Just turned on Ep1. Is the blonde our favorite commentator from 1883?
*** Masters of the Air ***
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I enjoyed the hell out of both episodes. I like the characters thus far, though admittedly it is still early and many are simply faces in the crowd. The effects look fantastic. And I like the score.
Told my wife I might have a hard time watching at times due to my dad. He is largely responsible for my life long love of WWII aircraft, with so many air shows and aviation museums growing up and even into my adult years. This is a show that he and I would have watched together, but he passed 6 years ago.
Told my wife I might have a hard time watching at times due to my dad. He is largely responsible for my life long love of WWII aircraft, with so many air shows and aviation museums growing up and even into my adult years. This is a show that he and I would have watched together, but he passed 6 years ago.
There isn't a ball turret big enough to hold the plurals of those gunners. Goodness.
Thats totall understandable, and didnt mean silly like "your opinion is dumb". I was just never expecting it to be a show that immediately pulls you in on episode 1.TCTTS said:PatAg said:
I like the first two episodes so far. I will say I think it is a bit silly to consider bailing after one episode of a miniseries.
Or even trying to judge the series as a whole off of one episode. And then comparing it to band of brothers, which you've all not only watched multiple times, but you at least seen the entirety of.
It could very well still end up being a step down from those shows but I thought episode 2 took a decent step forward from episode 1.
I'm sorry, but there just wasn't a single thing about it that made me want to watch the next episode. IMO, it was all so bland/paint-by-numbers, and it's obvious that the filmmaking, at least, isn't going to excite me in any way. I totally get just wanting to watch some WWII pilots do their thing, and that most in this thread are here for the history. But this kind of thing, if not taking big swings or doing something unique, just doesn't pull me in anymore.
I really wonder if anyone would feel the same about Band of Brothers first episode if they were watching it for the first time.
I think so, for all the reasons most people have listed. The actual real life story enabled them to start the show in boot camp, and you get to spend so much of the series with all the same people.
I suspect there is going to end up being a decent amount of characters coming and going, but I could be wrong.
I think rather than having the scene in the club, where the 2 girlfriends are giving the backstory, they should have just SHOWN us that back story. Make us believe these guys are friends by SHOWING them as friends.
First episode almost felt like I was watching a remake of Memphis Belle. (Which, I loved that movie.)
CGI pulls me out of it sometimes. And while there is some great acting, there's some pretty bad acting by some of the minor players that also pulls me out.
I don't dislike it and will definitely keep watching. Been waiting 10 years for this series.
CGI pulls me out of it sometimes. And while there is some great acting, there's some pretty bad acting by some of the minor players that also pulls me out.
I don't dislike it and will definitely keep watching. Been waiting 10 years for this series.
I'm enjoying the show a lot but also can see where people are coming from in saying that there's not a lot of character depth so far.
They don't let you bond with them as they went through training together like in BoB.
My grandfather was in the 418th squadron, the group that Callum Turner's character (Egan) becomes command pilot over at the end of the first episode. However from what I can gather, he didn't arrive until November of '43.
They don't let you bond with them as they went through training together like in BoB.
My grandfather was in the 418th squadron, the group that Callum Turner's character (Egan) becomes command pilot over at the end of the first episode. However from what I can gather, he didn't arrive until November of '43.
After his turn as Elvis and an American WWII pilot it's going to sting rooting against Butler as Feyd-Rautha.
I googled just to make sure shoehorning wasn't too on the nose there.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/shoehorned
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/shoehorned
Quote:
to fit something tightly in a particular place, often between two other things:
Watched the first episode. Enjoyed it for the most part. While a huge history nerd myself I can overlook some of the Hollywood-isms that go on, (hey they gotta make money, and if you made things 100% accurate like 8 people would watch it). Can't wait to watch the rest of them.
One thing I noted while watching was a short sequence where they showed the litany of things that had to happen for any of these bombers to ever get into the air. That was referencing the unsung ground crews who worked to prep the planes -from loading ordinance to folding maps, or fueling or repair work - work that was done in the wee hours while the crews slept.
I am an avid warbird fanatic. Love seeing the B-17s. I presume they had 1 or 2 for live action sequences but obviously used CGI for most of the flight scenes. Those scenes looked right to me - no physics-defying maneuvers as depicted in Red Tails.
I also appreciated the brief attack while they were approaching the Shetland Islands. Most viewers would assume those attacks came from fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf109, but the reality there was that the 109 did not have the range to carry out that attack. Elvis correctly noted those aircraft as Ju88's, which was a long range medium bomber that was also produced as a fighter-bomber. Nice attention to detail.
This show is made for someone like me. It is going to run 9 episodes. I don't understand bailing on it after only 1 episodes, but to each their own.
I am also not going to compare it to BoB or The Pacific until I have seen the entire series several times. I expect that it will compare favorably but ultimately will be my favorite of the three due to its focus on the air war and bombing campaign.
I am an avid warbird fanatic. Love seeing the B-17s. I presume they had 1 or 2 for live action sequences but obviously used CGI for most of the flight scenes. Those scenes looked right to me - no physics-defying maneuvers as depicted in Red Tails.
I also appreciated the brief attack while they were approaching the Shetland Islands. Most viewers would assume those attacks came from fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf109, but the reality there was that the 109 did not have the range to carry out that attack. Elvis correctly noted those aircraft as Ju88's, which was a long range medium bomber that was also produced as a fighter-bomber. Nice attention to detail.
This show is made for someone like me. It is going to run 9 episodes. I don't understand bailing on it after only 1 episodes, but to each their own.
I am also not going to compare it to BoB or The Pacific until I have seen the entire series several times. I expect that it will compare favorably but ultimately will be my favorite of the three due to its focus on the air war and bombing campaign.
I understand some of the criticisms but the first two episodes were pretty good.
It's a blessing and curse to be associated with Band of Brothers. That show was just so perfect in so many ways.
If MotA comes anywhere close to it, that's good enough for me.
It's a blessing and curse to be associated with Band of Brothers. That show was just so perfect in so many ways.
If MotA comes anywhere close to it, that's good enough for me.
My Dad was a B-24 pilot during WWII so I will definitely watch this. If it's just half as good as Band of Brothers it will be worth watching. I can't wait until a gay pilot comes out of the closet 
Can you block someone on the mobile app or does it have to be through the website?
I will likely watch every episode and hope it gets better. The first two were pretty flat and no development of the characters. The accents are horrible - the guy who says real strongly Natttseees is weak. Also, the five minutes of the unicorn in the bar in Greenland added nothing. Nada. Zip. Seriously, wtf was that for?
This book was always going to be more difficult to adapt to screen than BOB. It reads more like a big picture encyclopedia whereas BOB reads like a novel.
Focusing on Egan and Clevan is a good idea. It should make for a great series. I do hope we get an episode with Chuck Yager and Robert Rosenthal. I don't know how it would work so I'm assuming we won't get to see the Nazi's side (which was written in great detail in the book.)
I liked the narration. If anything, each episode needed 5 more minutes with more narration describing what was going on and what was at stake. These bits of narration are where the director is trying to convey what Donald Miller described in 50 page chapters.
I'm fine with skipping a training episode. Episode 1 had plenty of shots where we see what the airmen have been trained to do. I had to watch BOB several times before I started identifying individual soldiers rather than just Winters, Sobel, and Nixon. I think this series will be similar in that regard.
80% currently on Rotten Tomatoes seems about right for the first two episode. I'm excited to see more.
Focusing on Egan and Clevan is a good idea. It should make for a great series. I do hope we get an episode with Chuck Yager and Robert Rosenthal. I don't know how it would work so I'm assuming we won't get to see the Nazi's side (which was written in great detail in the book.)
I liked the narration. If anything, each episode needed 5 more minutes with more narration describing what was going on and what was at stake. These bits of narration are where the director is trying to convey what Donald Miller described in 50 page chapters.
I'm fine with skipping a training episode. Episode 1 had plenty of shots where we see what the airmen have been trained to do. I had to watch BOB several times before I started identifying individual soldiers rather than just Winters, Sobel, and Nixon. I think this series will be similar in that regard.
80% currently on Rotten Tomatoes seems about right for the first two episode. I'm excited to see more.
I know Rosie Roenthal was cast. He flew with the 100th so he'll be in it. I'm not sure I've seen anything about Yeager being cast. In fact, they haven't mentioned or shown the fighter escorts for the bombers at all which is disappointing to me.
I think they've added the narration to replace what Band of Brothers had with the veteran interviews at the beginning of episodes. The Pacific didn't have those either, but they had extra interview content on the DVD sets. All the people being portrayed have sadly passed away so I don't think we're going to get that content.
BoB was so unique because Ambrose wrote it back in the early 90s when there were still a ton of WW2 vets (most would have started hitting their 70s around that time) left around and the show came out when in 2001 which was less than 60 years after the war and the vets were starting to hit their 80s. We're 81 years removed from where Masters of the Air starts off. Very few WW2 men are left these days and most are closing in on being 100 if they are.
I think they've added the narration to replace what Band of Brothers had with the veteran interviews at the beginning of episodes. The Pacific didn't have those either, but they had extra interview content on the DVD sets. All the people being portrayed have sadly passed away so I don't think we're going to get that content.
BoB was so unique because Ambrose wrote it back in the early 90s when there were still a ton of WW2 vets (most would have started hitting their 70s around that time) left around and the show came out when in 2001 which was less than 60 years after the war and the vets were starting to hit their 80s. We're 81 years removed from where Masters of the Air starts off. Very few WW2 men are left these days and most are closing in on being 100 if they are.
I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that they actually didn't use any live B-17s. I think there are only 7-8 left that still fly after they had that terrible accident in DFW that destroyed one last year. I think they built 2 replicas, 1 accurately size and one with a little bit larger interior for camera work.
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wangus12 said:
I think they've added the narration to replace what Band of Brothers had with the veteran interviews at the beginning of episodes. The Pacific didn't have those either, but they had extra interview content on the DVD sets. All the people being portrayed have sadly passed away so I don't think we're going to get that content..
It's not like BoB didn't have narration as well. Wahlberg\Lipton narrating the episode where Spiers becomes CO of Easy. Multiple episodes of Damian Lewis/winters voice overing. The market garden episode. Eagles nest/final episode, finding the liquor and wine, giving Nix first go, etc. Can't remember if it was every episode though.
Finally caught the 2nd episode today and found it much better than the 1st and much closer to the feel of BoB. I think the voice over helped in that regard. Still have issues with the CGI. I wish they would have used practical more, if at least on the takeoff/landing/taxing shots.
Haven't watched, yet, because we want to finish BoB before jumping into this.
But this came across my IG feed, and I thought some of you here might be interested. About to listen to the first episode.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-masters-of-the-air/id1727191019
But this came across my IG feed, and I thought some of you here might be interested. About to listen to the first episode.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-masters-of-the-air/id1727191019
Only watched the first episode so far, but this about sums up my thoughts https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7095198
I mean, I'm going to watch the whole series no matter what, hope it gets better than the meh so far
I mean, I'm going to watch the whole series no matter what, hope it gets better than the meh so far
https://ts.la/eric59704
The loss of Texas Raider still stings.
Well those are damn fine looking replicas that looked like the real deal. I do remember wondering if there were any F variants left (static or flyable). The B-17s one typically sees at air shows, and Texas Raiders, are G variants with the stationary chin gun emplacements.wangus12 said:
I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that they actually didn't use any live B-17s. I think there are only 7-8 left that still fly after they had that terrible accident in DFW that destroyed one last year. I think they built 2 replicas, 1 accurately size and one with a little bit larger interior for camera work.
Excuse me, but that's not how we do things around here. If you don't like a show, you don't just stop watching it - you show up here week after week to make sure everyone else knows how much it sucks.
Caught the first 2. This is exactly what I thought it would be and thoroughly enjoyed it. I believe it's on par with The Pacific, but not as good as Band of Brothers. But come on now, almost nothing is as good as Band of Brothers.
The CGI was fine. I thought it was as good as Top Gun Maverick.
The CGI was fine. I thought it was as good as Top Gun Maverick.
I was left with a cynical feeling as well, but not from a storytelling perspective. My cynical feeling was for the beating the 100th BG is going to take all season. They didn't call it the bloody 100th for no reason.
SOME of the CGI is good. Some of it is comically bad. Like it was almost a stylistic choice to make it obvious that it was CGI.
Provide examples of comically bad.Sweet Kitten Feet said:
SOME of the CGI is good. Some of it is comically bad. Like it was almost a stylistic choice to make it obvious that it was CGI.
watched episode 1 and this show is awesome. I'm loving it. It is prestige TV. Expectations back to normal. I'm laughing in good ways about how over the top badass Elvis is in this and I'm laughing at Saltburn guy also in a good way. It checks the prestige boxes on cinematography, musical score and dialog without the cringe. My airfare history loving 16 year old son is all in on the B-17 details.InternetFan02 said:
Disappointing and sounds like it's more like Midway and Greyhound than prestige TV. Expected more from Cary ***unaga and this brand. Expectations recalibrated but hopefully it's still worth watching.
I think this will be like the pacific where I'm confused on details and faces most of the time and will enjoy it even more on future rewatches. I'm rewatching the pacific this weekend in this order 10 8 9 2 1 3 4 5 6 7 10 where I choose where to bounce next after each episode and started with the ending.
If anybody wants to listen to an interview with John Orloff, the shows creator, check out the We Have Ways of Making You Talk" podcast with James Holland and Al Murray. It's a great podcast about WWII in general but this episode was amazing with some behind the scenes stuff about writing and development. Orloff also wrote "Day of Days" and "Why We Fight" for Band of Brothers.
There were some facts he gave about the 100th Bomb group that shocked me, and I won't post due to spoilers, but I will say when you see stuff happen to planes and people, it's not just Hollywood but what actually happens to those people and aircraft in the 100th. A background B17 that doesn't have a main character that gets hit and explodes or crashes is what happened to that exact plane flying in that position on that particular mission. Phenomenal research
There were some facts he gave about the 100th Bomb group that shocked me, and I won't post due to spoilers, but I will say when you see stuff happen to planes and people, it's not just Hollywood but what actually happens to those people and aircraft in the 100th. A background B17 that doesn't have a main character that gets hit and explodes or crashes is what happened to that exact plane flying in that position on that particular mission. Phenomenal research
I think something a lot of people may not expect or really even thought about, is how different an experience the pilots would have had in WW2. They would basically just be hanging around in safety, training and shooting the ****, but really just waiting to fly back up into hell on missions.
That back and forth could be really interesting if done right
That back and forth could be really interesting if done right
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Cinco Ranch Aggie said:Provide examples of comically bad.Sweet Kitten Feet said:
SOME of the CGI is good. Some of it is comically bad. Like it was almost a stylistic choice to make it obvious that it was CGI.
I know you aren't quoting me, but I'm going to reply anyway. I wouldn't say anything is "comically bad" but multiple examples of very obvious CGi though. The one that really stood out to me was in Episode 2, during their take off, the lead plane as it starts to get up to speed, just very obviously is computer generated. It was like the plane was too bright/lighting was off and contrasted disproportionately to the background. Then as it gets airborne , seemed to "float" in such a way that isn't real. The crash into the Scottish farmers field was also pretty bad. The way the plane clipped the edge of the cliff was pretty rough from a cgi standpoint.
Wasn't there a scene with Germans firing some sort of anti-aircraft guns up at the sky as well? I thought I recalled that and it seemed pretty bad.
Something salacious you'd think given the surfeit of hair and lip.
PatAg said:
I think something a lot of people may not expect or really even thought about, is how different an experience the pilots would have had in WW2. They would basically just be hanging around in safety, training and shooting the ****, but really just waiting to fly back up into hell on missions.
That back and forth could be really interesting if done right
The podcast I posted, that's exactly what Tom Hanks and the author of the book said they wanted to convey. That this was a totally different experience for these guys. They went from comfort and safety to the most dangerous job in the war. And the ones that made it back were asked to do it again. The first episode of the podcast is very good.
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