Possibly the best TV show ever produced is Band of Brothers. Though it’s a big remark, I believe it to be true. All the same, it’s unquestionably the best limited series ever produced, ranking second in the IMDb Top Shows list after the masterwork that is Breaking Bad. But I believe Band of Brothers is practically in a different league and cannot be truly compared to Vince Gilligan’s five-season made-up tale.
I’ve been covering Band of Brothers and providing weekly breakdowns, but now that I’ve seen it again and passed the halfway mark, I really wanted to go into detail about what makes this show so great. I’ll go right into the many arguments and try to emphasize the points that you already agree with; if not, perhaps I can help you see the show in a fresh perspective.
Let us therefore not delay any longer. Band of Brothers is flawless even after 20 years for the following reasons. Just so you know, this will include spoilers.
Spoiler Alert!
The Interviews
The interviews that open each episode are something that, in my opinion, really elevate this program. We didn’t know who the people were being interviewed when we were watching the show, but we did know that some of them were probably the people the actors were portraying.
Reminding us that what we were seeing was real was what these interviews accomplished. Actual people went through all of the atrocities we saw later. It took only a minute and a half to hear them relate their own experiences—they were the real-life heroes who battled for world freedom—to feel appreciative.
Many times, whether something happened in the episodes, whether it be subtle or major, you would think back to something they had said at the beginning and realize that this is probably what they were going through at the time. They would also talk about the death that was there, the bitter cold temperatures in Bastogne, and how events during the war affected them on other occasions throughout their lives.
You did wonder who the people were going to survive the ordeal they were going through as the episodes progressed, so it did linger in your mind the entire time. But it was a really lovely moment to watch when it was disclosed at the end.
It was such an emotional moment, maybe the most emotional point in the show, when their names were placed beside them right at the end and the story ended with the amazing score playing in the background. Unlike shows like Masters of the Air, this one was unique in that the veterans were still living at the time.
The fact that there are obviously fewer veterans alive in 2024 than there were in 2001 just served to heighten the sense of dread and the fact that these were actual people being portrayed.
The Brotherhood
Nothing else that has come out since, in my opinion, has ever equalled the Brotherhood and friendship of the characters in the show. That feeling of unity on a wider scale was absent from The Pacific even during its production. The actors in Band of Brothers were treated like they were heading off to war in the 1940s and spent several days in a boot camp under tight regulations.
They lost their world names when they entered and were called by their character identities. Would go out on patrols in the landscapes, staying at the training camp and following the same protocol as someone dropping in on D Day. This is something you can clearly see aided with the friendships and camaraderie that they all shared in addition to making their actions, moves, and approaches as realistic as possible.
Whether or not it was intentional, their real-life friendships and brotherhoods permeated the show. Truly, they resembled a group of brothers. Seeing them through training at Camp Toccoa and then witnessing every soldier lost at Bracor, Eindhoven, Bastogne, and beyond.
In a display like this, cohesiveness was critical. A show about people having to look out for one other to survive, and it was very expertly done. It demonstrated the possibility of the most courageous and compassionate people becoming the harshest. And if it meant that they might assist their brother who needed them at that time, many were truly prepared to risk their own lives.
You clung to every character’s own personality and characteristic and it became their thing. The performers were handed a big packet containing details about the real-life person they were playing when they were assigned their parts. They also had to look up the individual and, if the veteran felt safe doing so, get in touch and have a conversation.
This allowed the performers to really enter the role and acquire the mannerisms, actions, and friendships they would have in 1940s Europe. Something that once more made the characters feel like actual people and allowed them to be respectfully and honestly portrayed.
The way conflict is shown. The manner that battle is shown and the reality it imparts is one way that I believe this show stands out from many others. It doesn’t hold back when it comes to depicting for us horrible images, the horrifying mentality that was frequently there, and the sheer volume of destruction and death that was present.
Given Spielberg and Hanks, it looked a much like Saving Private Ryan, but even so, it did distinguish out. It was evident how precious life was, but also how easily it might be taken in a multitude of ways. It could be as simple as a pistol going off in your pocket, or as complex as taking off in the air and expecting to land in Normandy, but being shot out of the sky and not even being able to fight in the war you trained so hard for.
I also felt that the show turned elements like the setting into real, material objects. Imagine Bastogne. On the other side of the Ardennes woodland, the opposing Germans were defending their position. But the surroundings and the hard, merciless weather were another enemy at this time.
The troops were actually freezing, there were blankets of snow on the ground, and there was fog, making it impossible to supply them. Across the screen was the information that it was the coldest temperature ever recorded in that area up to that time. Watching this episode made you feel legitimately cold, and the fact that you were up against two distinct opponents made the chances of survival seem much less.
Malarkey was one character that, in my opinion, ended the story looking exactly like he had been through a battle. He was a griny, cheerful go lucky, hilarious person when we first met him. By the end, though, we discovered that he had lost a lot of his closest friends, around episode 8. You could tell he was dirty and had fought more than everyone else in Easy.
The Depiction Of War
His transformation from the person he was at the beginning to a shell of himself amply demonstrated the consequences of war. The camera views that Band of Brothers frequently employed were another aspect of the manner that combat was depicted to us that I found amazing.
You would be right among it in some of the little trenches that were frequently excavated. It would seem like you were there, with handheld camera motions and the swarm of bullets coming your way. Furthermore, the tremendous weaponry in Bastogne when the forest was being destroyed was truly terrifying.
A further factor in the emotional impact we would have as viewers was the close-ups that were frequently shown on people’s faces when they were in agony. Take Blythe. Having the camera right up to his face allowed us to really comprehend what was going on in his head when the explosions were going off all around him and he was simply in the foxhole cowering and crying and wanting to be anywhere else than there.
The Way The Story Was Told
One of the key reasons, in my opinion, why the Pacific doesn’t work as well is the manner this tale was delivered. For the narrative was not very simple to understand. Band of Brothers chronicles the events of the war from Camp Toccoa training two years before the drop in Normandy until the end of the conflict.
Smaller devoted scenes from episodes that center on engagements like Bracor, Market Garden, Bastogne, Carrington, Foy, Normandy, and more are interspersed throughout that broad overall narrative. But every one of these particular conflicts is viewed from the viewpoint of a different character. Bull, Blythe, Eugene Rowe, Nixon, Winters, or Lipton—all of them—were able to have their moments of glory and the true heroes receive the credit they so well earned.
With this method of storytelling, we were able to obtain a deeper understanding of the characters and build closer bonds with those who, had we not had a whole episode with them, may have been written off. We witnessed the fight through several eyes instead of just one.
And with that, several war figures emerged, demonstrating how different individuals perceive the conflict in somewhat different ways. While some resemble spears, others resemble blithe. It’s just how it affects people; neither is right or bad. Band of Brothers was incredibly palatable, and when I first watched it, I didn’t anticipate feeling the things I did.
I had never before connected with these characters, and it made me appreciate everyone who battled in World War II and experienced what was shown on film even more. These folks truly are heroes because of the unfathomable experiences they had.
The Sound
This program features an absolutely amazing score. The theme song alone is legendary, and Michael Kamen wrote a song that was both haunting and sorrowful at the same time. Every emotion we have while viewing the show. I used not to really give the soundtracks of TV series and movies much thought, but now I’m starting to appreciate them more and more.
But in actuality, and this was true of Band of Brothers as well, the music can frequently be the very thing that sends you over the brink when it comes to truly expressing the feelings that the program wants you to experience at the time. Regarding the sound in other parts of the performance, that was equally outstanding.
The presentation captured the sound of combat and gave what I suppose is only a small peek of the terrifying sound of battle. I believe that viewing the show was made much more enjoyable by the guns, screaming, explosions, and even the foreign language that you don’t really understand in a hostile setting.
My Conclusion
You may tell that I love the show a lot. I really think it’s the greatest battle piece and one of the greatest TV shows ever produced. It says volumes about how ahead of its time the show was that it was created more than 20 years ago and hasn’t truly been surpassed.
There weren’t multimillion dollar budgets being flung at the silver screen at the time, in 2001, even though the show had begun production in 1999. Hollywood and movies were where the money was, and I think this kind of show set the stage for the big-budget, all-star ensemble that we see on TV now.
Though it took some time—most likely the emergence of streaming and the decade of the 2010s—for it to truly take hold, they took a chance and it undoubtedly cleared the path. There isn’t likely to be a more excellent educational entertainment piece or depiction of battle than Band of Brothers.
The most current comparable film is All Quiet on the Western Front, available on Netflix. Even The Pacific and, more recently, Masters of the Air, which attempted to emulate the success of Band of Brothers, didn’t quite seem the same. Nevermind that they were amazing to watch; they just didn’t land like Band of Brothers.
The true heroes in all of this, the soldiers and individuals shown in the program were alive at the time and were able to tell their narrative, which added to the story’s exquisite telling and careful handling. Here you have it, then.
Why Band of Brothers is still flawless twenty years later. To view my Band of Brothers episode breakdowns, click the card in the upper right. There’s a whole playlist on them. Alternatively, all of them are available on my channel. Which Band of Brothers episode is your favoritis?
