PACIFIC, THE: GLOUCESTER/PAVUVU/BANIKA {EPISODE 4} (TV)
Summary
The fourth episode in this ten-part historical miniseries, a companion piece to 2001's "Band of Brothers," depicting the Pacific Theatre of World War II as described in the memoirs of several United States Marine Corps veterans. In December 1943, Private Sledge struggles with his Marine training as Leckie and the others celebrate Christmas aboard the transport ship as they head for Cape Gloucester. Despite being assigned to intelligence, Leckie joins the others on patrol and takes out four Japanese soldiers in the jungle. The Marines face another attack under a heavy rain, and Leckie is told to destroy the intelligence tent if they are overrun. In the morning, however, they realize that they greatly outnumbered the enemy and are disturbed at their fearlessness and determination in the face of certain death. The Marines explore the Japanese camp and Leckie finds a chest containing a pistol, among other things, and takes it for himself. They come across a Japanese soldier who is still alive, though barely, and Gibson slowly strangles him to death as his friends look on, alarmed. Everyone is frustrated as the terrible weather continues, and Leckie writes to Vera that they have not seen an enemy soldier for two weeks and are instead battling the island itself.
Leckie is furious when Sgt. Larkin, claiming he needs it to store papers, steals his ill-gotten chest, and Leckie eventually steals it back and gets himself booted from intelligence detail. He is humiliated when Larkin points out that he has urinated on himself, and the doctor diagnoses him with enuresis, though tells him that there is little to be done about it. Leckie's despair increases when another man, LeBec, has a psychotic break and kills himself. Later, in May 1944, the Marines depart for Pavuvu, and Runner comes down with malaria as Leckie vents his frustration in letters to Vera. The commanding officers conduct a lottery and a few randomly-chosen men are allowed to go home, and when Leckie continues suffering the effects of enuresis, the doctor sends him to a hospital on Banika. He realizes that he is being held with a number of psych patients, including "Captain Midnight," who wanders the wards at night, talking to himself. Dr. Grant admits that he assumed that Leckie was faking in order to escape the hardships of Marine life, telling him that most of the men there are just "worn out." Leckie at first dismisses the doctor's attempts to "assess" his mental health, but then confesses that Guadalcanal and Cape Gloucester took a profound toll on him as well.
Late at night, Captain Midnight becomes agitated and is sedated, and Leckie is shocked to see his friend Gibson in an isolated cell as well. The orderly tells him that Gibson tried to kill himself after a desperate escape attempt, and Leckie tells Grant that he wants to leave the comfortable hospital and get back to his friends before they ship out, even offering to bribe him with the Japanese pistol. Grant agrees to release him and Leckie bids farewell to Gibson, who talks about his own traumatic experiences before wishing Leckie a "quick and easy" death rather than prolonged suffering.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: April 4, 2010 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:51:05
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 110583
- GENRE: Drama, historical
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, historical; World War II - Pacific campaign; Miniseries
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 2010
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Tom Hanks … Executive Producer
- Steven Spielberg … Executive Producer
- Gary Goetzman … Executive Producer
- Eugene Kelly … Co-Executive Producer
- Bruce C. McKenna … Co-Executive Producer
- Tony To … Co-Executive Producer
- Graham Yost … Co-Executive Producer, Director, Writer
- Tim Van Patten … Supervising Producer
- Todd London … Producer
- Cherylanne Martin … Producer
- Steven Shareshian … Producer
- George Pelecanos … Co-Producer
- Kirk Saduski … Co-Producer
- Miura Kite … Co-Producer
- Robert Schenkkan … Co-Producer, Writer
- Jonathan Brytus … Associate Producer
- Jennifer Jackson … Associate Producer
- April Nocifora … Associate Producer
- Christina Graff … Visual Effects Producer
- Ineke Majoor … Visual Effects Producer
- David Taritero … Visual Effects Producer
- Eugene B. Sledge … Based on the book by
- Robert Leckie … Based on the book by
- Chuck Tatum … Based on the book by
- Hans Zimmer … Music by
- Blake Neely … Music by
- Geoff Zanelli … Music by
- James Badge Dale … Cast, PFC Robert Leckie
- Joe Mazzello … Cast, Pvt. Eugene Sledge
- Jon Seda … Cast, Sgt. John Basilone
- Tom Budge … Cast, PFC Ronnie Gibson
- Nate Corddry … Cast, Pvt. "Loudmouth"
- Matt Craven … Cast, Dr. Grant
- Josh Helman … Cast, PFC Lew "Chuckler" Juergens
- Ashton Holmes … Cast, PFC Sidney Phillips
- Toby Leonard Moore … Cast, 2nd Lt. Stone
- Keith Nobbs … Cast, PFC Wilbur "Runner" Conley
- Jacob Pitts … Cast, PFC Bill "Hoosier" Smith
- Craig Ball … Cast, Cpl. Ruddiger
- Laurence Shaman Breuls … Cast, 1st Lt. Larkin
- Grant Cartwright … Cast, Captain Midnight
- Andrew Lees … Cast, Pvt. Robert Oswalt
- Nathan Lovejoy … Cast, Sgt. Crease
- Rohan Nichol … Cast, 2nd Lt. LeBec
- Bill Young … Cast, Lt. Col. McMaster