and events.
Every episode starts with brief interviews of veterans as they talk about their experiences related to what's in the episode.
This season follows the 101st airborne starting in boot camp through each of their campaigns. David Schwimmer plays the boot camp instructor, Sobel, and it can be difficult to find Schwimmer credible if you've seen Friends recently. Sobel is hard on the recruits, and it doesn't seem like a ploy to unite them. Sobel is weak, and preys on those weaker than him to feel powerful. He's afraid. You wonder if the higher ups can see through him.
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| James Madio, Ross McCall, Ron Livingston, Rick Gomez, Michael Cudlitz, Elon Bailey play Perconte, Liebgott, Nixon, Luz, Bull, Webster |
Winters (Damian Lewis) proves to be a natural leader and skilled tactician. That bothers Sobel who attempts to bully Winters, and is surprised when Winters doesn't cave. In just one episode this show covers a lot of ground. It's an amazing episode with a lot of characters, but it picks out a couple of people as a focus.
The second episode is where the 101st makes their first jump. It's an intense scene as plane engines drone, gunfire erupts, and planes start to explode. It's madness, a contrast between the rigors of boot camp and the realities of combat. The company is scattered as no plane made it to the drop zone. Every episode ends with a quote or text that leaves you with a powerful thought. It's often a reminder that these events happened. Soldiers were there, they fought, they suffered, and some survived.
The third episode has an assault on a village. It's pandemonium as soldiers clear houses while gunfire never subsides. It's gory and gruesome. Blithe (Marc Warren) has quite the journey in this episode, but it also shows us how quickly fortunes change.
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| Ron Livingston, Damian Lewis play Nixon, Winters |
We see replacements in episode four. None of the soldiers want to befriend them as they're just going to die. Soldiers see the world one town at a time, but many of them in shambles. You'd think the violence would stop when towns are liberated, but it doesn't. Townspeople castigate anyone that befriended the Germans, but you have to wonder if that was a tactical move for survival. When someone has a gun in your face, what are you going to do? That's not a question for this show to explore. This focuses on the soldiers.
Episode five makes it clear in the opening interviews that these veterans are or knew some of the men depicted in the show. Winters always thinks about his men first, always. He runs in first to a group of Germans to create a distraction for the attack. Winter's battlefield exploits earn him a promotion. The company is headed to Bastogne, and it has to be unnerving when you're headed to the line and the guys returning are talking about how they were slaughtered. The company is short on supplies, ammo, and clothes. The episode six interview snippets have all of the veterans stating how bad Bastogne was. They're spread too thin to keep the line. The general tells them to hold the line anyway and close the gaps, but they've got nothing and nobody with which to accomplish that. It's an untenable position, and this show does such a good job of capturing what life is like. It's hopeless. This episode follows medic Doc Roe (Shane Taylor), and we see the futility of his mission as he begs for supplies and sees men die. All the episodes are well written, but this one especially shows how the show knows when to shift focus and which character to pick. This is a show that makes the right narrative choice every single time. This episode shows the desolation, fear, and hopeless that takes over when you lose hope.
One of the things that I find touching is the dedication these men have to the unit. Joe Toye (Kirk Acevedo) leaves the hospital early to return to the front line. He doesn't want to let his men down. He's not the first one we've seen leave aid. I can't help but love this show, from the story this tells to the characters developed. This captures the fear, calm, and hectic mood of war. Toye comes back to the line, but for what? Bastogne seems futile. This episode especially is disheartening. Nowhere is safe. They finally leave Bastogne and everything after is awe inspiring. Winters has to watch an inferior leader send his platoon into harm. He then sends Speirs (Matthew Settle) in, and this is a side character that's been developed as a bit wild, even malicious, but he's heroic in this episode. Episode seven is amazing, and while part of it is what the show has been building for six episodes, nonetheless it's a breathtaking episode. The writing is beyond impressive. This episode is narrated by Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg), a character you can't help but like.
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| Damian Lewis, Matthew Settle play Winters, Speirs |
Webster (Elon Bailey) missed Bastogne and returns to a company he barely recognizes with all new officers. He's treated like a replacement because he didn't endure it. We've seen time and again how shrewd Winters is. This episode proves it yet again. He'll protect his men from the enemy or the higher ranks.
The company has been across Europe, some fighting for four years. We see how it's taking a toll on them. Then on a patrol they find a concentration camp. They don't even understand what it is at first. No one realized this was happening. While the neighboring town claims ignorance, the soldiers don't believe that.
Early in the final episode, Winters shows Nixon (Ron Livingston) a picture from episode one. It's a reminder of how much has change just nine episodes earlier. Hitler is dead, the war is ending, and the soldiers don't know what to do. Despite the war being over and staying in Austria, men are still dying. Winters runs into Sobel. It's a tense moment.
We get a fitting voice over from Winters on what happened to Easy company. It's powerful, and in the final scenes the veterans interviewed at the beginning of the episodes are revealed. The men we've seen depicted like Winters and Lipton, we saw their real life counterparts without knowing it. This has to be making a point about how you never know the story of people you see. You don't know the story of the older man you pass on the street. Seeing these veterans now and knowing what they've been through, it's incredible. It's humbling, harrowing, and then you realize so many of those men aren't able to provide an interview because they didn't survive. It's such a touching moment that brings this entire series together. The series concludes on a beautiful quote from Major Winters, "I'm not a hero, but I served in a company of heroes."
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