Band of Brothers is Coming Back, Soldier!

I was so glad to see the other night on an advert for M-NET Action, which is channel 106 on DSTV, that the great series called Band of Brothers, is coming back next week, starting on the 6th of April.

If you haven’t yet watched it, Band of Brothers first aired years ago, back in 2001. I remember watching it on M-NET in 2003. The series is basically inspired by, and in some ways a continuation of, Saving Private Ryan, seeing as Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg were involved in the project, like they were in the Oscar-winning film before it, as was Dale Dye, acting as military consultant.

And Band of Brothers likely went on to influence some other World War II genre FPS titles just like SPR did- like some Medal of Honor titles [I’m thinking particularly Spearhead or Airborne], Brothers in Arms [definitely], and Call of Duty.

The series tells the tale of D-Day – but not like in Saving Private Ryan, where you witness the GIs storm the beaches of Normandy. This time it’s the paratroopers who land on the 5th of June, 1944; the night before.

The main star would be Dick Winters, played by Damian Lewis in likely his most famous role, firstly a Lieutenant, as the series starts with American paratroopers going through basic training in the States, then preparing for the operation while they’re in England, right across the channel from Nazi-occupied France. And from there we see them dropping into Normandy under the cover of night, and embarking on their mission to not only soften up the Germans from the inside while the ground troops are on the beaches, but to continue on to make another drop in Eindhoven, The Netherlands to take part in the disastrous Operation Market Garden, as well as march in to Berlin, Germany.

It delves into some personal issues along the way, and the relationships that unfold between Winters and the rest of the paratroopers in his company, as he is promoted to Captain just before this invasion. And on top of that, the real stars, the actual veterans who took place in the war, appear and tell interesting little stories about their experiences in the war, and how they’ve never been able to forget the horrors they saw so many years ago.

All in all, if you’re complaining about nothing to watch just lately, then do yourself a big favour, stop whining, and tune in to watch this great WWII experience.

Band of Brothers starts on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 on Channel 106 [M-NET Action], DSTV, at 20:00. Two back to back episodes [two hours] will play for at least the first week. There are ten episodes in the mini-series all in all.

Band of Brothers is Coming Back, Soldier!