Band Of Brothers - General Discussion

[OriginalCyn]

About BoB not being shown this Memorial Day weekend....I was just thinking about things while watching WWII In HD (an excellent documentary series narrated by Gary Sinise), and it dawned on me that the reason may very well be that June 6th this year will be the 70th Anniversary of D-Day.  Seeing as how that was Easy Company's first action in the war, whichever network(s) with broadcast rights may be planning to air it that weekend as June 6th is on a Friday.

 

I could be way off base, but IMO that could very well explain why it's not on this weekend.

[Wilowy]

Nice write-up at the AV Club for this episode, a personal favorite for me. 

 

http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/band-brothers-why-we-fight-205104?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=Default:1:Default

[JTMacc99]

I think Curahee is an episode that grows on you more as you rewatch the series, because once you know the characters, it's so much more enjoyable to watch their journey from the raw recruits to the men they are (or were) by the time the war ends.

It certainly has grown on me. I start to pick up on things that really never would have occurred to me the first time through and maybe not even the second time. For example, when I watched it again over the Memorial Day weekend I found myself noticing the relationship between the men and ALL of the officers. It seems like the hate for Sobel tainted the other officers. Even if the men did respect the other ones, Winters included. It obviously isn't until D-Day +1 where all of the Sobel stink is washed off of them.

[JTMacc99]

As a TV Show, this might have been the most powerful episode of the entire series for me because it did so many things to suck me into the story. The way the episode ended couldn't possibly have been more powerful. I was permanently connected to the characters and the story that was being told.

 

By finishing with a graphic explaining who received medals and the fact that the event we saw on the screen is still taught in West Point today, I became emotionally attached to actual veterans we hear from at the start of each episode, and to the men I'm watching portray them.

[JTMacc99]

Last night NOVA had a two hour special on D-Day where there was a ship with multi-point sonar looking at all of the sunken ships and equipment on the bottom of the English Channel. During the part I watched, they had an 88 year-old veteran join them on the boat and then on a mini-sub to go down and look at the LST he was on during the D-Day invasion when it was hit by a German mine and sank with 117 of the 125 men on board. It was very moving, especially when he visited the cemetery and found his commanding officer.

 

They did mention that it was the 70th anniversary of D-Day, and it occurred to me that if anybody is going to run a Band of Brothers marathon, it will probably be over the D-Day weekend this year.  (Having said that, I did go back and watch episodes 1 and 2 anyway and threw up a couple comments here about what I noticed this time.)

[Kev]

HBO Signature is showing BoB today. 

[Danny Franks]

Funnily enough, I was planning on rewatching Band of Brothers over the weekend anyway, after watching some of the D-Day memorial coverage.

 

There's been a lot of talk about Pegasus Bridge and the British 6th Airborne sent to capture it, and it makes me wish anew that HBO had decided to go ahead and adapt Stephen Ambrose's book on the story. The first engagement of D-Day, and the BBC spoke to the first German soldier to encounter Allied forces on D-Day, while guarding the bridge.

 

One little story I've always loved about the battle is that of Richard Todd, a British captain who fought at the bridge, and then became an actor after the war. And in The Longest Day, he actually played Major John Howard, his old commanding officer.

[Danny Franks]

 

 

By finishing with a graphic explaining who received medals and the fact that the event we saw on the screen is still taught in West Point today, I became emotionally attached to actual veterans we hear from at the start of each episode, and to the men I'm watching portray them.

 

Agreed. The show was so good at linking the actions depicted on screen to real, breathing history. It's easy to watch and think, 'oh yeah, that's just unrealistic' about so many things in the show, but then you stop and realise that these were real men and this is a historical account (sure, with some dramatic licence thrown in).

 

They show Winters coming up with the plan of attack after a cursory glance at the German positions. He's had no time to prepare or take stock of what the Germans have got or what he's got, he just applies his training and his own understanding of the situation, and crafts a plan that was so good that, as you say, they still teach it at West Point.

 

It's funny though, watching Speirs be a dick in this episode. Possibly (though probably, if accounts since can be relied on) killing those German prisoners, and then sacrificing his men in a foolhardy attack on the last 88. Because he becomes such a hero later in the series. But perhaps it's his ruthless dedication to fighting that allows him to become that hero in The Breaking Point.

[Danny Franks]

It certainly has grown on me. I start to pick up on things that really never would have occurred to me the first time through and maybe not even the second time. For example, when I watched it again over the Memorial Day weekend I found myself noticing the relationship between the men and ALL of the officers. It seems like the hate for Sobel tainted the other officers. Even if the men did respect the other ones, Winters included. It obviously isn't until D-Day +1 where all of the Sobel stink is washed off of them.

 

I think that Sobel's asshattery definitely tainted all of the officers in the company, just by association. It's hard to be respected when they stand there silently as Sobel berates the men and treats them unfairly. But, I think there was also an element of not trusting any of the officers until they'd proved themselves. After all, what makes them entitled to command the men, in training? Once Winters proved himself on D-Day, and other officers like Welsh and Compton, they seemed to have the undying respect of the men they commanded. 

 

Some of them seemed to like Winters more, but there wasn't much of a connection at first. I think they wanted to show that bonds like those in Easy Company are forged in battle, even while they might be designed in training and boot camp.

[cocobeans]

I thought every scene of this episode was written/shot/acted just perfectly.  My favorite part though was Winters raging on the edge of the forest wanting so badly to run down to the battle an lead his men "Easy Company" out of danger.  Damien Lewis did a fantastic job of portraying the agony Winters felt seeing Dike fail and thereby expose those good men to bad shit.  That this episode was told through Lipton was also an excellent decision, he had a foot in both worlds (the men and the officers).  I cry every damn time I see the series, but this episode crushes me.

[cocobeans]

Gong of Doom while there were a lot of stories about Spiers killing POWs, there was never any proof that it happened.  While in the Church at the end of the fight in Foy, Spiers addresses the rumors and denies them.  He claims that he never denied the stories before because there is power in the guys thinking he was "mean and crazy".  He went on to have a long Army career, retires out a Lt Col.

[Wilowy]

But... Malarkey saw him do it. Am I missing something?

[bourbon]

I tried very hard to watch this when it came out in 2001 but found there was enough war on TV post-9/11.  And I just found it hard to engage with the characters.  Besides Damian Lewis' Winters and David Schwimmer, I couldn't tell any of the minor characters apart.  They all seemed to be fresh-faced, earnest brunettes attempting American accents with varying degrees of success.  I finally sat down a year or so later and watched it.  I was completely hooked and have watched it several times since.  Now on a binge-watch with mr bourbon, who has never seen it. 

 

It certainly has grown on me. I start to pick up on things that really never would have occurred to me the first time through and maybe not even the second time

 

It's taken several re-watches, but the smaller characters do start to pop into focus, and on this rewatch, I started to recognize more members of Easy Company like Petty and "Smokey" Gordon.  The striking thing is still Damian Lewis' performance.  It seems such a hard thing to make someone so interesting without being able to resort to histrionics.  The performance reminds me of Morgan Freeman's in Shawshank.  Their characters largely react to things going around them rather than being the catalyst for the action. Freeman's performance, and Lewis' performance here, are quiet, dignified, restrained, and utterly compelling.   I lived in the UK during the 90s when DL was with the RSC.  I tried to get cheap tix to RSC productions whenever I could, and I was always disappointed to see his name on the cast list.  I really, really disliked him for some completely inexplicable reason.  I wasn't expecting much here, but he certainly won me over. 

 

I actually quite liked David Schwimmer.  And although I did sometimes half expect him to yell, "We were on a break!" I thought he did an admirable job.  Particularly in the scene where Sink tells him he's taking Easy away.  Pathetic, petulant and sniveling in a way I thought Ross never was. 

 

Fun to see the actors in small roles, paticularly the Brits, that have gone on to fame.  Look!  There's Michael Fassbender as Christenson getting chewed out by Sobel for drinking from his canteen!

 

Off to watch Ep 2...

[bourbon]

This was a harrowing watch, but I think what made this realistic was the very thing that turned me off on my original viewing in '01.  It's so dark, so fast and frenetic in the assault on the guns, that it is hard to tell who's who.  I wanted to engage emotionally with the characters, but I couldn't.  It's better, of course, watching it again from the perspective of having seen the series several times, but there were a lot of "Who's that?  Which guy is he?" questions from mr bourbon.  I think the most effective part of the ep for me was the extended, nearly-silent opening shot of all the men on the planes preparing for what was to come.

 

Watched this with mr bourbon, who himself is a retired combat vet.  Made for an interesting viewing companion.  After Speirs (perhaps) mowed down the German prisoners, there was a grim, "Welcome to war." 

[Danny Franks]

This was a harrowing watch, but I think what made this realistic was the very thing that turned me off on my original viewing in '01.  It's so dark, so fast and frenetic in the assault on the guns, that it is hard to tell who's who.  I wanted to engage emotionally with the characters, but I couldn't.  It's better, of course, watching it again from the perspective of having seen the series several times, but there were a lot of "Who's that?  Which guy is he?" questions from mr bourbon.  I think the most effective part of the ep for me was the extended, nearly-silent opening shot of all the men on the planes preparing for what was to come.

 

 

I remember the TWoP recaps were very critical of the early episodes, because it was difficult to figure out who was who, consistently. And the attack on the guns scene in this episode is probably the toughest in the entire series. Because it does move so quickly, and Winters rattles off names so fast you can't figure out who's doing what, and there are even some characters in there that you didn't even see in the first episode.

 

But I think the confusion and mayhem of the way it was all constructed really lends itself to understanding just a little bit of what it must have been like. And I've always liked the way the show slowly builds on your awareness of the different characters. Starting with Winters and Nixon, and expanding to Compton and Guarnere and Malarkey, Martin, Bull, Gordon, Perconte, Roe. By the end of the series (or by the time a character dies), I really felt attached to all those guys. But it's a process, and I like that the show is constructed in a way that doesn't say, 'here are your core group of characters. Care about them and not about the other, vaguely defined schmucks' right from the start.

[Danny Franks]

Malarkey says in Carentan that he didn't see it. I guess he was telling the truth, even though it looks like he does see it happen in Day of Days, or at least he sees the immediate aftermath. It seems like one of those things that grows every time it's retold, which plays into Speirs' theory that it works in his favour, helping cultivate his badass image.

 

I freakin' love that wrap up scene, with them all playing baseball. They all look so happy and carefree, and it's so richly deserved. A great moment for the guys and for the audience, who has invested all this time with them. The warmth and heart in Winters' voice as he talks about what the guys all did after the war is just so touching (though I have to say, I think that scene posted above differs from the one on my DVD. The voice over doesn't sound quite right). As is the humbleness of so many of their careers. Mailman, taxi driver, construction worker. These were men who went through hell, again and again, who saw the worst the world has to offer, and then they went home and got jobs and raised families, like it was no big thing. It's remarkable, but I guess it's something that was true for thousands and thousands of men who served in the Second (and First) World War. You do your duty, and then you try to get on with your life.

[Wilowy]

I always thought he was covering when he said he didn't see, or sticking to the literal truth to defend his buddy, because we did see him look immediately after. 

 

That said, I loved your post, Danny. Even made me tear up a little. :'3

[bourbon]

I have to say that the immediate post-invasion episodes, particularly this one, are my least favorite of the series.  By necessity, they are action-driven rather than character-driven, but I miss the sense of feeling invested in the soldiers' fates if I don't really know them yet.  I can't say I'm very engaged in Blithe's fate, since the only glimpse I've had of him is a brief glimpse on the deck of the troop transport ship.  It's interesting, too, that the book and the show got it wrong...Blithe didn't die in 1948 but lived a couple more decades, had a family, and didn't die of his war wounds.  It doesn't really lessen the impact of the overall theme of fear and overcoming it in battle, but for me, it lessens the impact of Blithe's individual story.  I do love the end of the episode with Mallarkey picking up the dead men's laundry.  Very nicely played.

 

Look!  There's The Good Wife's Marc Warren as the hysterically-blind Albert Blithe and Ben Caplan from "Call the Mid-Wife" as the oft-wounded, poetry-writing Smokey Gordon.

[bourbon]

This episode is where the series really starts to pick up for me.  I love Bull's detour hiding out in the Dutch farmer's barn.  It felt like an old Hollywood WWII movie.  Good (or bad depending on your point of view) to see Sobel again and the company's reaction to him.  The men of Easy have said that Sobel helped them become the company they were.  I wish I could say that Sobel had a cunning plan all along by making them hate him, the men could unite behind a common enemy.  But it feels more like Sobel was accidentally right.

 

Look!  It's James McAvoy as the not-long-for-this-world Private Miller!  Magneto AND Professor X in the same company!!

[Danny Franks]

The set piece battle scenes in this episode are really good, I think. The first, in the town itself, is a great depiction of the chaos of that sort of urban fighting, with bullets flying every which way, with soldiers losing track of one another and not being able to find cover because they find enemies in both directions. It reminds me a lot of the old Day of Defeat multiplayer game, which is a good thing. Fast, intense, frenetic.

 

And there's time for some nice little character moments with Lipton, Liebgott and also with Winters continuing to be The Man. As well as the building mystery of Speirs and the prisoners at the beginning, and the relative pleasantness of seeing guys reunited and comparing trophies and experiences. I can't imagine how good it must have felt for some of those soldiers to be reunited with their pals, after fighting and wandering Normandy.

 

The Battle of the Hedgerows is really good as well. Nicely built, with the sounds of German armour and advancing troops, the 101st completely outgunned and fighting for their lives. Some heroism from Welsh with the bazooka, too. And then the cavalry moment, where the 4th Armoured Division turn up and turn the tables. I particularly like the tank commander who's posing on top of his Sherman, blasting away with the 50 cal.

 

The stuff with Blithe is a little bit odd, in retrospect. I know other episodes focused on specific men, and gave different actors the spotlight, but this is really the only episode Blithe is in. Yes, he gets wounded at the end (and I agree it's strange they changed his fate), so he's gone from the series, but I just don't really know why they decided to give him so much prominence in the episode. Especially when he's not really sympathetic. I mean, I understand being scared, and I'm sure I'd be terrified, and Blithe did get some crappy advice from both Welsh and Speirs on how to deal with it. But really, as probably any Easy Company man would testify (and I think one does, in the veteranapalooza), everyone was scared, it was just a matter of how you dealt with that fear.

 

Plus, I always see Marc Warren as the hapless Dominic Foy from State of Play, which doesn't help.

[Danny Franks]

One minor bugbear for me in this episode: The way the British tank commander is shown to be a bit of an idiot, and the way all the heroic Americans are staggered at his stupidity. As a Brit, I'm quite sensitive to how Hollywood treats us in war movies, given the pretty vast contribution Britain and its colonies made to both the First and Second World Wars. Yes, Saving Private Ryan annoys me with, "Monty? That guy's overrated" from Ted fucking Danson.

 

Other than that, it's a good episode. We get to know the men a bit more, with the focus going on Bull and, to a lesser extent, Guarnere and Martin, as the experienced vets (who have only been fighting a matter of months, if that), showing the ropes to the new recruits. We get the introduction of Babe Heffron, who becomes a favourite of mine, and a couple of faces that become familiar in Hashey and Garcia (or is it Ramirez? I get confused with those two). Sure, McAvoy bites it, but I can't stand that guy, so it always amuses me.

 

Cobb is too much of a thick-headed bully for me to enjoy him, and I wish they'd not decided to portray him like that. I don't think he was like that in real life. So that's another little sour note.

 

The stuff in Eindhoven is tough to watch, for a number of reasons. The hatred and vitriol aimed at the women who slept with Germans, and also the joy and gratitude they show to their liberators, only for them to get bombed to hell a couple of days later, after the Allies are forced to retreat. Pretty scenery and some epic parachute drop shots, though.

[bourbon]

 

The hatred and vitriol aimed at the women who slept with Germans

Glad you mentioned that.  After I watched it the other day, I found this article about the "tondeuses," women that had their heads shaved for "collaborating" with the Germans.  An interesting read.

 

 http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/jun/05/women-victims-d-day-landings-second-world-war

Edited June 24, 2014 by bourbon

[ChlcGirl]

Other than that, it's a good episode. We get to know the men a bit more, with the focus going on Bull and, to a lesser extent, Guarnere and Martin, as the experienced vets (who have only been fighting a matter of months, if that), showing the ropes to the new recruits. We get the introduction of Babe Heffron, who becomes a favourite of mine, and a couple of faces that become familiar in Hashey and Garcia (or is it Ramirez? I get confused with those two). Sure, McAvoy bites it, but I can't stand that guy, so it always amuses me.

 

Oh my goodness ... do you know that I watched BoB maybe ... three times before I figured out that Garcia and Ramirez were two separate men???  I missed Ramirez in "Currahee" so when he showed up talking (finally) in "The Last Patrol" I assumed he was a replacement!  It didn't help that the two actors were never in a scene together lol

[bourbon]

Really excellent episode.  We've seen POV episodes before in the series -- Winters in Crossroads, for example -- but this is the first episode we've seen from a soldier's POV.  Very interesting in a show about soldiers who fight that it's Roe, a solider who doesn't fight who is the central figure of the ep.  All the more fighting to see first hand the tragic toll of the war.  We really get to see Roe's "otherness," how he was not really "of" the men.

 

I love Shane Taylor's haunted, haunting performance.  I'm surprised he didn't really break out after the series.  For years, he really had no other credits on his IMDB page.  I thought he was going to be Ewan McGregor or Jude Law big in the US.  Not to be, but it is still one of my favorite performances of the series.  

 

Considering so many of the Easy men are played by Brits, the American accents are pretty good for the most part.  I did notice after Smokey Gordon was shot, he said, "I CAHN'T feel my legs."  Heh. But a momentary slip-up with a cast that has to tackle not only generic US accent but several regional accents at that.  Speaking of accents, Frank John Hughes' accent as Philly boy Bill Guarnere is wrong.  It's maddening as a Philadephian to see movies and shows get the very particular Philadelphia accent wrong.  

[bourbon]

This two-episode suite set in the Ardennes is my favorite part of the series.  If "Day of Days" and "Carentan" are about the chaos of war, then "Bastogne" and "The Breaking Point" are about the bitter cold, the monotony, and the quiet terror of war.  I remember seeing a "making of" doc about the show and I seem to recall that much of the forest scenes were shot indoors on a large soundstage.  The trees, the snow -- everything.  Fake.  Amazing, because the bitter cold is almost palpable.  It's a harrowing set of episodes, especially this one, since we start losing familiar faces.

 

Donnie Wahlberg does an excellent job here.  I first saw him as an actor in "Sixth Sense" as the former patient who shoots Bruce Willis.  It's a great little performance, too.  Combat vet mr bourbon declared his Carwood Lipton the "perfect NCO."  He's another one I thought would have a huge acting career. 

[FozzyBear]

This is my favorite episode of the series. I just re watched it last night and it never gets old. Ditto to everything up thread about ST's performance as Doc. I'm also surprised he didn't become a breakout star after this role. I loved the strange almost Robert Altman like pacing and narrative of this episode. The "day in the life" approach without any obvious structure or arch really helps the viewer feel just how long that siege went on. How never ending it must have felt to the 101st. I also love how many points were made about how a company functions with each other without anything really being stated. My favorite was how Doc didn't use nicknames and how some of the guys didn't get why and took offense, but it was obvious to me. He can't name the puppy. He can't like one guy more than the other or start to think about someone's kids back home because then he can't make the decisions he has to. I liked how it brought home just how much carnage the medics saw. How it was just a never ending parade of sickness and wounds and death. My favorite scene is Doc leaning against a tree, listing to the battle start and waiting for the cry he knows is coming. It looks like he's just barely holding it together waiting, waiting, waiting. Always waiting until he has to help his friends die. Makes me cry just thinking about it.

[FozzyBear]

I cannot get through the opening credits without crying. Can't. Don't even try anymore. The combo of the score and the photography kills me every time. I'm actually getting a little emotional just thinking about it.

[Danny Franks]

Yeah, that music does it for me. Every. Single. Time.

 

I get choked up ten times in a row, whenever I rewatch the series. It's just a really beautiful, elegiac, evocative piece of music. Really powerful, without being overblown or dramatic. And yes, it's even better when you know all those characters, and know the moments captured in the clips shown in the credits. I am a sucker for anything that focuses on the heroism and loss of war, I really am. As I get older, I find myself getting choked up more, whenever I think about the amount that ordinary men and women sacrificed, particularly in the First and Second World Wars.

 

Anyway, HBO are just so freakin' good at scoring their drama series. I presume there are awards for that sort of thing, and HBO should win them all.

 

I will also say that the music for The Pacific was really good too. It didn't grab me quite as quickly as Band of Brothers did, but it's powerful and evocative in a very similar way. Perhaps a touch more grandiose, but still... shivers.

[Danny Franks]

If anyone hasn't read Heathen's TWoP recaps of this show, then I'd recommend them so strongly. The one for this episode is absolutely brilliant, and it's remarkable to read, given that Heathen clearly wasn't much of a fan of the show over the first five episodes.

 

But the resonance of the losses Easy Company suffered in this one is summed up so well in her recap. I remember being just as horrified to see Joe Toye lose his leg, and then Bill Guarnere lose his, trying to save his friend. And Compton's breakdown, and Skip Muck and Penkala being blown to smithereens. It's traumatic viewing, it really is. And then the hatred I have for fucking Dyke, when he stalls that attack and men start getting hit. 

 

But on the other side of the coin, there is the quite, stoic figure of Lipton. The unassuming leader who positively exudes decency and strength and who you can't help but admire. And there's the strapping heroism of Spears, charging into danger without second thought, then charging into more danger, and just being balls-to-the-wall inspirational. There's even the (almost) irrepressible jokester, George Luz, trying to keep things light and leading in his own way. Making the men laugh and handing out his last cigarettes (yeah, I know that was in Bastogne, but that throwaway remark really made me respect Luz even more). Until even he's too traumatised by coming this close to death.

 

There's a real bleakness to the two episodes in the Ardennes, and they evoke the feel of the sort of stalemates that I associate with WWI and trench warfare. Stagnation, helplessness as shells rain down on you, seeing friends blown to pieces and not being able to do a damned thing to avenge them. Just try to dig deeper into the earth, and hope nothing falls into your hole. So much is made, in history, of the mobile nature of the Second World War. Blitzkrieg and tank battles and the urban fighting to clear villages and towns of enemies. These terrible, attritional stalemates often get overlooked.

[FozzyBear]

Every now and then I have a moment where I think I'm going to get all the way through it and then the clips of Buck dropping his helmet in horror during the Battle of the Bluge hits and I'm a bawling, snot filled mess.

[fastiller]

HBO On Demand is running the full series, presumably on honour of Veterans Day.

[Sharpie66]

I bought the boxed set a while ago, but just watched the special features disc this afternoon. I loved Ron Livingston's video diary of the actors's boot camp, especially the clip of Ron being forced to hold a push-up pose while a newly-arrived actor has to field strip his rifle (Ron had coached him through the procedure the night before). After a minute or so, every other actor who had been watching all voluntarily joined him in his push-up hold!

[Sharpie66]

I had bought the boxed set (Bluray, in the metal box) some months ago, but am just getting around to watching it today. I have seen it several times, of course, so I am watching the on-screen commentary by the vets themselves, which is really fascinating to hear. I had read the book about ten years ago, but I don't remember how much vitriol Ambrose spends on Sobel there. For some reason, I was thinking that the vets would soft-pedal their opinions on Sobel in the commentary--nope!! They were completely on track with how he is portrayed on screen. Unable to lead without pulling everyone else down, unable to read a map, picking on Winters for entirely petty reasons, prompting the court marshall hearing requested by Dick but dropped when Sobel is transferred, it was all true.

[Sharpie66]

Rewatching tonight, I realized that "Cowboy" Hall, the radio guy from Abel Company who hooks up with Winters, tags along at Brecourt, only to be killed, was played by Andrew Scott, Moriarty on the BBC Sherlock!

I am still trying to spot Jamie Bamber...

[Danny Franks]

Jamie Bamber only really appears, as far as I can recall, in the Ardennes episodes (and even then he only gets a couple of lines). I remember him most clearly when he's yelling at Dyke during the attack on Foy, questioning Dyke's order for him to lead his platoon around the side of the village.

[Shriekingeel]

Never heard this story before: How Dale Dye won his Bronze Star

[cocobeans]

Thanks for posting that Shriekingeel, very interesting!

 

In Hollywood, where there are so many want-to-be badasses, Dale Dye is the real deal :-)

 

Thank you for your service Dale

[cocobeans]

All the years later, rewatching BOB still blows my mind! What incredible people, what incredible accomplishments!  On this anniversary of D-Day, I remember!

[KHenry14]

The one thing I've always wondered about is how the families of these men thought of their portrayals. Sure Winters, Toye, Guarnere come off great. But I wonder how the families of Sobel, Dike and Blithe thought about it. Especially Norman Dike's family, because he's pretty well portrayed as a cowardly boob. That would bother me a lot if he was my Dad/Brother/Uncle etc.   Even if it was a valid portrayal, it would be difficult to watch.

[Gulftastic]

I'm not sure why but I find Lt Winters saying 'I request trial by Court Martial' somewhat sexy.

[Sharpie66]

Oh, yeah, but then, everything Damian Lewis does is sexy to me!

What I love about that scene is Sobel's stunned reaction to the request for court martial. He is so utterly flummoxed by it.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Sharpie66

[Traveller519]

The final scene of this episode always gets me, the triumphant music playing as the planes take off. Especially on re-watches when you know what lays ahead for these wide-eyed men.

[PBSLover]

Does anyone know why Rene L. Moreno is listed as a cast member in the beginning credits? The character he plays, Joseph Ramirez, has no storyline.  

[Epeolatrix]

It might be a legal thing that he is in the beginning credits if he has a certain number of lines or a majority of episodes. There's an audio interview with him that might explain more about, like if he had storyline that was cut or something.

[Megan]

Ive been searching all over and only found one other reference and most disagreed but Doc Roe was using morphine right? I totally wouldn't blame him, he runs to  horror in a hail of bullets but i thought it seemed obvious... like they show him "shooting up" while in a hole, or rather he's in the hole is doing something we cant see with his hands, tenses up and then reacts like he just took something

Edited August 12, 2017 by Megan

[KHenry14]

16 minutes ago, Megan said:

Ive been searching all over and only found one other reference and most disagreed but Doc Roe was using morphine right? I totally wouldn't blame him, he runs to  horror in a hail of bullets but i thought it seemed obvious... like they show him "shooting up" while in a hole.

Well, there's nothing in Ambrose's book about Roe self-medicating. If that's in the series its something the director put in there. 

[Constant Viewer]

19 hours ago, KHenry14 said:

19 hours ago, Megan said:

Ive been searching all over and only found one other reference and most disagreed but Doc Roe was using morphine right? I totally wouldn't blame him, he runs to  horror in a hail of bullets but i thought it seemed obvious... like they show him "shooting up" while in a hole.

Well, there's nothing in Ambrose's book about Roe self-medicating. If that's in the series its something the director put in there. 

I've seen the series several times and have never noticed this. I do remember one scene where he prays with a rosary and is counting off the beads with his fingers and that he ripped cloth to make bandages, but nothing to indicate drug use.  

[Megan]

1 hour ago, Constant Viewer said:

I've seen the series several times and have never noticed this. I do remember one scene where he prays with a rosary and is counting off the beads with his fingers and that he ripped cloth to make bandages, but nothing to indicate drug use.  

Its before the rosary scene, its towards the beginning of the episode. It just seemed obvious to me, but then nothing else happened with it during the rest of the episode. From my googling some other people felt the same way but most don't.

[Epeolatrix]

[Danny Franks]

I've watched this episode probably more times than any other episode of Band of Brothers, and I have never seen any indication that he's self medicating. If he was, that would fly in the face of the episode's narrative that Roe is constantly putting the rest of the company above his own needs, to the point where he's detached mentally and physically from them. He falls apart when he's finally forced to confront the fact that men he knows and cares about are being torn to pieces, and he's powerless to do anything to stop it.

The reason he wants the morphine is so he can better treat them. Hell, the first fifteen minutes of the episode are all about the fact he has no supplies to do his job, and is trying to find some.