The Reel Rejects - BAND OF BROTHERS 1x01 & 1x02 REVIEW – THE PRODUCTION SCALE IS STAGGERING! – FIRST TIME WATCHING

Episode Date: April 17, 2026

THE D-DAY DROP WAS PURE CHAOS… Full Length Watch Alongs & Early Access:   / thereelrejects   Gift Someone (Or Yourself) An RR Tee! https://shorturl.at/hekk2 Andrew Gordon & John Humphrey step into one of the greatest war series ever made, bringing you their Band of Brothers Episodes 1 & 2 reaction, recap, commentary, breakdown, analysis, and full spoiler review!! Andrew Gordon & John Humphrey react to and break down Band of Brothers Episodes 1 & 2, the HBO World War II series produced by Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List) and Tom Hanks (Cast Away, Forrest Gump), following Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment from brutal training to the front lines of D-Day. The opening episode introduces the formation of Easy Company, highlighting the relentless training under Captain Herbert Sobel, played by David Schwimmer (Friends, Madagascar), whose harsh leadership style pushes the soldiers to their limits while forging them into an elite unit. As discussed in the reaction, the show immediately grounds itself in realism by blending interviews with real veterans and dramatized storytelling, emphasizing the mindset of men who volunteered knowing the risks and sacrifices ahead . The story then transitions into the historic invasion of Normandy, where Episode 2 delivers a chaotic and immersive depiction of D-Day. Damian Lewis (Homeland, Billions) shines as Richard Winters, whose calm leadership becomes the backbone of the unit as scattered paratroopers regroup behind enemy lines and launch a daring assault on German artillery positions. The battle sequences are intense and grounded, capturing the confusion, fear, and split-second decision-making that define combat, while also showcasing the teamwork and trust built during training. With a stacked cast including Ron Livingston (Office Space), Donnie Wahlberg (The Sixth Sense, Blue Bloods), Neal McDonough (Minority Report, Captain America), and Michael Cudlitz (The Walking Dead), Band of Brothers blends character-driven storytelling with large-scale historical events, delivering both emotional weight and technical realism. Throughout the reaction, Andrew & John highlight the contrast between training and real combat, the rise of Winters as a leader, and how quickly the series shifts from discipline and structure into pure survival as war becomes a reality. Follow Andrew Gordon on Socials:  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MovieSource Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/agor711/?hl=en Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Agor711 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm feeling good. I'm excited. It's the start of a fresh week. It's a nice rainy day outside. Good, good weather to get into the muck with. And, you know, just generally, I always wish I had a better, you know, recollection of history and a knowledge for it. So, you know, these things always kind of enrich my, you know, just wanting to do more in service of that. So yeah, I'm excited to hop in. Excited to see what they show us. And excited to see what. what you guys have to say about the, you know, the depictions, the accuracy, the history, all that good stuff. So without further ado, let's fire at HBO and let's watch the shoot. Guys, if you've made it to this point in the video, thank you so much. Leave a like if you would be so kind. Subscribe, hit the notification bell so you can be notified on the next installation of Band of Brothers comes your way. Also, if you want to get the full-length watch-along experience alongside Andrew and myself, where you can sync up with your own copy. You will have to have your own DVD box set,

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That's the best part. So thank you for being here again. And thanks to Prepper for chopping these highlights together. This episode, not probably the most complicated, but I'm sure as we head into the thick of things, there's going to be some tough. Heavy. Yeah, some heavy maneuvering that's going to have to happen to get these visible.

So thank you to them. We really appreciate their efforts. And, uh, and yeah. Andrew. My brother. How are you feeling? My other brother, I'm sure preppers gonna be like,

this is an easy showdown, sh, Nike. Yeah, I'm doing great. And I, so far through one episode, I can understand why this is such a, acclaimed and hailed show by not only the fans,

but my dad, he always spoke so highly about it. And, yeah, just, first of all, I love how they opened up the show just actually hearing from, you know,

the fine and brave gentleman who served in the airborne, just getting into their mindset, just preparing you for what is ahead, you know, to get into their mindset. And then actually watching and seeing, I really like how they do the non-linear storytelling starting like the day before D-Day

and then cutting back to watching their training. That way we really get to take time with each of these characters, get to know them. As you said earlier, it really does feel like an ensemble. And then I, again, have never watched Friends. So I'm... You know, I took David...

I'm sure you did as well, but I don't know how the rest of the audience took David Swimmer when they first, in the first five minutes of seeing the character. But what I will say is like, I thought... A bit of an adjustment that has to have to be your brain. But I do know, but I do know... Because Ross is a character,

can be very intense and very serious about stuff. So I've seen certain of these expressions. You've seen the versatility. from David Schwimmer in a comedic context. Yeah, yeah. So you have to get used to it. But I really liked watching him in this role. But again, he's very well known.

His, uh, the actor is very well known. David Schwimmer is, uh, in a sitcom. So I understand it probably could be an adjustability for some people. But I was, I thought he was very intense at first. And it was fascinating to see not only the contrast of seeing when he's actually put into a situation, not in the real deal, but like, what could be.

like a combat situation, how he almost literally folds under pressure, right? Yeah, but also, yeah, but I also like seeing the contrast with a character like Winters, like a very stoic but very humble man and is very respectful even when a guy is literally shitting all over him and asking him to, uh, you know, be an extreme, oh, Dominic Cooper is in this? Isn't that, uh, somewhere? Isn't that Tony Stark's dad right here? Yeah. But he's also like extremely being, uh, asking him to. to be extremely hard, which is fine.

You know, if that means, like, that's going to help us in our battles and help us survive, fine. But it's fascinating also when you watch that contrast of, and they're building unity, how he garners gets that respect from the team, you know, through their time together and how, but he does it through, he doesn't do it like through a fear level where, which I understand why he's got to be a hard ass when it comes to David Schwimmer's character, Sobel. You know, he's preparing them for the crazy shit that they're about to come up with. But, you know, if you're going to walk the walk, you got to talk to talk rather, you got to walk also. And he doesn't seem to do that. When you're in that position of, yeah, especially I would

imagine, obviously, I have no experience. So if you do, feel free to enlighten us. But I feel like, yeah, the key seems like if you're going to be that level of hard ass, you have to have earned it. You have to be able to back it up. And then that's the problem. And that's what's sad about it. Because, yeah, you realize this guy is also being trained in a way, or at least that's how I sort of interpret it. Because you see, you know, as they move into these maneuvers and as they move into these,

you know, these more elevated training experiences where they are strategic and you are, you know, reading a map and finding a place to set an ambush or whatever, like that then is testing his ability, yeah, to lead not only to teach, but to, yeah, to lead under pressure. And there are two different things. And I, you know, it's, I like the portrait they drew of that character because, yeah, you go through a lot of different feelings with him. You at first, you're like, God, this guy is frigging guy's a hard ass. And there are moments where you're like, well, maybe, maybe there's a method to this madness. Like, maybe he's one of those guys who recognizes that he has to be in order to unite the guys. But then the further you get, the more you realize, like, oh, maybe you're

going too far down this path to compensate for something within yourself, you know, or some, you know, other, you know, whatever informs the, the sort of flustered nature he tends to embody when they're in an actual, you know, situation of stakes where he's not in control, you know, and it's a way to like try and force control as to, yeah, like, really, you make yourself the grindstone. And yeah, it's like there are moments where I felt really bad for him, you know, especially watching him kind of flail in the, because it's understandable. And it's like, if you weren't such a hard ass, it would be easier to be sympathetic and to be like, that's, you know, not everybody's cut out for, you know, this aspect of the operation. And so, you know, it's like, it's nice when they're like,

hey, we found a better place for you. And it's interesting to watch because they're like, they punish the guys to bring this up, but they also address the situation and they move Sobel to a position where, yeah, he would be better served. Even though, yeah, you feel the pain within him for not being able to actually deploy and help the way he wants to and the way I'm sure, you know, that does something to your sense of self to feel like my courage and my ability under pressure isn't what I hoped it would be. It's really hard to deal with. But then he did, you know, cold shoulders, winters when he drives by. It's a complex portrait. And there are times where, yeah, you're like, oh, God, like you're not helping yourself. Sure. And there are other times

where you're like, I get it, man. And he was trying to court martial winters. And winter still saluted him. And Winters didn't like, and, you know, those guys didn't get him court-martialed. He just went to the place he belonged, but his ego was so inflated and he was, you know, really pissed off about it. But, like, there's a good example of, like, a character you were just talking about with, like, there's got to be a method to his madness. And also the guy walking the walk and talking the talk. Like, I would say Clancy Brown's character from Starship Troopers. But, like, he actually, spoiler alert, for some reason you have not seen Starship Troopers. Like, he's a real hard ass as Zim as the.

drill sergeant, you know, preparing the troops in that film. But then in the end, you're like, holy shit, he's actually a badass too, you know, especially under pressure and captures the brain bug, right? So, I mean, yeah, but it's fascinating to see, too, because that's probably how I would be. So I could, like, actually resonate with David Schwimmer's character, but that, and I was like you for a moment where I was sympathetic, even though I didn't think I was going to be, but then when he was given the cold shoulder and then he was also not only allowing his, ego to just take over. But then he was like deflecting and blaming others.

I'm like, dude, come on. I'm like, uh, you're pissing me off. Yeah. Yeah. And it's one of those things where I do my best, especially in context like this to remember like this is most likely a portrait of a real, real guy. It's based on true story. So I'm not, I'm less quick to be like, ah, screw this dude.

But like, but like the depiction here. And actually, let's introduce the first question because it's about. this. So Matthew, we've already been talking about this, obviously, but Matthew said, I remember when I first watched this, David Schwimmer being in it really threw me off and made it tough to turn on my suspension of disbelief. Do you also find it difficult, or has there been another show or movie where you found this difficult to move past? It wasn't difficult for me, as I mentioned earlier, because I've never seen friends. I've only seen David Schwimmer and two things before this.

I saw him in one episode of Entourage as a guest where he's playing a little bit of a dick. And he's playing himself. I don't know if that's how he is in real life, but he was playing himself. Because a lot of characters and entourage play themselves. But that doesn't mean that's who they are in real life. And then the other thing I saw him in was the O.J. Simpson show with, was a Cuban-Gyadding Jr.

He was really good in that as what's his name, Kardashian. Robert Kardashian? Yeah, I think so. Yeah, he was great in that. So I was easy for me to suspend disbelief. But to the question, Matthew, they were supposed to, I know it did. happened, but I remember reading trivia for one of my favorite Rob Reiner films, one of my favorite movies ever, a few good men, which we referenced a few times while watching this, there was

supposed to be a cameo in that movie from Ed O'Neill, but apparently he was supposed to be just one of the people that Tom Cruise was, you know, talking to in the, or, uh, uh, what is it called when you, uh, you know, when you say your witness and then you're asking them questions on the, the trial, whatever, uh, that pertains to, but he's like cross-examining. Examining. Thank you so much. When he was supposed to cross examine him, they've actually filmed the scene and they showed it to test audiences. It was apparently a great scene, but whenever the test audiences were watching it, they were, because it was right at the height of married with children, I think, in 1992. So the test audiences just could not stop laughing in a very serious scene. Ed O'Neill was not doing anything to make the audience laugh. They were just associated him so much with Al Bundy. And so, but I cannot think of an example. example right now. Yeah, it's hard. It's hard. I'm sure there is one.

Yeah. Yeah, I'm like, I'm trying to think of like who's miscast or who's distracting or who can't like Taufer Grace maybe his Spider-Man in Spider-Man, I don't know. Maybe. I feel like what they turned the character into suited what he's good at. I know that there's an example of, yeah, like, oh, this was a

weird casting. Like, maybe people often point to like, uh, Russell Crowen lay miserable. I haven't seen that movie yet. You know, which I don't know. I'll think on that. But yeah, with David Schwimmer, I mean, it certainly took me a second because I am, again, deep, deep in a friends watch here on this channel. We're six seasons in.

So I've seen a whole, whole, whole lot of David Schwimmer over the past couple months in a comedic environment. And yeah, it took me a, it, I gradually got more used to his performance. I mean, I came in certainly willing, I think, like, you know, if you're involved at this, the tone suggests. and the subject matter suggests that everyone's here in earnest and cares to acknowledge the history and to carry on these stories. So like,

I guess I was incentivized to, you know, give him the benefit of the doubt. And I feel like just the further the episode went, the more I got engrossed into who the character was and the way that they wrote, again, the dynamics of his character,

the more I, you know, sort of began to appreciate it. And I think there is something to be said for the fact I don't think this is a 100% thing they were doing, but like, because he presents a certain way and then you find out more about who this guy is underneath, I think there's like kind of a way that your association, if you have one with him, sort of works with that because at first you're sort of like, okay, wait, whoa, I got to get used to him just being like a serious guy in a non-cometic context. Again, like I said, I'm used to seeing what he looks like when he's serious in a comedic context. So, you know, once that went away and especially the more nuanced. came into the character. It became, yeah, I wasn't even thinking about it. And I ultimately appreciated that this episode highlighted him in a lot of ways while again, not making him feel like the main character

or anything. Just like, yeah, I wound up quite enjoying it. Yeah. So yeah. I also think, too, really quick, before we go to the next question, I think comedians make really good dramatic actors. I've seen Jim Carrey in a few dramatic films, whether it was Man on the Moon or the Truman Show. Phenomenal. Will Ferrell and Stranger Than Fiction? He's terrific in that. Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems. I mean, I love watching actors who are really funny do dramatic and very serious roles. Yeah.

Let's see. I mean, also, there's just a cast across the board in this was terrific. Yeah, I thought like it's. Ron Livingston, the guy who played Winters, on the other. Yeah, there was a really, at least in the first episode, truly did, as you said, felt like a non-sau. Damien Lewis. I got to learn. that guy's name. And yeah, I mean, you know, the great thing is like, I feel like, you know,

we're just at the start of this. Um, and I, I really like where this episode positioned things because, you know, yeah, you get the tease of like, okay, it's, we're on the eve of like the anticipation of when we're going to deploy. And then you watch the road for a lot of these guys to the deployment and how they, you know, become this band of brothers, how they establish easy company, how they learn all their skills and things. And then, yeah, you're, you're, you're, cliffhanging on the deployment. And so you get like, I think this is a really nice prelude in general because you get the life side and you know the harshness is going to creep in in a real way.

But you still get the muck of training and you get the sort of humanity of training. And so, yeah, I really like this, just the flavor and the tone of this. And like the cinematography, the music. Michael Kamen. Yeah. Is really, really nicely handled, I feel like, in terms of how they do perspective and then how they interweave the cinematic visual language of documentary that we're also kind of used to now. And the saturation really felt authentic to that time. Yeah, I would love to know what they were

shooting on. And like it does, it's very grained. So it does look film or, or I'm, I feel like at this point in time, digital grain would look a lot yuckier. But yeah, you have a lot of these like sepia toned, you know, color palettes and, and yet feels older. Like, you can tell this. was produced high end for HBO, but even for the time. You know, there's a difference. There was more of a difference, I think, back then, between the production values of TV versus a film. And this probably broke some ground in terms of merging the two.

Because, yeah, like, as much as there is this sort of like, yeah, there's certain things where it feels maybe not with the full breadth of what you're like cinematic gear could do on a big war film, it still feels like they're using a lot. of that, you know, technique and a lot of that, you know, cinematic language really nicely here. And it's, yeah, like the production values are great, uh, incredible. And like, you know, all the different uniforms and costumes, the gear, uh, yeah, and just the way that they jump you into the world. I think they're really good at kind of giving you nice character moments, moments that certainly established the big picture. And then, you know, these, um, yeah, little moments of intensity.

and foreboding as we get into the actual thing of things. And as much as I'm dreading, obviously, what's to come with, you know, the actual war. I'm also looking forward to, in regards to the cinematography, some of the handheld shots and just the panouts and the wide shots, I'm excited as much as I'm not looking forward because I'm so emotionally invested in these characters, of course. But I'm really looking forward to it as well,

the cinematography in this first episode, chef's kiss, very exquisitely done. Yeah, really nice. Care Bear. Band of Brothers is the second major collaboration between Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks. Question, since y'all are tackling Band of Brothers, have you seen its forebearers, saving Private Ryan? Aaron and I reacted to it. It took a lot of work to get that reaction up, by the way.

So if you have not already, please go check out that reaction. It's one of our most beloved reactions. Yeah, I, oh, I did not know that. I did not know that. I love hearing that. But I love that movie. It's incredible. What I like that this show is already, at least in the first episode doing, that movie literally, as we mentioned during the reaction of this first episode, we start on, you know, the storming of Normandy, right?

The, on the beach of Normandy. So we have to, like a crazy-ass battle ensues. And then we are getting to know the, the group, you know, that. Tom Hanks is leading in that, you know, through, throughout that film. But as this one, like, we get to know them through the training and all that in the first episode. So I like how there's a different angle in this one. I like that, yeah, it doesn't feel like, oh, we're doing a saving private Ryan,

but like slightly more expanded, like, even though the events overlap, yeah, you're in a different perspective and you're in a different mode of storytelling. And, yeah, I've seen the saving private Ryan. It's been a while. I've revisited it while we were making that video. video but um yeah i mean that's a terrific movie uh one of the best war films ever made certainly you know it needs no introduction um but you know yeah like you can really feel the care and the attention to the spirit of the history you know in projects like this you know i really feel the

the reverence but also the kind of eye for again the humanity and in an episode like this you know talking so much about the Sobel character. It's like even though his leadership crumbles, you still see what it created for these guys. You still see the byproducts in them. So it's like he succeeded even though he, for his own story, feels very much like a failure, I'm sure.

But yeah, I think their collaboration here is terrific. And two shouts out to the director and the writers here. I know Tom Hanks was one of the writers, but the director you mentioned who did feel the dreams. Alden Robinson, he did feel the dreams. Yeah, but I was also going to say, too, we mentioned this a few times during the episode. Like, I actually think Sobel is pretty good when it comes to the training portion. It's just like as we get into elevations of training into the more combatic situation is where it's a little tougher on him.

So they sent him off to the correct place. That's where he can be the most effective. So he's not terrible at his job. And then when it comes to Stephen Spielberg, I think I saw on a video a while, back that I think it was his father was in World War II and that's why it's such a very passionate thing for him to explore when it comes to films because he did Schindler's list he did saving prime Ryan he's obviously working on this well I mean I'm sure he's got various other yeah historically minded project I mean beyond his other historical films that aren't in this period I

feel like he's done even more of sort of yeah different historical war based features and things but but yeah saving private Ryan is great this is great so far and I and also too, I think Solbo is a very complex character too. Yeah, yeah. Well, that's the nice thing is it seems like all of them are dimensional, even if we don't know them all deeply yet. And yeah, that speaks to the quality of filmmaking

that that pedigree brings between Hanks and Spielberg, but also, yeah, the attention to detail and the real TLC that goes into that, I think, is tremendous. Jay Rushden. Quick question, what nickname would you get in your company? Oh, dude, you would be the Flash. You would be the Flash and I would be something about Humping because that's just always how it goes.

Humph free. Hump for free. Humpback whale. Hump, hump. Well, I mean, there wasn't, the reason I got the name The Flash, not because of my fast running or anything, it's because of Flash Gordon and there was... Oh, of course. It's the Gordon gives you the Flash. Yeah, but was Flash Gordon? Was that already like... Oh, yeah, yeah, the serial guy.

Was that the Serial? You always think of The Flash, but yeah, yeah. But was Flash Gordon Crean... I know that was the movie was a... It was, yeah, had it been like a serial before that. But was it in the fort? Was it already created? I,

I don't know. That's a good question. Let's see. Let's see. Let's see. Based on the King Features comic strip. Yeah.

1934. Okay. So I would, John's right. That would have been my nickname. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

. Glad we verified. You would have been Flash Gordon. Okay. Or imitator man. Or movie reference. Well, they had that guy, that one guy who was referencing.

you know hey the cinema there were cinephiles back then i will i will say too i know we keep talking about soul but also just talking about the guy uh the the the unit and just how they're they went from like fearing him and slightly respecting him to once they saw him in a combative situation to no longer having any kind of respect of any kind from at watching them like do that like seeing him in it like oh he's completely lost and then doing the impersonation and then screwing him up. Like, that was interesting to watch. I'm fascinated the historical accuracy of something like that, too.

Like, when someone can't withstand or hold their own in a situation where a curbaal is thrown at you and you have no respect for your commander like that. So that was really intriguing to watch. A superior officer. Yeah. Wild. A lot of spry like I got discharged. He didn't even have, like, visual, like, sight of the guy that it was, he was imitating.

and he just took it wasn't yeah that that whole thing didn't that whole thing was a mess but it created the action that needed to happen one yeah no no i'm glad it all happened obviously i'm not arguing with you yeah yeah um but anyway one more question yes all right from matthew thank you again second question from matthew bonus question how quickly could you run that mountain with a tummy full of spaghetti johnald 10 minutes just 10 minutes i would do faster than any i would do 959 just to beat him by a second as I'm yacking the whole time. I don't know, man. An hour. Yeah.

What did they say at the time was to get to the top? 23 minutes or something like that. I don't know. Half an hour, 45 minutes. Yeah. I don't know. I would be yacking. I like to push myself.

Yeah. I do too, but I'd be yakking so much that I really do not know how long. It took. I love the way they played that scene. Like he was really being the nicest and calmest that he's ever pinsoble. But then John and I were like, something doesn't seem right? Don't put that. on winters. Oh, that whole thing was

very striking. Gang, thank you for joining us. I really really like this first episode, though. Yeah, this was terrific, and I can't wait to see where it goes from here beyond the history, but just where this story decides to articulate itself from here. Any other thoughts before we hit it? No, oh, and the pacing was incredible. I never felt whatever it was the length of time that episode was. So just great stuff.

Looking forward to whatever is to happen, even though we know, hopefully most of them will survive. We shall see. We shall see. How about you? Any final thoughts? No, just terrific across the board. Can't wait to, you know, be on this journey with you guys.

It's been a minute since we've done something war-oriented that also feels a bit doc-you. And I'm excited to learn and feel and all the good things. John and I should jump out of a plane after this whole thing is done. But when I say we should jump, when I say we should jump out of a plane, that means me watching from the ground, John, jump out. There we go. Yeah. If we get to five million subscribers, 10 million subscribers. subscribers. We, you know, we'll talk about it. But,

Johnald, what did you, what do you think so far of, what do you think of this episode? I really got, I mean, I got super sucked into this. This has been fantastic so far. This is really affecting and very, uh, transportive isn't the right word, but it's good to make, well, maybe it is. I would say it so. It's good at making you feel like you're there and it's good at kind of, again, yeah, translating that feeling of, you know, once you're in the, the muck of it, you know, feel the elements, you feel all the dirt and the mud and the, you know, they're like trudging through a river at one point. You just feel all wet everything is and the rain and blah, blah, blah. Like, it's so, yeah, well observed. It feels like, again, from somebody who, you know, has what

knowledge I've retained from school over time, you know, as my main basis for that, it does feel very well observed and very authentic. And yeah, the acting's great. The, the the filmmaking is very impressive and striking. And, you know, especially I feel like it's kind of, we've talked about this before, but it's, you know, it's a war genre thing that, you know, you have a certain contrast between the quiet moments in between battles and the actual battles themselves. And usually you want to distinguish yourself with some kind of uniquely intense depiction of that. And I feel like this definitely had that.

And it's interesting to watch it. time where we have more visibility on what wars look like. And, you know, to watch this, it just, yeah, it feels of a different time because it is. But it's just a fascinating, you know, yeah, a thing to peer in on, you know, it's a period piece here in the past. You're seeing how war existed and how people might have been in wars of the past. And what that has to say about, you know, how much things have changed today, but also how much they haven't changed today.

And, yeah, this has been fantastic so far. Yeah, I'm really very immersed. in this show as well. And I'm probably going to say this a lot throughout the episodes. I love how at the very beginning, we actually get to see real live survivors who were in the battle. Yeah. And we get their perspectives and just what is going,

and then their thought process of what they were, you know, what was going on through their minds while they were in battle before battle. And then we actually get to see it viscerally on screen. So we're like, we're already in their minds without even seeing, like, as we're watching the physical acting. I mean, the actors do a great job.

so we kind of already know what they're thinking, but to actually hear the real-life survivors talk about that and that lived-in experience, it adds a different type of element because it's so, it's real. It's easy to like forget in the moment of the fiction of the show that like, oh, shit, these are like, these are real guys. Yeah.

Like, yeah, they're, they're, yeah. Yeah. And to see all the chaos and like what they had to go into and, And to why, I like how the, especially at the very beginning when they're about to jump into battle, the calm before the storm and then just seeing how everyone is having to deal with that. That is such a, from a mental perspective, just psychologically speaking, that's such a fascinating angle to take at it because I would not be doing well. I mean, these guys are just on, I mean, and but I like that they showed that some guys like are calm, cool and collected. Other guys are like, they've got finger ticks where they're like, they're anxious and. and finicky a little bit. So I thought that was like really, it added a level of human depth as well. I think Damien Lewis is,

I love all the actors, by the way, but he is just so incredible. He really anchors the cast. And I really, I love watching whatever it is he's doing, whether it's his resourcefulness, whether it's him being strategic, whether it's him just keeping everyone calm

and whatever crazy. and chaotic situation, whether it's him having to improvise in the moment because things just went awry, I just really adore watching him on screen. It's just a very fascinating character, Winters. He's great to watch. But I love to that a mist stole this chaos. That's why I like that we got that first episode where we got, you know, obviously the training, but we got to build some rapport with the cast. We got to know them a little bit, but we're still continuing to get to know them as well. now in the mists of battle, but I thought that was such a wise choice to do in the first episode,

rather than just throw them in the war. And I think that's a fun little contrast, too, between this and saving Private Ryan. But the cinematography and the camera work, I mean, you really do get transported into that time period. And I can't, we talked about it as we were reacting to it. I cannot imagine how difficult it was to film those action sequences, how long it took to shoot.

Because a lot of times, too, you've got to do resets. You got to when it comes to those type of action sequences, they take, I mean, I've been on sets before where simple little dialogue things that are maybe five to ten seconds in the film or TV show could take all day. So those types of action sequences probably took like days, if not weeks. Well, and for them to be as like mapped out as they feel. They're chaotic, but they feel in the moment trackable and structureable and structure. and structured. Yeah. So well done. I mean, and the, I like to how everything could go, um, from calm to quick intensity at a dime. That's like, I mean, that is war, right? Yeah. So, you know, it really immersed you in that way too, from in a scary perspective. So, uh, but I would say

those, those, the, the, the type of shots where I was just so drawn into we were talking about so often is the ones where the cameras were tracking them where they were uh the frames were like uh we we had high high frame rate uh where they were speeding it up but we were also tracking them as the high shutter speed thing that was incredible i'm so fascinated to know how they how they were doing that but it was so freaking well done uh unbelievable i mean i'm i'm really enjoying and the the pace of of this episode when we got to the i mean i knew it was the end when we were getting there when he was about how he's going to live his life if he's able to hopefully make it out of this, which cross fingers. But it just, I couldn't believe we were already done. It was like so quick pace for

50. That was like such a quick 50 minutes. Like I always talk about whenever we watch movies or TV shows when something doesn't feel like it, you know like even though this was, it was a dread to watch in terms of like the situation we're in, but also in terms of the frequency of time, I never felt for a moment that was 50 minutes because I was so immersed and so enjoying the the storytelling that was happening in the characters that I was, you know, that I was watching. So just incredible episode, amazing TV. But any other thoughts before we getting in the questions? I just really like the way that this has an interesting structure. And I really like the way it played that tonality because you start in this very kind of almost like, it's very ominous, but also like sort

of serene moment where you're just flying in the dark over the countryside. And, and, you know, just as it starts to kind of lull you into a state of comfort then you know the battle the pops in the distance start and then things start to ramp up and then you know you have some scene work and then a lot of it is then this big battle this this you know notable they still use it to train you know units today you know operation and and yeah it's got a unique structure and then there's like there's the calm before the storm then there's the storm and then there's a little bit of call them after the storm between the next storm and uh and just yeah the way that they allowed for the little human nuances when scott grimes like runs into the guy you used to know as about to talk about that

yeah yeah yeah it's just like that's that's the stuff that like is the weird poetry that yeah just like makes you wonder about so many things yeah that through that that definitely i was not expecting to see that but that definitely adds a level of human depth and nuance because you know you just view them as they're the enemy and and that's it which you know you know in sense, of course they are, but I like the questions you were asking as we were watching. You're like, wait, did he actually want to fight for Germany? Or was, did his family, like, say, no, you got to fight?

Was he forced into it? Like, it asks, like, some questions, you know, in regards to that character. And also Scott Crimes' character was really, like, like, what was the first words he said out of his mouth after he was shot and after he had a nice conversation and he was like, shit. Well, and yeah, that just the interesting thing of, like,

there's so much on that uniform, obviously, and a lot of people would see that, like, you know, obviously you see the uniform and immediately go like, ah, that's my enemy, especially in this scenario. Exactly. And so the fact that Scott, that Malarkey basically is just like, oh my God, I know you. Wait a minute. Like, we grew up pretty close by. Like, what are you doing here? Like, the fact that he just sees the guy from back home rather than the uniform first. It's just an interesting thing. Yeah. Yeah. And, yeah, of course. And I mean, in his initial dialogue, he was making front of him with the accent. And then he heard him speaking.

So, wait, you're from, do you say Eugene or a story? But yeah, it's like, you know, the fact that once the human reveals itself, like, that's immediately where his attention goes. I think it goes back to that old saying right. Not everything is black and white. There is some gray area in there. Well, that's a phenomenon of war I'd never accounted for. It was like, oh, during this time, I bet Germany would have called home their, you know,

sons and daughters from across the world to fight for the motherland. Sure. Yeah. No, it was an angle that was really intriguing. It was not expecting so. Yeah. Yeah. That whole moment was just like a fascinating, one of many fascinating little encapsulations of, yeah, shit. Strange circumstance. Anyways, we're going to get right into the questions as we mentioned earlier. If you do want to start asking us questions, if you have not before, if you join us over on our Patreon page, we will shut you out. and you can guide our review here. All right, starting off with Care Bear.

HBO, first, thank you for being a real re-eject for asking a question. We appreciate you so much. HBO's Band of Brothers kicked off a major revitalization of the miniseries, a format which had mostly fallen out of production in the 90s. After winning the Emmys for Band of Brothers, HBO went on to win the miniseries category another 12 times in 15 years with titles like Angels in America, John Adams and Chernobyl.

Oh, sure. What are some of your favorite miniseries? Golly. I know I saw some of John Adams, but I don't have any real recollection. I mean, one that stuff that comes immediately to my mind is a lot of times like

horror stuff, like the haunting of Hill House, or, you know, those. I mean, Hill House being the kind of like initial one. I actually haven't seen some of the other ones. I would love to check out. Best TV minis series.

I'm like there must be ones that, that, uh, I mean, if Shogun weren't to continue. Yeah, I would pick that one, I guess. I haven't want the, the truth for me is I have not watched a ton of miniseries. I can just, I'll use my, I want to watch Watchmen. Oh, is that, that's a mini series? Yeah, yeah. I have heard this.

I've heard it's pretty dang good. Yeah. I can tell you my dad was obsessed with Rome. I know, was that two seasons or one? I thought it was a couple seasons. Okay, because whenever I've said it recently, people have said it's not a mini series. It's like, I thought it was.

And then people keep correcting me. Yeah. My dad was obsessed with Rome. My dad loved John Adams. I'm just naming shows. I have not seen that. He has, so I'm using my... John Adams is one of the, like, super notable ones.

Yeah. Like, again, I remember when that came. out and my family was watching and I caught like a lot of clippets of it and stuff like that. If we're calling penguin a miniseries, I'll take penguin. If it never comes back, I guess. I would assume it's going to have another scene. Yeah, I would imagine. But I mean, Chernobyl. I heard Chernobyl is really good. Chernobyl, I saw a bunch of the ones. And I mean, I would love to watch it again because it's not super fresh in my mind now, but like I remember being very struck by it, certainly. Yeah, I just saw Wanda Vision on there. I really enjoyed Wanda Vision. I watched a fascinating three-episode miniseries with

David Tennant recently. David Tennant. Yeah, where it was, it was a guy's name, and it was the story of, it was about this serial killer in London or something like that. He's a very fascinating. You know, I don't know if I would say it's my favorite miniseries ever, but it was definitely very striking des was the name of that. Des. Yeah. Golly, man. I'll have to,

I'll have to think harder on this because I feel like they're all over the garden wall. One of my best friends in the whole world, Mallory shouts out, showed me over the garden wall last year, and I adored that.

So, what about Ethan of Porthos? Is that one on many years? Ethan of Athos. Why don't I always say Porthos? Because Portos. Of course. Because everyone loves Porthos.

Yes, of course. I got to watch the Pride and Prejudice one. I feel like my family was in love with that back when it aired the miniseries version, and I should give that a look. A lot of options on airman. I have not watched it. Tom Hardy, Wuthering Heights. Agatha Hall log was pretty sick. I don't know if I would say it's like the best one of all time. Definitely, Obi-One kind of Obi. Yeah. You know, I'll start, you know, keeping a log of the best

mini-series, and then you can ask this question again. But comment? below let us know we end of our watch and then i'll give you an updated list yeah comment below let us oh it i guess that that that was a moody yeah yeah the tim curry one i yeah i grew up on that but i only watched it once as i pointed out when we were reacting to the tv show i wanted to finish the good lord bird but it didn't anyway that's what we got for right now but ask again and we'll uh comment below though let us know some of your favorite mini series and anything you'd recommend us in the future maybe checking out. But I believe we got one more here. I always feel like I'm missing something.

Jay Rushden. What up, Jay? Question. What is your favorite World War II? What are your favorite World War II films? And this reminded me of saving Private Ryan. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, they're definitely.

I mean, I think I said that one, that one shot even really reminded me of saving Private Ryan. It's the Hanks and Spielberg. You know, combo, I think, yeah, as naturally it's going to be cut of that cloth. But I like that this also contrasts itself enough to not feel like it's doing the exact same thing. It's like a rinse and repeat, too. Yeah. So, ah, what is my favorite World War II? Good Lord, there are so many good picks.

There are a lot of really good ones. There are a lot of ones we've seen. I mean, I am a big fan of Dunkirk. I like Dunkirk a lot. I liked it, too. The one time I saw it, I think I saw it with you and Greg in IMAX. Factoring out the fact that, like, you kind of have to answer saving Private Ryan. So like, because everyone will say that, because it's great and it deserves all that, you know, recognition.

I never saw. I was just like, we should pick beyond. Yeah, no, no, no, for sure. I don't think I've seen Empire of the Sun. Now, that's Christian Bale. Yeah, I mean, I haven't seen Empire of the Sun. We saw Fury. That was really good.

Very effective. And Glorious Bastards was really good. Overlord. Enemy of the Gates. Aaron and I reacted to that one. That was really good as well. I would like to see that. That was really, really.

really good. Wait, is it tears of the sun? Oh, that's... No, that's the Bruce Willis movie and that's a different war, I think. Which would... Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait. Wait, wait. Wait a minute. That's the Empire of the Sun is with Christian. There's just a band who also is called that. I'm pretty sure Spielberg directed Empire of the Sun. Really? Okay. Pretty sure. Yes, you would be correct. I have not seen Empire of the Sun. I got to see Patton. Yeah, Fury was very effective.

Most certainly. I'm going to say, I want to see thin red line one day. Ooh, I've heard that. I've heard the music from that with Hans Zimmer. It's so damn good. Oh, we did see Hacksaw Ridge. Haxar Ridge. That was incredible.

That was pretty well done. I like 1970. That's World War I. That's not World War I. Yeah, it's not World War II. Shouts out Pearl Harbor, everyone's favorite. I've never seen Pearl Harbor. Do you think that'd be a fun reaction?

Might be. Might be. There's some stuff to react to in that movie. I'd be down. Tom Hanks, Greyhound was pretty, pretty good. I haven't seen the Al Quiet on the Western Front remake. Two, there are a lot of, like, I mean, Dr. Strange Love is amazing if you want to go satirical. I saw some of darkest out.

I mean, Schindler's List is obviously one of, like, the all-time classics. Yeah. It's just a hard, I mean, they're all hard, obviously, to watch, but. Yeah, we watched Memphis Bell in school growing up, I remember. I remember at least that movie leaving some kind of, you know, impact at the time. There was... Seesu counts. Cisoo is badass.

There was this movie that we watched in school. I don't know if it was a TV movie. I wonder if we could look it up. It's with...

It's with James Woods. It's with Merrill Streep. It takes place in World War II. And it's with, I think, is it Rosemary Harris who played Aunt May? Yes.

No, yes. I think that's it right there. Holocaust? Any series called Holocaust. Let's call that for my mini-series one. There you go. We watched that one. in school, that freaking got,

it's got a high-ass rating. Damn, 8.0. That really struck me. That was hard to watch, but it was really good. Yeah, I believe it. Golly, man. There are a lot of great, great, like, war cinema, you know, is a rich genre. Yeah. And there's a lot to choose from here.

So definitely leave us some of yours. Man, there are time to choose from, but those are some of ours anyway. You got any more thoughts on this? No, just I'm really enjoying this show. It's also very tragic so far. I can only imagine it gets even more tragic as we continue to go along.

So, but I'm, like I said, it's, it's a fantastic show. And I love the, the human depth and elements that it's, it's really diving into as well. It's really good. Shout, shout and glorious bastards. I love that movie so much. It's like you have to asterisk it, but it is. Like, it deserves, I suppose, mentioned in the World War II movie canon, even if it's not like the traditional World War II movie, obviously. And Oppenheimer, of course, shouts out.

Yeah. But yeah, man, golly, this was a tour to force. Yeah. Anyways, be on the lookout for episode three of Band of Brothers. Most likely we'll be out at some point soon. So thank you if you stuck with us this song. We appreciate you. Stay safe. Take care.

We'll see you guys next time. Peace. I don't know.