Masters of the Air (Band of Biggles)

[Inspector Norse]

The third part of Tom 'n Steve's WAR trilogy arrives this week. On Apple instead of HBO, which is possibly a coup for Apple though the show has been in some sort of development hell (or possibly just been taking its time to make sure it gets it right) for ages.
Trailer has some vaguely corny stuff with GURLS BACK HOME but otherwise it's the usual load of handsome young unknowns (with a couple of big names who were cast before they made it) getting shot at, with added planes and flying effects that look better than the ones in Band of Brothers that are by now sadly dated.

Anyway Band of Brothers was an incredible piece of television that (apart perhaps from the aforementioned planes) still holds up really well now for the way it tackles Edwin Starr's eternal dilemma, and goes a good way to examining why it has such a grip on the popular imagination: ordinary men in extraordinary situations, situations that intensify the human experience and the bonds between them, making them do and experience incredible and horrifying things. Not much glory - and lots of guts - but sure, a recognition of the men's achievements, but not shying away from criticism.

The Pacific was decent, very good at times (mainly the bits traipsing around the hell on earth that was Peleliu), but was awkwardly paced and structured and never captured the ensemble magic. I think that showing how the men's experiences affected them back home and on leave was an understandable departure, but that meant it lost the sense of continuity and intensity that came from spending the whole of Band of Brothers just following the men on campaign (that one episode where Damien Lewis went to Paris, rode the metro and got traumatised by a boy who looked like a soldier he'd shot said as much as three or four episodes of The Pacific in that sense).

Will this one be any cop? It's got Barry Keoghan in it.

[Dex Sawash]

The Pacific was decent, very good at times (mainly the bits traipsing around the hell on earth that was Peleliu), but was awkwardly paced and structured and never captured the ensemble magic.

Watched pacific a few weeks ago and just tolerated it until over. Impressive they were able to cast that many adults who weighed under 160 pounds and never been in a gym.


Didn't click with Apple teaser for masters of air but will probably watch anyway.

[Shaxberd]

Blimey, it's finally happening - I remember this being talked about not long after the Pacific came out but so much time passed I figured it wasn't ever getting done.

Band of Brothers is a marvellous piece of work which is now a who's-who of young British actors that went on to become much more famous. I went through a bit of a stage in my early twenties where I'd watch it two or three times a year but it really rewarded repeat viewing to recognise all the small details and the huge number of different characters with their own plot threads.

The Pacific has some strong performances but spreading the narrative across three leads made for a weaker story, I think. The latter half is impressively harrowing, it's not something they should shy away from but also not something I want to revisit.

Reviews for this one look good. Hopefully the BBC or Channel 4 will pick this up as I'd rather not sign up to another streaming service.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

With Apple TV+, it's very easy to cancel a subscription immediately after starting it, so you only pay one month. Just wait for the whole series to be available.
Otherwise, it's unlikely it will show up on a regular network. A physical edition might be a possibility, but nothing more.

[AliasTheCat]

Watched the first episode of this last night and it was... fine. Like, perfectly competent, as you'd expect, but did nothing beyond that, at least so far.
The scenes of bombing runs were the best bits, showing how vulnerable the crews were, but the dramatic set-up was very by-the-books and I wasn't enamoured with any of the main characters, in fact I found them both actively unlikeable. Damien Lewis did the stoic, teetotal soldier with immense and believable charisma in Band of Brothers but I can't say the same about Austin Butler here. Maybe it's just that I'm older, not sure.



Will watch the second episode tonight and hope it improves- the fact they've released the first two episodes together implies they wanted them to be seen at the same time. I seem to remember that they did the same with BoB on the BBC and watched together they were brilliant.

[Inspector Norse]

Watched the first one last night too and more or less agree. The bits in the planes were excellent, but on the ground it didn't make as much impression. Impossible not to compare it to BoB, of course, which managed to pack so much into its opening episode by focusing entirely on training and preparation and thus got us really familiarised with the group and its dynamics, and a handful of key personalities, rather than just two or three here, so that when they went into battle in the second episode we really felt like we'd gone through something with them. The build-up here did feel a bit more token.

Didn't dislike the main characters as such, but they haven't had that much development yet. Austin Butler is unrealistically handsome, is one problem. I have read a couple of reviews that say it is a slow burn and it takes a few episodes to really get to know the ensemble, so here's hoping.

[There Be Rumblings]

Solid enough start, but it felt a bit over-produced. Almost too cinematic, if that makes any sense at all, where you're meant to be on a damp airfield in Suffolk but every sky is a CGI stunner and everything is glossy and graded to within an inch of it's life. Fairly or not, it is going to be compared to Band of Brothers, which was always at its strongest when it was gritty and dirty and it felt like you were there with them, down in the mud in a freezing foxhole waiting for hell to come over the horizon. Austin Butler's character Buck didn't seem to have a single natural-sounding line, everything he said was overwritten, and the James Dean thing he's doing makes his character hard to believe. There were some proper stereotypes in there too.

On the upside though, the aerial sequences were amazing, and Crosby has the potential to be an interesting central character/ narrator, if they give him room to breathe. The ensemble is starting to form and Keoghan was typically dependable. The strongest bit for me was when the two navigators were just chatting shit in the hospital in episode 2, and some character broke through in that natural, likeable way that BoB was so good at between the set pieces.

I desperately want this to be brilliant, so I'm really rooting for it to find the emotional depth to match the fantastic action sequences.

[HMS Beanspiller]

Wasn't particularly impressed with the first episode but, stereotypical, moustache-twirling evil RAF men aside, it found its feet in the second ep. Crosby feels like a well-rounded character who will form the heart of the show - I'm already worried if he'll make it out the other side. BTW I thought the actor who plays Crosby must be Matthew Broderick's son but no, he's a Brit.

[Proactive]

Just feels like I've seen it all before.

[badaids]

Whoever said thst it will be unfairly compared to Band of Brothers is spot on.  But is it really that unfair a comparison?  Band of Brothers is not only the best war series, but I think its second only to the Sopranos and in front of the The Wire for series generally.   Like The Sopranos it walks the line between drama and comedy magnificently.  It's perfectly cast, written, produced and judged. I only have to hear the theme music and I start welling up.

I'm looking forward to seeing this as I love all those area planes and that and I am fascinated by WW2.  Would rather it have been about Bomber Command but there you go.

[madhair60]

masturs of the bate

[Dex Sawash]

Saw first two eps, thought most every scene was incomplete or didn't really have a purpose.

[madhair60]

nor did the war, ahhhh.

edit: oh wait, yes it did.

[Oh, Nobody]

Will this one be any cop?

It's got Barry Keoghan in it.

[gilbertharding]

Whoever said thit it will be unfairly compared to Band of Brothers is spot on.  But is it really that unfair a comparison?  Band of Brothers is not only the best war series, but I think its second only to the Sopranos and in front of the The Wire for series generally.   Like The Sopranos it walks the line between drama and comedy magnificently.  It's perfectly cast, written, produced and judged. I only have to hear the theme music and I start welling up.

I'm looking forward to seeing this as I love all those area planes and that and I am fascinated by WW2.  Would rather it have been about Bomber Command but there you go.

This is pretty much my opinion, except I almost definitely won't watch it (not out of spite, or anything like that - I just don't have the subscription).

Band of Brothers was perfect, and I'd maybe quite like to watch something that was a bit like it.

But, didn't they already do this with Memphis Belle (1990)?

And have you read Len Deighton's Bomber? That's outstanding.

[Blue Jam]

Watched the first one and found it... expensive. Not fully invested yet but will give the second episode a go tonight.

Never watched Band of Brothers and I really need to rectify that.

[gilbertharding]

Never watched Band of Brothers and I really need to rectify that.

Oh my God! I wish I could watch it again for the first time.

Ross from out of Friends is in it! He's AMAZING!

[badaids]

Oh my God! I wish I could watch it again for the first time.

Ross from out of Friends is in it! He's AMAZING!

Watched the first one and found it... expensive. Not fully invested yet but will give the second episode a go tonight.

Never watched Band of Brothers and I really need to rectify that.

Listen you, he's right you really need to sort this.

One of the reasons that Ross from friends is so good is that he is groomed to look exactly like Ross from friends and you expect him to be Ross from Friends so when he turns out not to be Ross from Friends it kicks you really hard.

Band of Brothers has turned out to be a talent spotting thing you can go « oh look there's Tom Hardy », or « is that him from lock stock » or «  hang on is that Michael Fassbender ».

Now go and sort yourself out and get it down you.

[badaids]

This is pretty much my opinion, except I almost definitely won't watch it (not out of spite, or anything like that - I just don't have the subscription).

Band of Brothers was perfect, and I'd maybe quite like to watch something that was a bit like it.

But, didn't they already do this with Memphis Belle (1990)?

And have you read Len Deighton's Bomber? That's outstanding.

Band of Brothers has in effect ruined all other wars series because it's impossible to make anything that good again. I mean the Pacific was okay, but its miles behind BoB.

Don't know shit about Bomber but will check it out.

Have you seen the reconstituted and colourised footage from Bomber Command on You Tube.  There's a few of them stuck together as longish documentary / image essays with minimal commentary.  They're pretty amazing.

[Blue Jam]

Listen you, he's right you really need to sort this... ...Now go and sort yourself out and get it down you.

CaB watchalong anyone? Think I'll start tonight...

[gilbertharding]

One of the reasons that Ross from friends is so good is that he is groomed to look exactly like Ross from friends and you expect him to be Ross from Friends so when he turns out not to be Ross from Friends it kicks you really hard.

...and when Ross from Friends crops up in one of the later episodes!!

Seriously though, you realise that the actor who plays Ross from Friends is actually a bloody good actor... although apparently his performance was criticised at the time:

"Part of the problem ... may have been the ridiculous fact that Friends favourite David Schwimmer plays the hard and cruel Captain Herbert Sobel. The only thing believable about Schwimmer's acting is when he cowers in the face of true battle. His puppy dog eyes make him appear even more pitiful."

I never really got that Capt Sobel was supposed to be anything other than a man desperately pretending to be hard and cruel - which completely comes across in the performance.

[studpuppet]

Don't know shit about Bomber but will check it out.

Worth searching out the BBC radio adaptation online.

In 1995 the BBC's Radio 4 broadcast a "real time" dramatisation of Deighton's documentary novel Bomber, covering the novel's action following RAF Lancaster bomber O-Orange's take-off in 1943, life in the German town that was its allocated target, the bombing raid and the plane's return at night. The drama threaded through the station's unchangeable schedule of news and current affairs from early morning to midnight.[5] It starred Tom Baker as the narrator, Frank Windsor as Air Marshal Harris, Samuel West as Lambert, Emma Chambers and Jack Shepherd and told how the raid had "changed the lives" of many men and women – British and German.

[gilbertharding]

Worth searching out the BBC radio adaptation online.

It's not on the Sounds app - I'd like to hear it.

The descriptions in the book of people being killed - often 'out of the blue' (condsidering there's literally a war on) are as harrowingly matter-of-fact as anything I've read since Thomas Cromwell's end in the Hilary Mantel book.

[gilbertharding]

Have you seen the reconstituted and colourised footage from Bomber Command on You Tube.  There's a few of them stuck together as longish documentary / image essays with minimal commentary.  They're pretty amazing.

I'll look out for it.

There used to be a load of really brilliant Cold War era RAF documentaries on there. Some of them were 'look at our amazing jets' propaganda, but of course, they were filmed in Britain on a budget of £5 and a shiny apple, so they look like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

The most fascinating ones, in a way, were the ones that focused on what ordinary life was like for a serving airman - greasy haired layabouts in wooly jumpers hanging around dispersal huts, ordering spare parts, applying for leave... The account that posted them has deleted them for some reason

[badaids]

I'll look out for it.

There used to be a load of really brilliant Cold War era RAF documentaries on there. Some of them were 'look at our amazing jets' propaganda, but of course, they were filmed in Britain on a budget of £5 and a shiny apple, so they look like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

The most fascinating ones, in a way, were the ones that focused on what ordinary life was like for a serving airman - greasy haired layabouts in wooly jumpers hanging around dispersal huts, ordering spare parts, applying for leave... The account that posted them has deleted them for some reason

There's a brilliant all access one with Bucanneers on a carrier from thevm late 70s/80s with a Vangelis soundtrack - i love that one.

But I love even the jingoistic films like Strategic Air Command which is ostensibly a drama but really just stone hearted propaganda.

I agree that the best ones are the most mundane ones.

[badaids]

Worth searching out the BBC radio adaptation online.

Cool I look forward acquiring that thanks.

[badaids]

...and when Ross from Friends crops up in one of the later episodes!!

Seriously though, you realise that the actor who plays Ross from Friends is actually a bloody good actor... although apparently his performance was criticised at the time:

"Part of the problem ... may have been the ridiculous fact that Friends favourite David Schwimmer plays the hard and cruel Captain Herbert Sobel. The only thing believable about Schwimmer's acting is when he cowers in the face of true battle. His puppy dog eyes make him appear even more pitiful."

I never really got that Capt Sobel was supposed to be anything other than a man desperately pretending to be hard and cruel - which completely comes across in the performance.

Schwimmer absolutely nails his part, that criticism is bollocks. He knocks it out the park as the villain. For me in terms of odiousness is up there with Joffery in GOT. As you say you have to be a good actor to do that.  But the relief of his friends character does amplify the performance all joking aside.

Mind you, all the actors nail it, from the leads to the smallest parts.

[badaids]

It's not on the Sounds app - I'd like to hear it.

The descriptions in the book of people being killed - often 'out of the blue' (condsidering there's literally a war on) are as harrowingly matter-of-fact as anything I've read since Thomas Cromwell's end in the Hilary Mantel book.

It might be on Fourble.  They have everything else ever...

[badaids]

CaB watchalong anyone? Think I'll start tonight...

Gah, I watched it recently. I only cried twice, once when one of them dies and the bit when they do the reveal on which talking head is which character.

I might be tempted tho...

[gilbertharding]

There's a brilliant all access one with Bucanneers on a carrier from thevm late 70s/80s with a Vangelis soundtrack - i love that one.

But I love even the jingoistic films like Strategic Air Command which is ostensibly a drama but really just stone hearted propaganda.

I agree that the best ones are the most mundane ones.

There's a good one where the conceit is that the V Bomber Force are Insurance Men.

Just to be a pedant - the Buccaneer one with the Vangelis soundtrack is the RAF, not the Fleet Air Arm, and they're 'attacking' HMS Kent - a destroyer. The magic moment is when they locate the target, and the leader shouts "Red and Black, Bananas Bananas" for some reason.

1:54 in this clip