Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on Sept 8, 2015 20:46:36 GMT -5
Geek Obsession: Playtone miniseries
Why it's daunting: In 1995, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Tom Hanks, all fresh off Apollo 13, decided to develop a production exploring the entire history of the Apollo program. Each part of the story would make for a great film, so the idea was pitched to HBO as a miniseries. Three years later, From the Earth to the Moon came out, and the proud tradition of Playtone's historical miniseries for HBO began. All of the series are produced by Tom Hanks, and all feature at least one episode written by the still-underrated Graham Yost. Each of the series deal with some piece of American history, from the 1770s to the 1970s, but not every piece of that history can be so easily adapted to the medium of television. And with the Lewis and Clark series Undaunted Courage now in production, it's worth knowing where to start.
Possible gateway: Band of Brothers
Why: Obvious answer? Yes. But it's also the best answer. Band of Brothers is easily the most popular Playtone series, and for good reason. It originally came to unexpected prominence due to the coincidence of its broadcast with the September 11 attacks, thus giving Americans an outlet for their patriotism in a time when nobody quite knew what to do anymore, but it still holds up fourteen years later. Band of Brothers shows an important piece of our history, as Americans and as citizens of the world; it has lots of good action and emotion and a ton of great characters, all based on real people, which gives the presentation even more power. It's very consistent; the tone of the show is able to juggle the terror of war, the joy of going back to England, the anxieties of leadership, and the importance of the man next to you. It's also very accessible, with fans picking out favorite and moments and characters, many of which were played by then-unknowns who went on to become stars.
Next Steps: From the Earth to the Moon was not officially produced by Tom Hanks' Playtone outfit, but the company was created during the series' development, so we're going to count it. Like Band of Brothers, the series focuses on a single time period and a single mission: NASA's mission to put a man on the moon. Unlike BoB, this series takes a much looser approach, bouncing back and forth between settings and characters depending on which story they're trying to tell, but the show has enough breathing room for that to work. From the Earth to the Moon doesn't skimp, showing you every element of NASA's gargantuan endeavor, from Kennedy's vow to reach the moon in 1961 to our final visit in 1972.
If I had to choose a favorite episode, it'd be "That's All There Is," about Apollo 12 and it's very silly crew led by Pete Conrad. A close second would be "Spider," about the engineers who designed the lunar module. You wouldn't think that could make compelling television, but it really is! However, there is at least one dud: since Hanks and Howard had already done Apollo 13, they decided to center that episode around the rivalry between two fictional TV reporters. You can figure out why that doesn't work.
If you're feeling extra historical and have a hard-on for period detail, you would be well-advised to check out John Adams, covering the bulk of early American history through the viewpoint of one of its less-beloved but no less interesting figures. Not only does everyone involved put in a great performance, but the series is (to my knowledge) the first to apply what linguists call "original pronunciation" to television. That is to say, period-accurate accents. It doesn't just stop there; the evolution of fashions, political attitudes, and the cultural dissonance are all strongly emphasized. The characters' teeth even get worse with each successive episode! Some artistic license is taken, but it's only done to make a point that Americans often forget: that the founding fathers were not angels or Olympian gods, but human beings who told jokes and got seasick and had bad teeth. There're some tearjerker moments in here, but there's also a lot of humor, mainly provided by Ben Franklin.
Where Not to Start: The Pacific. After the success of Band of Brothers, Playtone produced another World War II series, this time set among the US marines in the Pacific Theater, from Guadalcanal to Okinawa. However, Band of Brothers worked because it was all about a single company of men, who served in many of the most important battles in Europe and most of whom made it all the way through. But The Pacific moves around a lot; the three main point-of-view characters rarely if ever interact, and there's a general lack of momentum as a result.
Most of the criticism of The Pacific revolved around its much darker, more nihilistic tone in contrast to BoB, which is understandable given the nature of the war in Asia compared to Europe, but I think there's another, bigger issue. Rumor has it that The Pacific was originally intended to be longer, with even more individual stories with different characters, more like From the Earth to the Moon, but they didn't have the budget for extra episodes. And it's a shame, because that would've probably worked a lot better.
Why it's daunting: In 1995, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Tom Hanks, all fresh off Apollo 13, decided to develop a production exploring the entire history of the Apollo program. Each part of the story would make for a great film, so the idea was pitched to HBO as a miniseries. Three years later, From the Earth to the Moon came out, and the proud tradition of Playtone's historical miniseries for HBO began. All of the series are produced by Tom Hanks, and all feature at least one episode written by the still-underrated Graham Yost. Each of the series deal with some piece of American history, from the 1770s to the 1970s, but not every piece of that history can be so easily adapted to the medium of television. And with the Lewis and Clark series Undaunted Courage now in production, it's worth knowing where to start.
Possible gateway: Band of Brothers
Why: Obvious answer? Yes. But it's also the best answer. Band of Brothers is easily the most popular Playtone series, and for good reason. It originally came to unexpected prominence due to the coincidence of its broadcast with the September 11 attacks, thus giving Americans an outlet for their patriotism in a time when nobody quite knew what to do anymore, but it still holds up fourteen years later. Band of Brothers shows an important piece of our history, as Americans and as citizens of the world; it has lots of good action and emotion and a ton of great characters, all based on real people, which gives the presentation even more power. It's very consistent; the tone of the show is able to juggle the terror of war, the joy of going back to England, the anxieties of leadership, and the importance of the man next to you. It's also very accessible, with fans picking out favorite and moments and characters, many of which were played by then-unknowns who went on to become stars.
Next Steps: From the Earth to the Moon was not officially produced by Tom Hanks' Playtone outfit, but the company was created during the series' development, so we're going to count it. Like Band of Brothers, the series focuses on a single time period and a single mission: NASA's mission to put a man on the moon. Unlike BoB, this series takes a much looser approach, bouncing back and forth between settings and characters depending on which story they're trying to tell, but the show has enough breathing room for that to work. From the Earth to the Moon doesn't skimp, showing you every element of NASA's gargantuan endeavor, from Kennedy's vow to reach the moon in 1961 to our final visit in 1972.
If I had to choose a favorite episode, it'd be "That's All There Is," about Apollo 12 and it's very silly crew led by Pete Conrad. A close second would be "Spider," about the engineers who designed the lunar module. You wouldn't think that could make compelling television, but it really is! However, there is at least one dud: since Hanks and Howard had already done Apollo 13, they decided to center that episode around the rivalry between two fictional TV reporters. You can figure out why that doesn't work.
If you're feeling extra historical and have a hard-on for period detail, you would be well-advised to check out John Adams, covering the bulk of early American history through the viewpoint of one of its less-beloved but no less interesting figures. Not only does everyone involved put in a great performance, but the series is (to my knowledge) the first to apply what linguists call "original pronunciation" to television. That is to say, period-accurate accents. It doesn't just stop there; the evolution of fashions, political attitudes, and the cultural dissonance are all strongly emphasized. The characters' teeth even get worse with each successive episode! Some artistic license is taken, but it's only done to make a point that Americans often forget: that the founding fathers were not angels or Olympian gods, but human beings who told jokes and got seasick and had bad teeth. There're some tearjerker moments in here, but there's also a lot of humor, mainly provided by Ben Franklin.
Where Not to Start: The Pacific. After the success of Band of Brothers, Playtone produced another World War II series, this time set among the US marines in the Pacific Theater, from Guadalcanal to Okinawa. However, Band of Brothers worked because it was all about a single company of men, who served in many of the most important battles in Europe and most of whom made it all the way through. But The Pacific moves around a lot; the three main point-of-view characters rarely if ever interact, and there's a general lack of momentum as a result.
Most of the criticism of The Pacific revolved around its much darker, more nihilistic tone in contrast to BoB, which is understandable given the nature of the war in Asia compared to Europe, but I think there's another, bigger issue. Rumor has it that The Pacific was originally intended to be longer, with even more individual stories with different characters, more like From the Earth to the Moon, but they didn't have the budget for extra episodes. And it's a shame, because that would've probably worked a lot better.