The History Channel is currently showing an episode of Band of Brothers each night at 10:00 EST. They started on Thanksgiving night with the first episode, Currahee. It is a 10 part series based on the book by Stephen E. Ambrose. It follows the men of E company 506 PIR 101st Airborne from training in Georgia to D-Day to Holland to the Battle of the Bulge to V-E day. It is a great depiction of the life of a soldier and very accurate too. I suggest that you watch it-if you haven't already. The book is also very good too.
Hey Hessler, Welcome! Agreed, BoB is a great series, better than most WWII films about WWII. Heck, I own the Band of Brothers DVD set but I still watch it every time it's on the history channel. A quick note about posting what's on TV. Since you are in the US your post is relevant to US residents, but when we post something like this on the web a lot of people internationally don't get the History channel etc., so we should probably post the time and timezone of the broadcast (as you did), and the channel and country you are in, so that people can quickly tell if they are is the broadcast area. Just a thought.
Hi, Hessler! I simply love the series, though I don't have the DVD-set yet… Maybe I'll give it to myself as Christmas present. I had it on tape but I've managed to lose some chapters. And last week they showed it in A&E, but I missed it… The series is amazingly well-done, acted, casted, directed. The music, cinematography, etcetera. The 4th, 9th and 10th chapters are my favourites. I liked the series much more than the book, though.
Friedrich H, may I ask why you liked the series more than the book? And did you read it or watch it first? I've already promised the DVD box set for myself this christmas, but I've only just bought the book so am making myself wait until that's read. Having missed the series on tv here in the uk I've never actually seen it yet, but with so many good reviews I don't expect to be dissapointed.
First, let me welcome you to the forums, Ezri. Hope you enjoy yourself here. I like the series more because it was much more humane. It focuses more on individuals and the cruelty and daily matters of war (shown from the point of view of private soldiers and junior officers) rather than the actual history of the 'Easy' company. Not surprinsingly, of course, since one is a dramatic mini-series and the other is an historical account of a specific combat unit. I liked the series more because of that. And I liked the book but didn't love it. I've read historical accounts with a more expressive language, more detailed and which make you want to read them in one day and re-read them. But it's a good read, anyway. Worth it. But I suggest to watch the films only after reading the book. I'd have enjoyed it much more had I read the book first.
Thank you Fredrich H for the info and the warm welcome. Going by what you said I may well enjoy the series more as I am interested in the more human stories than facts and figures. However, I will read the book first (just started it in fact) partly to get the historical data in my brain first and partly because I think it's always best to read the books first anyway. As you suggested there seems to be 2 types of historical books, one which concentrates on the facts and figures and the other type that brings the human story alive more expressively, the latter of which I personally prefer. Thank you for your thoughts and I look forward to watching the series very much.
