Band Of Brothers - British miniseries version, ideas?

[Crab Lungs]

I was watching that wonderful series once again last night and the thought occurred to me as to why a UK company has never attempted tell the story of any of our own military during one of the many recent conflicts?

 

It's not as if we are short of heroes - this country has them in an abundance and I do believe that after all the books I have read, television shows I've watched that they too have a right to tell their story.

 

That said, and budgeting issues aside, do you think the reluctance to produce any of our own war miniseries is not just down to the dilemma of funding but that we are too pre-concerned with 'glorifying' war?

 

I am absolutely sure that a company somewhere could find the finance for such a venture (I mean, lets start dropping some that reality dancing/singing crap for a start) and a suitable story could be found if we really wanted to produce a show of BoB's magnitude - so what is stopping us?

 

And, hypothetically speaking - if a TV miniseries (not a film!) were to be produced to tell a story from a particular conflict, what would be the best story to tell, in your opinion? Just wondered what your thoughts would be on this.

[miserableoldgit]

BoB is a staggeringly good series (as I am sure that the new one will be) and I agree that we are overdue a good re-telling of the British side of things, which of course BoB virtually misses completely.

 

As for glorifying war, I don`t think that in anyway it does that. For all of the "anti-war" rhetoric around nowadays , war is , sadly, a fact of life. There have been wars since man first pulled himself out of the swamp and there always will be. I think that from a British standpoint, war stories say as much about the make-up of our national character as anything else.

That we stood virtually alone for 2 years against Hitler, and similarly against Napoleon says a lot about the stubborness, beligerance, tolerance and durabilty in the people of these islands. Like everyone else I would love to see an end to all wars but it`s all about how you conduct yourselves when they happen that really counts.

[Crab Lungs]

Great post MOG and I totally agree with you regards to our national character in and some ways, it is part of our identity, too.

 

I have no real fact or basis for my opinion but I wouldn't be surprised if someone did comission our own miniseries and it was branded as 'glorifying war' by someone with no grasp of the original BoB series and its message.

 

Watching that series in some respects is a deterrent in itself, watching the veterans get choked up as they recall a painful memory. I think this is the 6th or 7th time I'll be watching the series over the years and I still fail to not be effected

 

Any re-telling of our own BoB would have to happen soon though, I'd fear - or it'll be consigned to forever be a narrative series on the history, military channels...

[ecuk268]

It was only a rather strange alliance of Churchill and the left-wing parties that wanted to stand up to Hitler.

 

Many in the higher reaches of the Tory party (and Edward VIII) thought Hitler to be a jolly good chap who made the trains run on time. The Daily Express was particularly supportive of the regime in Germany.

 

Commercial TV (and the BBC to some extent) seems intent on churning out endless "talent" shows, cookery programmes and stuff about houses. Serious drama is somewhat lacking. Where is the UK equivalent of HBO?

[Crab Lungs]

It was only a rather strange alliance of Churchill and the left-wing parties that wanted to stand up to Hitler.

 

Many in the higher reaches of the Tory party (and Edward VIII) thought Hitler to be a jolly good chap who made the trains run on time. The Daily Express was particularly supportive of the regime in Germany.

 

Commercial TV (and the BBC to some extent) seems intent on churning out endless "talent" shows, cookery programmes and stuff about houses. Serious drama is somewhat lacking. Where is the UK equivalent of HBO?

 

But I believe the left-wing of today is very different to the left-wing of yesteryear. Likewise, the Tories I'd imagine! Interesting though, nonetheless!

 

It would appear the 'equivalent' to HBO would be our very own Sky according to this opinion... only skimmed this article so far as I'm at work..

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/02/hbo-british-television-drama

[Scudamore]

I'm pretty sure we wouldn't do it justice if we tried. Can't remember the last truely decent bit of British TV i've witnessed. Enjoyed Red Riding i guess. But in the main it is utter pap.

[Crab Lungs]

I'm pretty sure we wouldn't do it justice if we tried. Can't remember the last truely decent bit of British TV i've witnessed. Enjoyed Red Riding i guess. But in the main it is utter pap.

 

It would be a shame if that were case. Surely we must have equal counterparts in producing quality drama? Having said, they are probably used to writing periodical dramas for women on Sundays and murder mysteries in sleepy villages

 

We've definitely got a great pool of actors though

[miserableoldgit]

I'm pretty sure we wouldn't do it justice if we tried. Can't remember the last truely decent bit of British TV i've witnessed. Enjoyed Red Riding i guess. But in the main it is utter pap.

The things that we do really well is the "period" stuff. "Cranford", for example, was brilliant. It may not be to everyones taste, I accept, but it was high-quality television.

[Saint Mikey]

I'm pretty sure we wouldn't do it justice if we tried. Can't remember the last truely decent bit of British TV i've witnessed. Enjoyed Red Riding i guess. But in the main it is utter pap.

 

Agreed. You'd hope that if they did do something like this, then C4 would get hold of it. Anything on BBC is dire and the thought of ITV commissioning something like this and doing even a half-decent job, is laughable. Sky1 is also very hit and miss.

 

I agree with the previous posts. Where is our HBO? Surely there's a market for a channel, with the amount of people who pay for satellite TV these days. That would surely give the budget to create these shows.

 

No dramas we've produced in the last 10-15 years, have even come close to The Sopranos, The Wire or indeed BOB.

[miserableoldgit]

Agreed. You'd hope that if they did do something like this, then C4 would get hold of it. Anything on BBC is dire and the thought of ITV commissioning something like this and doing even a half-decent job, is laughable. Sky1 is also very hit and miss.

 

I agree with the previous posts. Where is our HBO? Surely there's a market for a channel, with the amount of people who pay for satellite TV these days. That would surely give the budget to create these shows.

 

No dramas we've produced in the last 10-15 years, have even come close to The Sopranos, The Wire or indeed BOB.

Or "John Adams", an absolutely magnificent series.

http://www.hbo.com/john-adams

[saint_stevo]

Not sure there is much better than the BoB series. Was amazing, Is amazing.

 

buying the boxset for a tenner almost seemed like i was cheating it somehow. If The Pacific serves up something half as good, it will def be worth a watch

[Sheaf Saint]

To find a true story of heroism that would be perfect for what you are suggesting Crab, then look no further than another of Stephen E Ambrose's books: Pegasus Bridge.

 

The story of Major John Howard and the British 6th Airbourne's assault and capture of the bridges at Ranville the night before D-Day is an incredible story of success against all odds, and very few people truly realise the importance of the success of that mission. Had it failed, the outcome of Operation Overlord would have been very different.

 

Maybe we should start campaigning to some British film-makers to make it happen.

[miserableoldgit]

To find a true story of heroism that would be perfect for what you are suggesting Crab, then look no further than another of Stephen E Ambrose's books: Pegasus Bridge.

 

The story of Major John Howard and the British 6th Airbourne's assault and capture of the bridges at Ranville the night before D-Day is an incredible story of success against all odds, and very few people truly realise the importance of the success of that mission. Had it failed, the outcome of Operation Overlord would have been very different.

 

Maybe we should start campaigning to some British film-makers to make it happen.

Been to Pegasus Bridge a couple of times. Very evocative place even now, especially the cafe which is still, (I think), run by the family who ran it during the war, and it became the first "house" liberated.

[jeff leopard]

Interesting post.

 

How about a mini-series on the Suez crisis, its largely been brushed under the carpet, but it was the moment that the British and the French realised they were no longer super-powers, which has had a massive effect on both national identities. It also would have volumes to say on Iraq and Afghanistan. And think of the great War Cabinet scenes with the PM off his face on speed, ‘ere mate, where you from and what you on?’

 

The key thing would be to focus on the human drama and not let it get swamped by iffy, cheap cgi. We don't have a Spielberg or massive film/tv industry to fund such a project.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

Do we have any home grown directors that would do it justice though? BoB had/has Spielberg (sp?) and Hanks!

[Crab Lungs]

To find a true story of heroism that would be perfect for what you are suggesting Crab, then look no further than another of Stephen E Ambrose's books: Pegasus Bridge.

 

The story of Major John Howard and the British 6th Airbourne's assault and capture of the bridges at Ranville the night before D-Day is an incredible story of success against all odds, and very few people truly realise the importance of the success of that mission. Had it failed, the outcome of Operation Overlord would have been very different.

 

Maybe we should start campaigning to some British film-makers to make it happen.

 

Thanks Bexy... but its one of the best books I've ever read already!

 

I totally agree with you about the book, its incredible and was an amazing insight into the and their 'laughing in the face of adversity' mentality. The bloke who joked about not being able to play cricket anymore, for example :-o

 

It was incredible really and yes, it really does make you wonder the signficance of their role on DDay and whether it has been somewhat grossly underplayed in a sense - or buried under the avalanche of other stories that came out of that fateful day.

 

I would happily give whatever support I could to campaign for the production of a British-made drama series like BoB...

[Crab Lungs]

Do we have any home grown directors that would do it justice though? BoB had/has Spielberg (sp?) and Hanks!

 

Great call... maybe someone on here who is a bit more savvy with the film/TV industry would know someone who do it justice? There has got to be someone...

 

Worst case scenario... surely if its great TV like BoB the Americans would watch it themselves, like we did BoB? In which case, would we be able to secure the help, expertise and tools production team ?

[ecuk268]

One outstanding UK drama from the past was "Edge of Darkness".

 

Unfortunately, it's just been given the Hollywood treatment (lots of big explosions).

[Crab Lungs]

Any chance a mod can change the title of this thread to BoB - British miniseries version ideas?

[Crab Lungs]

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4522321329#!/group.php?v=wall&gid=4522321329

[jeff leopard]

One outstanding UK drama from the past was "Edge of Darkness".

 

Unfortunately, it's just been given the Hollywood treatment (lots of big explosions).

 

To be fair, the last episode of Edge of Darkness did decend into a faintly redicolous low buget bond film, but up to that point it had been excellent.

 

The best British series I've seen is I Claudius from 1976. Sex, violence, insanity, baby-eating, more sex, blood, porn, power, blood, blood. And more sex. John Hurt as Caligula is just priceless.

[Doctoroncall]

Not sure there is much better than the BoB series. Was amazing, Is amazing.

 

buying the boxset for a tenner almost seemed like i was cheating it somehow. If The Pacific serves up something half as good, it will def be worth a watch

 

The Pacific was written by the same guys as BoB and it is suppose to be just as good. Release date is 14th March, although that may be US only.

 

Last good brit TV was the State of Play thriller with John Sim and Bill Nighy.

[Sheaf Saint]

The key thing would be to focus on the human drama and not let it get swamped by iffy, cheap cgi. We don't have a Spielberg or massive film/tv industry to fund such a project.

 

Yeah I think you are absolutely right in this respect. Remember that BoB was (at the time anyway, not sure if it has been surpassed yet) the most expensive TV show ever made, with a budget of more than £80m.

 

To attempt to do something similar but at a fraction of the cost (which it would surely be if it were made by a British company) could be disastrous if the effects and production values are not up to standard.

[Mao Cap]

+1 for Clavdivs.

 

It's a combination of such a series being pretty expensive to make (all the main channels are in difficult financial straits at the moment) and a general fear of any sort of innovation in case a series like that doesn't get good ratings.

 

That's what we get for being a nation largely comprised of (a) slack-jawed morons perfectly content with talent shows, or (b) whining reactionaries looking out for anything that is a WASTE OF TAXPAYERS' MONEY (because, let's face it, only the BBC has any chance of putting on such a production and it being any good).

 

Frankly, as a country we get the TV we deserve.

[Kadeem Hardison]

I'd like to see a min-series about how the Home Guard ably protected the nation back in Blighty. We don't really see enough about how these great men, and let's not forget they were ordinary men - bank managers, bank clerks, butchers, coffin makers, black marketeers - kept the spirits up back home. I'd like to see the kind of scrapes they got into whilst doing their bit back home and how the internal dynamics of such a battalion worked.

[Shandy_Top_89]

It was only a rather strange alliance of Churchill and the left-wing parties that wanted to stand up to Hitler.

 

Many in the higher reaches of the Tory party (and Edward VIII) thought Hitler to be a jolly good chap who made the trains run on time. The Daily Express was particularly supportive of the regime in Germany.

 

Commercial TV (and the BBC to some extent) seems intent on churning out endless "talent" shows, cookery programmes and stuff about houses. Serious drama is somewhat lacking. Where is the UK equivalent of HBO?

 

There was some support for Hitler across the world, wasnt he Time's man of the year in 1938? However i think by the time Germany started expanding Chaimberlains national government figured out that it was inevitably going to end in war, and they just stuck with appeasement only until we had the strength to square up to them.

 

About tv i think there is still some good coming out here, mostly on c4 but the BBC has some good stuff sometimes mainly Ashes to Ashes and for some reason i like Merlin despite the fact it can take the level of cheese above and beyond. Doctor Who has become a CBBC show essentially, every time they make a good story they ruin it with an emphatically ****e plot twist e.g. if everyone on earth thinks the same thing at the exact same time MAGIC HAPPENS! A war drama would be appreciated though that is something we lack, particularly World War 1 dramas.

[.comsaint]

I love BoB - THE best series ever made for telly - bar none.

 

I must watch it 2 or 3 times each & every year without fail. Never get bored of it even though I know what's going to happen! I'm hoping the Pacific follow-up is as good. I believe it gets released next month (March) in the US so should follow soon after here.

[SuperMikey]

There's a huge story to tell, you could easily make another series as long as BoB out of any military campaign in WWII. Personally if they do decide to make another series in this style, i'd like to see one focusing on the conflict in North Africa. The European campaign is obviously the most famous one, liberating France, Holland etc and pushing into Germany, but not many seem to know about what happened in other places.

 

I only really know about the North African conflict because my grandad fought in it, but even now I still don't know the half of what actually happened, and he's not around to ask anymore. There's a huge story to tell and i'd love to see something like that made.

[Crab Lungs]

There's a huge story to tell, you could easily make another series as long as BoB out of any military campaign in WWII. Personally if they do decide to make another series in this style, i'd like to see one focusing on the conflict in North Africa. The European campaign is obviously the most famous one, liberating France, Holland etc and pushing into Germany, but not many seem to know about what happened in other places.

 

I only really know about the North African conflict because my grandad fought in it, but even now I still don't know the half of what actually happened, and he's not around to ask anymore. There's a huge story to tell and i'd love to see something like that made.

 

For the British, wasn't North Africa the biggest arena of conflict?

 

That would make for an incredible series and a really, really interesting one both from a historical and cultural point of view.

 

Like you said, North Africa is often overlooked. I'm sure that many people would have not known about Easy's exploits (however significant and major they were) if that story wasn't chosen for a miniseries either. There is bound to be some amazing stories to come from NA...

[View From The Top]

For the British, wasn't North Africa the biggest arena of conflict?

 

That would make for an incredible series and a really, really interesting one both from a historical and cultural point of view.

 

Like you said, North Africa is often overlooked. I'm sure that many people would have not known about Easy's exploits (however significant and major they were) if that story wasn't chosen for a miniseries either. There is bound to be some amazing stories to come from NA...

 

The obvious story to make about the NA theatre would be the formation and employment of the Long Range Desert Group.

[View From The Top]

In fact, a better story and less known one, is the battle through Italy from Cassino to the crossing of the Po.

[SuperMikey]

For the British, wasn't North Africa the biggest arena of conflict?

 

That would make for an incredible series and a really, really interesting one both from a historical and cultural point of view.

 

Like you said, North Africa is often overlooked. I'm sure that many people would have not known about Easy's exploits (however significant and major they were) if that story wasn't chosen for a miniseries either. There is bound to be some amazing stories to come from NA...

 

Yes, North Africa was certainly one of the largest conflicts for British forces, but also involved were many, many soldiers from other countries like Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, the 'free' French and Greece. What some people don't realise is the huge contribution that these other countries made to the Allied war effort, and thanks to Hollywood nowadays it's usually all focused on American exploits (not that they didn't help, they were just a wee bit late!). I think there's plenty of scope for a very interesting and entertaining series on this, as the African campaign lasted for pretty much the entirety of WWII.

 

This is a fantastic read for anyone that's interested, in quite an easy to digest form (and for once on Wikipedia, it's actually accurate!)

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean,_Middle_East_and_African_theatres_of_World_War_II#North_Africa

[percy windham]

 

No dramas we've produced in the last 10-15 years, have even come close to The Sopranos, The Wire or indeed BOB.

 

So you've named three (albeit excellent) series' that all ended years ago.

The U.S produces more poor drama than the Uk, i can guarantee you, and HBO shows constant repeats.

[mightysaints]

Just had a look at the trailers on the HBO site for The Pacific. It looks like one hell of a series. Theres no way a British TV company could have a budget to do anything on our side justice.

[swannymere]

Doesn't Dad's Army cover this

[Thedelldays]

would be good to see something like BoB done for the Falklands conflict...

[Guest Dark Sotonic Mills]

How about a film of the British capturing the Enigma machine. That'd make a good subject...

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

How about a film of the British capturing the Enigma machine. That'd make a good subject...

 

Especially after the Yanks have made it look like it was an American achievement!!

[Marsdinho]

Doesn't Dad's Army cover this

 

Yeah, and Blackadder Goes Forth...

[manji]

If the Brits made a version it was have to have David Tennant and David Jason in it. Nearly all would be filmed on location in a quarry and all the main actors would do a "funny" musical version of it on ****ing Children In Need......................

[Amesbury Saint]

The obvious story to make about the NA theatre would be the formation and employment of the Long Range Desert Group.

 

whilst its a good story,

 

much prefer the story of the ordinary soldier who served in NA and then Italy.

 

My Grandfather was in tank regiment in NA and Italy. Never really spoke about it.

[Pugwash]

would be good to see something like BoB done for the Falklands conflict...

 

Good idea. Be good to get a naval-based story, being a maritime nation.

 

The idea I had was the battle for Malta, focussing on the RN and MN efforts to keep the convoys running for about two years. At times the guys on that run went into it knowing they only had a 1-in-3 chance of coming out the other side without being sunk. Under constant air attacks, awful losses, heart-wrenchingly tough decisions by commanders.

[aintforever]

If you like war stuff the beeb site is a fascinating read, 47,000 mainly first hand accounts of WW2...

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/

[St Landrew]

Traditionally, the Brits have never been that good at portraying war on TV because it requires a large budget to do the sprawling subject justice. We do tend to do it well in documentaries though. The British acted war series on TV that have been excellent have been about smaller scale operations or situations. Both of BBC's Secret Army and Colditz were excellent, in their time, but they're not explosive enough for today's audiences, brought up on fantasy violence.

 

My old Dad used to have a saying for a commodity that US TV and Films had [and still have], that was missing from British stuff in the same vein. He called it Yankee Bull[sh!t], and he was right. What makes the American TV more watchable is the lump of Yankee Bull they usually throw in, for good measure. He loved it, but having identified it, I found I didn't, on the whole. Give me the honest stuff, even if it is less entertaining. At least it is the truth. I can't give you an example of US TV, as I tend not to watch any, but obvious examples of US films are Saving Private Ryan [good film, but did the Americans really appear to do it all on their own..? No British..? No French..? No Polish..? No Canadians, No ANZacs, etc..?] and U571, where you'd think good old Uncle Sam saved the world merchant fleets, single handed, by finding an Enigma machine, complete with codes. US media is quite influential. I've even heard that WWII started in 1942..!

 

Dumbed down that it is, to say there is nothing of merit produced by British TV companies, on our TV screens, is a huge generalisation. Perhaps there's just nothing for you.

 

To be perfectly honest, I'm struggling to think of any output, from any country, that is worthy of actually turning on the TV nowadays, apart from the odd LIVE event. I could watch the half dozen programmes, per week, I bother to tune into on the various players on the Web.

Edited 7 February, 2010 by St Landrew

[Under Weststand]

I didn't watch BOB when it was on TV but my son bought me the box set 2 Christmases ago, & I think its outstanding. I would love to see some similar series for the British forces. They could do a tremendous one on the African Campaign, one for The battle of Britain & one for the Atlantic convoys, which they could then tell the true story of the enigma capture (as stated above). Don't see it happening to be honest, unless Sky were to try to do it justice.

[.comsaint]

For all those interested - a couple of trailers for the new Band of Brothers 'Pacific' series:

 

 

 

Also: here's an interesting video of Tom Hanks & Steven Spielberg giving interviews about why they wanted to make the Pacific (not great quality but very watchable):

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW4ZnEC36iE

 

Incidentally - the series premieres on March 14 in the US. Should follow very soon afterwards here in the UK.

Edited 10 February, 2010 by .comsaint