The Pacific

I have to admit Snafu grated on me at the beginning, but the dynamic between him and Sledge became one of the better things about the series by the end. In a sense, their personalities switched places along the way --- Snafu from essentially amoral to more compassionate, Sledge from a timid kid to a stone killer.

 

Steak, that's exactly what I was getting at. Early on I did not like Snafu at all and really didn't expect him to become such a central character the rest of the way. But I think the turning point for me in their relationship and how their personalities switched was when Snafu twice stopped Sledge from cutting out that dead Japanese soldier's gold teeth. From that point on almost everytime you see Sledge kill a Jap they quickly pan to Snafu's wide-eyed reaction.

Now I don't know what I'm going to do with my Sunday night's between 9 and 10. At least there's still Breaking Bad.

 

True Blood starts back in a month.

 

Eh, I'm not into vampire shows or movies. I know this one is supposed to be deeper than your typical vampire series but that's just not my cup of tea,

However, Entourage I see is returning at the end of June.

 

Snafu was completely fascinating. You didn't know what to think of him, thought he was kind of strange but then he grew on you. The evolution of the relationship between him and Sledge is another pretty good counter that there was no character development in this series.

 

Had several WWII vets tell me that this show is a piece of shit. Too much Hollywood is what they've gold me.

 

C'mon man, "several" WWII vets? Who has a chance to talk to "several" WWII vets over a 10-week period? There's just not that many of them around anymore, unless you're hanging out at the VFW hall or are Bob Feller's personal chauffeur.

The Pacific wasn't anymore "Hollywood" than Band of Brothers, I don't think. And BoB was pretty much universally praised by veterans.

 

Drip, sorry if this comes off the wrong way but I think you're full of shit -- and that's a more direct way of saying I agree with Steak.

I talked to the one WWII vet I know personally and though he didn't watch every episode, the ones he did watch he said were right on the mark and really hit home. In fact, that's why he didn't watch the others because, like so many vets said about Saving Private Ryan, the realism was such that it brought back nightmares he didn't want to revisit.

 

I haven't spoken to anyone about The Pacific but one guy in particular that was in Europe during the war and was in the thick of the shit more than most gave high marks to Band of Brothers and said Saving Private Ryan was eerily accurate.

 

6) You're a braggart and a blowhard.

7) Your "opinions" are nothing but mealy generalities.

8 ) You make every thread you post on about yourself.

12) On current events topics, you are utterly obtuse. On sports topics, only slightly less so.

14) You torture us with your ponderous, monochromatic writing.

20) You bring nothing to any discussion on any topic. Neither wit, nor color, nor thought, nor invention.

24) You spend more time backpedaling than a Russian circus bear on a unicycle.


30) You never admit when you're wrong. Which is often indeed.

31) That when guests visit the site, they might take your drivel as being representative of the other minds at work here.

 

Since the series was based on books written by two of its lead characters, I'd say the odds are prohibitive that it was indeed realistic. If you are into military history, and anyone who watched this series must be, you absolutely must read Sledge's book.
One thing about the war. Was re-reading some Ernie Pyle about a month ago, and in every other column, he made the point that the percentage of soldiers in actual combat was very small compared to the overall size of the armed forces. And the historical truth is that U.S. industrial efficiency and its amazing mastery of supply and logistics were the number one contribution we made to the Allied victory (Stalin said: Britain gave time, the U.S. gave gold, the Soviet Union gave blood, a biased but not wholly inaccurate summary.) I wonder if you could make a series about that? Would people watch a war story without combat?

 

You're full of shit.
The correct number is four which is why I used the word several. Also, we ran a special on vets which is why I had the pleasure of talking to them on several subjects including the series. Two of those gentlemen served in the Pacific, one of whom was on Iwo Jima. They only talked badly about the Pacific. No other show or movie was mentioned.
I don't have anything to prove and wasn't trying to prove anything. I'm just relaying what two gentlemen who were there told me about their experience.
And Slappy, of your 35,274 posts this one most resembles you and your childish antics. Keep up the good work. Deterioration. Detroit. and You. - A perfect combination.