The Legendary Actor - Chapter 49

“Something is missing?” Graham couldn’t help repeating William’s words, but he was also thinking the same. Indeed, after watching the first episode of “The Pacific”, the familiar recipe and the familiar smell were not as exciting as when he watched “Band of Brothers”. So, what is missing?

William frowned and said, “I don’t know, but I feel like there’s a little less chemistry.” Neither of them were professional film critics, but simply enthusiastic viewers.

William and Graham looked at each other in dismay, and for a moment they were silent. It was awkward to feel stuck in mid-air when emotions were so high before the show started, and now they just couldn’t get it off, “but …”

It was this “but” that was so overwhelming that Graham suddenly suggested, “Why don’t we go to the Yahoo community and IMDB and read the comments?” After talking to people, maybe their questions can be answered there.

“Good idea!” William was rejuvenated, and as an avid fan of “Band of Brothers”, he wanted more than anyone else for “The Pacific” to be a second classic.

William ran back to his room like a tornado, followed by Graham. The Taylor’s in the living room didn’t even have time to react before they heard the sound of chaotic footsteps coming up the stairs, “Willy, how was the show? Is it good?” Mrs. Taylor shouted, but didn’t get any response. The couple looked at each other and then laughed helplessly.

On a quick look at the Yahoo! community, the top trending post was conspicously the first episode of “The Pacific”, it happened less than ten minutes after the end of the episode. The discussion already had more than five hundred pages, and it is estimated that some fans are participating in the discussion while watching the live broadcast.

William and Graham were obviously not the only viewers with an unusual feeling; many of fans expressed similar doubts and felt that the episode lacked some spark.

On the 231st page, a long reply made William stop pulling the mouse down.

“There is no doubt that because of the existence of such a great drama as “Band of Brothers”, all audiences had great expectations for “The Pacific”, but there was a gap between them and the actual viewing. I have a different point of view.

The first episode of “Band of Brothers” didn’t have a wow factor either; the show was outstanding because the ten episodes were complete and sublime, and when I watched the first episode again, it was completely different, so the impression of the first episode was definitely affected. Now that “The Pacific” has only aired the first episode, it is obviously biased to rely on the first episode to judge and give out the death sentence to the entire miniseries.

The first episode of “The Pacific” always felt like something was missing, simply put, the core idea.

In “Band of Brothers”, each episode had a core idea, and even a different protagonist in each episode, which made the story line of the episode very condensed, and the rhythm and focus of the narrative highlighted; however, in “The Pacific”, the first episode did not have a cohesive core idea, which resulted in a scattered content and an unbalanced rhythm.

The content of the first episode can be divided into three parts: the first part is the daily life before the departure; the second part is the pace of adjustment to the landing on Guadalcanal; and the third part is the adventure after the outbreak of the first encounter.

The focus of these three parts is different, especially the three main characters in the first part, but only one is left in the last two parts, leading the audience to wonder: isn’t this story incomplete? Moreover, the sublimation of the theme in Robert Leckies’s character failed to deliver the needed blow.

It can be seen that what “The Pacific” wanted to highlight was the contrast between the psychological states – the warmth of the family between entering the battlefield and the cruelty and bloodshed after entering the war, as the killing game before the episode ended not only shocked Robert Leckie but also every audience member in front of the TV.

From this point of view, the show continues the quality of its predecessor, but it is a pity that the presentation is shallow and the first episode is already cramped, which makes it difficult for the characters to be fully fleshed out in the first episode.

What “Band of Brothers” is good at is showing different sides of the war in each episode, looking at every aspect of the battlefield from different perspectives, with each flesh-and-blood character building up to the powerful impact of “Band of Brothers”.

Personally, I’m looking forward to “The Pacific”. If “Band of Brothers” showed the reality and brutality of war, will “The Pacific” show how it affects everyone? Otherwise, it would seem to be superfluous to depict the family. If it succeeds, then “The Pacific” will be fully qualified to go hand in hand with the “Band of Brothers”!

So, it’s too early to draw any conclusions about the merits of the episodes. “Band of Brothers” was impressive in its excellence, and “The Pacific” deserves at least some more time and a chance to be a ten-episode miniseries, which isn’t too difficult, is it?

It’s worth noting that, of the three main characters that appear in the current episode, the most impressive is not Robert Leckie, who holds the main thread of the first episode together, nor John Basilone, the war hero known to all Americans, but the rich young master. Does anyone think the same?

At the moment of his appearance, the sunlight and time seemed to stop for him, and the regret, anger, struggle, bitterness, and longing left in those bright eyes easily delineated the character! I can’t believe I’m already looking forward to what’s going to happen when he steps into the fray! He is not going to be a cannon fodder, is he? He looks like he’s one of the three main characters!”

This long reply triggered a heated discussion, with some people agreeing, some refuting, some sneering, some cursing, some analyzing rationally, some watching, and some suddenly realizing that it had become a heated discussion and were happy to just be a part of it.

However, there is one thing that most people agree on: this is a mini-series, and one needs to see where the rest of the series is going to go in order to make a comprehensive judgment.

Only a small group of avid viewers thought that the poor quality of the first episode ruined the entire series, as if it a crime that besmirched “Band of Brothers” and they even called netizens to go to IMDB to support them in the crusade against “The Pacific” to score one point. But judging from the current IMDB scores, not many viewers are willing to answer this call.

After reading this response, William was enlightened, “So that’s how it is!” His eyes brightened again, “Obviously this time Spielberg and the others are more ambitious and want to explore deeper things, because they can’t repeat what they did with “Band of Brothers” and there’s nothing else that can surpass “Band of Brothers” in terms of comradeship. So, the first episode is just the beginning!”

William couldn’t help but clench his fists, his mood soaring again, and because of his previous high expectations, he was so eager that he couldn’t wait for the first episode to be breathtakingly brilliant. In fact, this is impossible, because this is a miniseries, not a movie. Even “Band of Brothers,” as wonderful and classic as it is, is a patchwork of ten episodes.

“No wonder!” He told him. It’s exciting to watch, it’s a great mix of flavors, and there are some wonderful moments, but when you’re done, you feel like something is missing. Graham bumped William with his shoulder and said excitedly, “The last scene was so good, I thought it was even better than “Band of Brothers”, and it reminded me of the scene where Winters shoots the German soldier who was alone!

“The one I remember most is the same as the one on …. William pondered the screen and saw that the registered account was called “Brando Mania”, which seemed to be fan Marlon Brando. The fan wrote “It’s the rich young master.” Then William giggled, “Because he’s the only unlucky guy in the first episode who didn’t succeed in his attempt to join the army.”

Graham rolled his eyes speechlessly, “If you say so, the girl I remember the most was the one Robert Leckie wanted to write to, and she was very pretty.”

“You see, I’m not the only one who thinks so.” William flipped through the post again, pulling Graham along to browse further.

“Brando Mania, and me too, me too, that rich young master is so brilliant, he acts as if he was born with a halo about him, you can’t take your eyes off him!”

“Doesn’t anyone else think that the young master is really handsome? My God, the sight of him flying in the wind on his bicycle and the desperate heartbreak in his eyes, I just melted right there.”

“Robert Leckie has a lot of inner acting to do, but it’s always done at the wrong intensity, and the young master was only on the stage for three minutes, and he’s so easy to portray in my mind.”

“Who’s a young master, his name is Eugene! Eugene! It was announced many times in the TV show OK, ignorant.”

“Does anyone know who plays the role of the young master?”

…

Discussions and debates seemed to start to distort the initial topic of conversation.