Masters of the Air

[flyinraptr]

Anyone watching? It is the third series following Band of Brothers and the Pacific ... from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. This one is also based on factual novels ... this one so far is mainly about the 100th Bomb Regiment .... B17 crews flying deep into Germany territory. I had a father-in-law who was part of a B17 ground crew in England during WWII repairing planes after missions and prepping for new missions .... he once showed a photo album to me of his time during the war. I've also had the opportunity to go inside a restored B17 in Mesa, Az. They are up to episode 5 at this point ... i think it accurately portrays the damage the planes received and what it must have been like flying in the greatest aerial combat ever known to man .... hard to contemplate what it must have been like to have lived through it as a member of the flight crew.

 

[Subway]

Good show

those bombing runs look horrifying.

 

[One-Off]

What channel?

Senor Pato, are you watching?

 

[Subway]

Apple TV

it’s not band of brothers good, few shows can be, but it’s solid.

 

[Duffy LaCoronilla]

Friend of mine flys a stunt plane. He’s taking me for a spin this saturday.

He promised to make me puke.

Challenge accepted.

 

[CutnSnip]

been trying to get into it but its just not clicking for me. same thing with for all mankind. i can recognize im watching great tv - but i just dont care.

 

[enframed]

been trying to get into it but its just not clicking for me. same thing with for all mankind. i can recognize im watching great tv - but i just dont care.

Same here, except I don't recognize I'm watching "great" TV. Big, expensive production TV, sure. Great? Not for me.

 

[ShiverMeTimbers]

I was down in AZ taking care of my parents and watched the first 4 episodes with my Dad. We enjoyed it… though my dad will watch any and all war movies, nor matter how poorly made they are. As long as bad guys are getting wasted, he’s interested.

5/7. Historically fairly accurate, realistic violence, decent storytelling.

 

[tenover]

I don't watch much TV, but I did watch "For All Mankind"(all seasons), and it was the best thing I've watched since I was hooked on "Lost". Loved it. Can't wait for the next season.

 

[freeride76]

Overblown, poorly scripted garbage.

The action sequences are great, everything else is awful Spielberg cheese.

 

[r32]

Wish I could watch. Don't have AppleTV.

Been lucky enough to fly in three different B17s, three B25s, Mustangs, T6s, and a few others.

One of my Grandpas was the pilot of a B29 in WW2. That's the last warbird ride I've yet to notch. Watching any war film with planes bring back fond memories growing up and stories of both my grandpas who both flew in WW2.

As a kid, I dreamed of owning a P51 Mustang D, Corsair, or Folke-Wulf 190. Unfortunately I fucked that dream when I got hooked on surfing and sucked at life in my 20s. Now, just to own a fighter is $2m minimum.

These from a B17 ride in 2022. Probably my last ride in a warbird unless I hit the lotto and buy one.

 

[Subway]

Overblown, poorly scripted garbage.

The action sequences are great, everything else is awful Spielberg cheese.

Yeah the non action scenes can be cringey

 

[flyinraptr]

Yep - writing a fictional story from scratch is one thing .... trying to encapsulate a lengthy factual book into a movie or series script is a lot more challenging. They had similar issues with Band of Brothers and the Pacific .... typically the true story is drawn out over a longer period of time with less drama ..... in order to keep audiences engaged and try to cover the main events in the timeframe of the movie or series ... the script writers have to condense ... as in Band of Brothers ... they actually combined multiple individuals from the book into one person for the series in order to make it less confusing and add continuity to the story but still convey a general sense of what took place. I would agree as far as the three Band of Brothers is the standard .... followed by the Pacific.

 

[270degrees]

A good high school buddy of mine's dad was a ball-turret gunner in a B-17. Said he was chosen because he was the only guy small enough to fit! Said he was lucky because his tour started after the P-51s were able to escort the formations- the guys before him had it really tough. So much respect for his courage & humility.
West

 

[OsideBum]

I’ve heard great things about it. I generally don’t watch war/military movies, but maybe I’ll give this one a try.

 

[flyinraptr]

I once worked with an older gentleman from England who grew up in London and a as a boy during the Battle of Britain used to spend afternoons watching massive dog fights taking place in the skies above them. The sheer number of planes from both sides engaged at the same time in close proximity is hard to comprehend.

 

[r32]

Some other good watches

With a very young Christian Bale

 

[Subway]

The aerial scenes in Dunkirk were eerie and hypnotic and tense. really well done

 

[smithgrind]

Tried watching the first episode but lost interest after 10 mins. Spielberg shtick
gets tiring and dull, no matter how much $ is spent. I won’t be revisiting it.

 

[r32]

Insane stunt.

And on the bridge, there is now a steel spitfire to commemorate this.

Piece of Cake (1988 series)