HBO knows how to pick a hit, that's for certain. Whether it's award-winning series after award-winning series or highly acclaimed mini-series and documentaries, the executives and creative department at the reigning king of premium channels knows what a winner looks like. A couple of years ago, no one could go an hour without hearing someone raving about "Band of Brothers," an all-star cast mini-series based on deeply emotional and troubling wartime experiences. Based on an equally-popular book, HBO managed to bring the grim yet inspirational message to satellite TV, earning record numbers of awards in the meantime.
While it has been a bit of time since HBO introduced a new mini-series, 2010 is the perfect year for them to bring something new out, and they have been smart and decided to go with a spin-off of "Band of Brothers." With the same producers--including Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg--and an ample amount of time spent with "Band of Brothers" author Stephen Ambrose as a consultant, "The Pacific" focuses on the same war from a different perspective. This time around, it's The United States Marine Corps, and things are just as dramatic as ever. The show's rich source material includes two memoirs written by Marines who saw some truly unspeakable action, and "The Pacific" promises to be just as gripping a ride as "Band of Brothers" in that regard.
Saw Band
One of the things about HBO mini-series is that they consistently bring movie-quality production to projects destined for satellite TV, not the silver screen. With a budget of 0 million, "The Pacific" is no exception. A great deal of filming was done in Australia to cut costs, with the American dollar being stronger than the Australian dollar during the time of shooting. In order to give a more personal approach to the troubles of wartime, there will be an equal display of action off the high seas, with wives back home a major plot point of the mini-series as well.
So far, the anticipation level for "The Pacific" has been high in all countries where HBO is broadcast. As with many satellite TV mini-series on major premium networks, the series will begin airing in a select few countries first, with plans to finish up its first season there before starting in different areas of the world. Producers Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg have taken breaks from their roles acting and directing respectively to spend a great deal of time promoting the project, going as far as to seriously involve themselves in the interview process. Both Hanks and Spielberg say that they feel a deep obligation to assisting in the telling of this very important story, and from a historical perspective, it is definitely true that this is a part of the war that not many people know about.
But none of that is as important to satellite TV viewers as a strong and compelling story with excellent writing and acting, and with HBO's pristine record of mini-series, that can definitely be expected as well. Those looking for historical accuracy are bound to be content, too, because with such a large budget and big-name consultants, the writers and producers are taking great pains to make sure that everything is as accurate as possible. "The Pacific" definitely looks like another major hit for HBO, with potential to win big and inspire even more mini-series where big-name production and rich source material is the rule, not the exception.