Coming from Executive Producers Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Gary Goetzman and written by John Shiban and John Orloff, Masters of the Air is set to debut on Apple+ at the end of next week. The series, based on “Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany” by Donald L. Miller, surely has some WWII aviation fans interested in watching it. Let’s have a quick look!

A more realistic rendition?

If you’re like me and love the history of WWII aviation (its why I got into combat flight simulators), you’ll also probably have seen half a dozen or more TV shows, movies, and mini series devoted to the topic. Some of my all time favourites include the 1969 classic Battle of Britain. I’ve also seen some less than realistic renditions such as 2012’s Red Tails. So its with my usual brand of hopeful optimism that we get more realistic story of the trials and tribulations of the air war over western Europe with Masters of the Air.

The official trailer gives me hope and a bit of pause too but certainly what I’ve seen has been more realistic and hopefully ends up being quite an enjoyable drama to watch. Check out the trailer here.

The opening sequence has also been released with serious nods to other realistic WWII dramas including one of my all time favourites, Band of Brothers.

The first two episodes will begin streaming on Apple+ starting January 26, 2024. My TV is ready to go!


17 responses to “Masters of the Air coming next week”

  1. Mine too! Gosh, it is been a long time since it was announced:

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    1. ShamrockOneFive Avatar
      ShamrockOneFive

      Such a long time!

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  2. “We could wave at the people and buzz in low and make the roofs flap in the prop wash, and pull up and do lazy eights over the town hall, or stay up at 20,000 and line up the cross hairs on the local steel mill or opera house and watch the bombs drop away. And while the little kids waved at us their houses would topple and the lights would go out and the bomb dust would strangle the living air.”

    – Bert Stiles, Serenade to the Big Bird

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  3. Looking forward to this. Loved Band of Brothers, watched it twice. But couldn’t get through one episode of Pacific. Something about it I didn’t like. I hope this one is good.

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    1. I got through The Pacific but yeah it was missing some of the magic storytelling that Band of Brothers had.

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      1. I guess I’m just super picky but I tried again and turned it off again. I guess band of Brothers was just a hard act to follow. Bring on the air war.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. I will have to consult with my eye patch wearing, peg legged friend to see if I can watch or not. Either that or i just subscribe to apple for a bit until it is finished, will wait and see lol

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  5. Ken-Dagfinn Rian Avatar
    Ken-Dagfinn Rian

    Although I’ve been waiting with bated breath for this since it was announced, the trailers have me worried to be honest.

    I was hoping to have a narrow focus series, like band of brothers. Following one squadron or crew. But it looks like they fell into the “we only get one chance to do this, so we need to cover it all!” trap.

    Don’t get me wrong, all the topics they seem to cover, like love stories, holocaust, the pow experience, escape and evasion, Tuskegee airmen…they are all deserving of their stories being told. Heaven knows the Tuskegee airmen deserved better than the movie they got. But I fear it’ll result in a too wide of a focus and you won’t get to know the characters or care for them as much as in band of brothers. More in line with “the pacific”.

    Anyways, hope to be proven wrong. And I’ll definitely watch every episode!

    Ken

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    1. Hopefully it’ll turn out for the best. Should be interesting and I will also watch every episode!

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      1. Sadly I will not purchase another streaming service to watch this. I love both Band of Brothers and Pacific, but I will not pay another penny for all the many services out there. Sad how entertainment has turned in to a very expensive way for people to watch TV ( with commercials).

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  6. I read the books a couple years back when the show was first announced. The book covers almost every facet of the 8th Air Force. I remember thinking the book was almost too depressing to make into a show – it didn’t hold back on a lot of the horrors. The trailers on the other hand almost look too Hollywood. I’m still optimistic because of the people who made it, plus I have to remember most TV shows and movies don’t live up to the expectations of us WWII nerds.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It definitely has a Hollywood look to it… not too surprising. But hopefully it can do that when it needs to and then gives us what the rest of us are hoping for. Tough balance but just maybe they will pull it off? Fingers crossed!

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  7. In case you guys missed it, “B-17 Flying Fortress : The Mighty 8th Redux” will be released on Steam next week, too (when I first saw the headline, I thought this article is about that game by Microprose…).

    Liked by 1 person

    1. ShamrockOneFive Avatar
      ShamrockOneFive

      I did miss that! Thanks for the tip.

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  8. Sorry to be a kill-joy, but that looks like the worst bits of Pearl Harbour. With extra bad bits. And the cast appear to be Forrest Gump.

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    1. ShamrockOneFive Avatar
      ShamrockOneFive

      We need to infect you with a tiny bit of cautious optimism. It may end up being terrible but …. it may end up being alright too! 🙂

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      1. Your infectious optimism, Sir, is one of the best elements of this site. One of the many reasons that is is so beloved.

        But on the fence I shall remain. For now.

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