Masters of the Air | Apple TV+ (WWII miniseries from Spielberg, Hanks)

[Starkers]

It looks like a great series but as with the good Doctor above i struggle to keep up with all the characters apart from the main leads. What kind of shocked me was how young some of the crews were and appeared. I swear to god that i saw children playing a dice game dressed in Air Force uniforms and they went out to fight over Nazi Germany - an incredible generation.

I was shocked the first time I realised Wing Commander Guy Gibson was only 24 when he commanded the Dambusters raid, but then my frame of reference was always the 1955 film and Richard Todd (who decades later may or may not have been given acting advice on the set of Dr Who by Mathew Waterhouse) was in his mid thirties.

 

[FPAlpha]

Damn - what a brutal episode and it's only the third.

Spoiler: Episode 3

It happens in every war - an overly ambitious plan, relying on too many things having to go right and if one thing fails the entire plan unravels and it's usually much too late then. I am not too familiar with the air campaigns of WW2 so i didn't have advance knowledge what would happen but in the briefing i knew instantly that this would not work.

Seeing it fail though was gut wrenching - the bombers exploding and going down all around them, people falling past their cockpit - simply brutal. There is a reason they will be called The Bloody 100th and we now see why.

It's now a must see show for me and i'm a bit bummed i can't binge it like Band of Brothers back then but oh well, something to look forward too each week.

 

[Aragorn]

Regarding episode 4, I don't know the actual story, however....

Spoiler

when the top-billed actor and the narrator of the series both go down off screen, they're not dead.

 

[1987SpaceGuy]

Regarding episode 4, I don't know the actual story, however....

Spoiler

when the top-billed actor and the narrator of the series both go down off screen, they're not dead.

same boat/plane as you. You are likely right.

Episode 4 was good, different angles, character and stories

Spoiler

(at base, in London, on the ground in France/Belgium)

 

[FPAlpha]

Yeah, offscreen is not something to be too concerned about usually and i don't believe they'll throw a curveball here and surprise anyone.

They're moving the timeline forward at a fast pace, skipping a few months at a time but the worst is possibly yet to come when they start true long range bombing deep into Germany and up to Berlin, which is where the P-51s finally come in and i can't wait to see the Red Tails get into action. They might have fudged the history a bit because the Red Tails didn't operate with the 100th but i figure they are one iconic unit and well known that they included them.

I am purposely not looking up the history of the 100th so i don't spoil myself on general events but i believe they are now at their lowest, the time that gave them the nickname "The Bloody 100th" and this episode showed the effect of the constant losses. It will look up soon for them but for now they are taking a beating every time they go up.

 

[Kraig]

Regarding episode 4, I don't know the actual story, however....

Spoiler

when the top-billed actor and the narrator of the series both go down off screen, they're not dead.

Warning, clicking the link could be considered a spoiler.
The actual story.

Spoiler

He didn't die until after WWII

 

[FPAlpha]

Damn, that was a depressing episode ( even more depressing than usual).

At least we saw them jump out this time.

 

[1987SpaceGuy]

that sequence in the air with all the blown-to-bits-airplane parts falling down and then the crew saying nobody around on all sides - goose bumps.

Indeed very depressing.

 

[marillion]

Indeed... Definitely got a lump in my throat at that.

I cannot image the sheer horror they went through. My dad fought in WWII, in the Navy. I have two photo albums of pictures he and others took. Mostly pictures of him and his shipmates goofing off. He rarely spoke about the battles he was part of. He served in the South Pacific theater and saw a lot of bad things.

Like others, early on I was concerned about the lack of development for some characters and I think I now know why. A lot of those men weren't around long enough for them to even get to know each other all that well.

 

[Jedi Marso]

that sequence in the air with all the blown-to-bits-airplane parts falling down and then the crew saying nobody around on all sides - goose bumps.

Indeed very depressing.

Would have had more impact for me if the parts hadn't been tracking along with the bombers at 100+ knots as they floated like feathers on their downward fall. When the planes first came apart the pieces would have had some forward momentum, then they would have arced more steeply downward and been whipping past the still-flying bombers, not falling (practically floating) gracefully along their flight path. Once again, the CGI artists have no understanding of physics, relative motion, or how that scene should have actually looked. I'm really just having to hold my nose on the FX on this show but I'm enjoying the rest of it.

This episode was indeed depressing.

 

[wayoung]

Jesus that battle was something. I can't remember the last time I watched something that had me reacting the way I did to it.

 

[FPAlpha]

Would have had more impact for me if the parts hadn't been tracking along with the bombers at 100+ knots as they floated like feathers on their downward fall. When the planes first came apart the pieces would have had some forward momentum, then they would have arced more steeply downward and been whipping past the still-flying bombers, not falling (practically floating) gracefully along their flight path. Once again, the CGI artists have no understanding of physics, relative motion, or how that scene should have actually looked. I'm really just having to hold my nose on the FX on this show but I'm enjoying the rest of it.

This episode was indeed depressing.

You don't think experienced FX companies like those needed to do the effects of such a show with such a budget know about basic physics? This was an artistic choice for the show, plain and simple.

 

[Jedi Marso]

You don't think experienced FX companies like those needed to do the effects of such a show with such a budget know about basic physics? This was an artistic choice for the show, plain and simple.

Except they appear to be making the same sort of 'artistic choices' every episode.

 

[FPAlpha]

Except they appear to be making the same sort of 'artistic choices' every episode.

Then that's the style they're going for. I don't complain when Tarantino spills blood out of bodies with what seems to be a powerwasher or that Michael Bay only seems to do action scenes in close up slow motion. It's fine if someone doesn't like it but in most cases, especially big budget professional shows like these, it is intentional and not a mistake.

 

[Aragorn]

Characters are also dying in ways they didn't die in real life, that's not by accident either.

 

[1987SpaceGuy]

Good episode, looking forward to next week.

Spoiler: Episode 6

• Bucky having many close calls - the shovel smash/splash part ugh
• Bucky and Buck reunited - albeit as prisoners of war
• Crosby guilt-talking about loosing Bubbles and trying hard not to fall for Sandra (middle name to the grave)
• Regardless, wonder if she will be recurring again and what her actual role is (intelligence service?)
• Rosenthahl wanting to keep the rhythm going and seemingly find it again at the end of the episode.

 

[Kraig]

Good episode, looking forward to next week.

Spoiler: Episode 6

• Bucky having many close calls - the shovel smash/splash part ugh
• Bucky and Buck reunited - albeit as prisoners of war
• Crosby guilt-talking about loosing Bubbles and trying hard not to fall for Sandra (middle name to the grave)
• Regardless, wonder if she will be recurring again and what her actual role is (intelligence service?)
• Rosenthahl wanting to keep the rhythm going and seemingly find it again at the end of the episode.

In real life:

Spoiler: Episode 6 October 17, 1943

Buck enters Luftwaffe-Controlled Stalag Luft III in Sagan, Germany on October 17, 1943. This is two days before the first escape from Stalag Luft III that occurs on the evening of October 19. Three successfully escape. Two of the three who got out weren't Buck or Bucky in real life, but for the TV series who knows?

 

[1987SpaceGuy]

In real life:

Spoiler: Episode 6 October 17, 1943

Buck enters Luftwaffe-Controlled Stalag Luft III in Sagan, Germany on October 17, 1943. This is two days before the first escape from Stalag Luft III that occurs on the evening of October 19. Three successfully escape. Two of the three who got out weren't Buck or Bucky in real life, but for the TV series who knows?

Spoiler: speculation beyond Ep 6

I think there is a quick scene in the shows opening sequence of a guard tower - maybe of that place Buck and Bucky are in - being attacked by a plane.
Haven't gone back to rewatch it tough .
Maybe rhythm-Rosental is gonna attack that place to help a break out.
Also the red tails special plane & crews from the opening sequence haven't been introduced yet either.
Maybe it's them or they are teaming up.

 

[FreezeC77]

Ep 7 surprised me a bit

Spoiler

Given that they were in Stalag III and of course many know Hollywood made 'the great escape' based on the 70+ British/RAF prisoners who mass escaped from the place and then Hollywood inserted Americans into it even though it had been all British/RAF I was wondering if we were going to get any of our leads involved. When Bucky talking about escaping I thought they were going to be involved.

Then we just got an American officer basically delivering the contents of 'the great escape' in a walk in the door and deliver a few lines of dialogue. It was far more realistic to what happened in real life since no Americans were ever involved, but I wasn't expected the show to actually go that way.

Also. In terms of the Crosby storyline. I know that a major portion of the show's narrative structure and 'characters' are based on Crosby's own book about his war experiences. Did he actually write about having an affair? If he did then kudos for admitting to it... but if he didn't then it feels a little cheap for the show to give him one.

I had read a recap of the episode where he was sent to speak in London and the woman he met was real and that Crosby in his book wondered if she was a spy and perhaps if he had been 'tested' by her.

Ep 8 preview

Spoiler

Looks like the shows creators are indeed going the 'she was a spy' route and creating a plot for her. I'd rather just continue to focus on the 'air' part tho.

 

[Q2UnME]

Episode 7 .... Another really good outing for this series. Definitely worthy of a second viewing. Lot's of spinning plates in the air and I think they are doing a pretty good job servicing the multiple story lines/arcs.

As an aside, is this series suppose to be 8 episodes or 9 episodes in length? I can't seem to remember, I think 9. Given we've not reached D-Day yet, I think they need 10 episodes (total) to cover the remaining time/events....