The Pacific Box Set
HBO seems to have done it again with a hit television series entitled The Pacific. The series is produced by HBO, Seven Network Australia, Sky Movies, Playtone and DreamWorks. Since premiering in the United States on March 14, 2010, the show has quickly made a name for itself.
People seem to love TV shows, mini-series’ and movies revolving around history and war. The Pacific is highly comparable to the hit miniseries in 2001 entitled Band of Brothers. The series centers around the United States Marine Corps’ actions in the Pacific Theater of Operations of the Pacific War.
The difference between this series and Band of Brothers is that Band of Brothers solely followed one company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment through the European Theater. While The Pacific is focused on the experiences of just three marines, these three marines are all in different Regiments of the 1st Marine Division.
Fittingly, the miniseries awakened in the light of co-executive producer Bruce McKenna, who is one of the main writers on Band of Brothers. The same kind of passion, devotion, and attention to detail that was delivered in Band of Brothers can be found within The Pacific because of a cast like McKenna. Also aboard the cast includes Hugh Ambrose, who is the son of Band of Brothers author Stephen Ambrose. Hugh served as a project consultant on the series.
In a nutshell, the series focuses primarily on two memoirs of U.S. Marines; With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene Sledge and Helmet for My Pillow by Robert Leckie. While the miniseries tells the stories of these two authors, it also tracks the life of Marine John Basilone along the way as the war against the Empire of Japan grows.
On top of this, the show takes pieces from Sledge’s China Marine and Red Blood, Black Sand. This is a memoir of Chuck Tatum, who is a Marine who fought next to Basilone on Iwo Jima.
There is no doubt the realism of the show is what captivates audiences along the way. The Pacific features well-known battles with Japan that involved the 1st Marine Division including the likes of Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, Peleliu and Okinawa. On top of this, there are parts from the Battle of Iwo Jima and Basilone’s experiences within.
Following the miniseries, Hugh Ambrose wrote the official tie-in book to The Pacific. This too follows the stories of the three men that were featured in the miniseries, along with their fellow Marines. This was published in the USA and UK in March 2010.
