Catch-22 (Miniseries)

[TAdan]

So, has anyone watched it yet? It premiered on the 17th. I'm 5/6 of the way through and have been enjoying it. Very good cast and they seem to be staying true to the book and the film. If you like the book and the movie I highly recommend it.

There are a few small details that might bug the Warbird minded folks, but nothing bad enough to take away from the overall story.

Episode 5 featured a great A2A sequence of the Ju-52 in M&M Enterprises scheme.

[GRNDP51]

I finished it last night, I never read the book or watched the first movie, but I did enjoy it. Is there more to the series to come, eventually? Or are those 6 episodes as far as the story goes?

[TAdan]

I finished watching it last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Very well done.

As far as I know those six episodes captured the scope of the original book. I wouldn't expect additional episodes.

[Stoney]

as i don't have any thing but the net, where can i watch it?

[TAdan]

Stoney it is available on Hulu.

[Iclo]

Hello,

The Ju52 came from the collection based at the Ferté-Alais near Paris.

[p51]

The series is out on DVD. I ordered a copy and just got it the other day.
I really liked it. The actor playing Yossarian just didn't... emote like I would have though. Maybe I was thinking Alan Arkin too much? There wasn't much of a range to him, and I assume that was intentional.
Other than the barrel shrouds on the .50 cal in the nose that kept switching between nothing installed behind it to a full 'ma duce' in place, the continuity was good.
The uniforms, props, aircraft and vehicles were excellent.

[Stephan Wilkinson]

The thing that always bothers me is that there is NO CATCH-22. If an aircrewman wanted to be relieved from flying duties during WWII (and I assume at other times), all he had to do was ask. Flight crew were all considered to be volunteers, and you could opt out anytime you wanted. You didn't have to paddle a rubber raft to Sweden,

You supposedly were able to do it without any opprobrium. They weren't allowed to demote a staff sergeant to PFC and send him to Attu. Yes, they could send you to the infantry and they certainly weren't going to send you back to the States to command a platoon of WACs, but your treatment was supposed to be fair and even-handed if you opted out of flight duty.

Joseph Heller's entire novel is based on a nonsense theory. The only catch-22 was in Heller's head.

[OD/NG]

The thing that always bothers me is that there is NO CATCH-22. If an aircrewman wanted to be relieved from flying duties during WWII (and I assume at other times), all he had to do was ask. Flight crew were all considered to be volunteers, and you could opt out anytime you wanted. You didn't have to paddle a rubber raft to Sweden,

You supposedly were able to do it without any opprobrium. They weren't allowed to demote a staff sergeant to PFC and send him to Attu. Yes, they could send you to the infantry and they certainly weren't going to send you back to the States to command a platoon of WACs, but your treatment was supposed to be fair and even-handed if you opted out of flight duty.

Joseph Heller's entire novel is based on a nonsense theory. The only catch-22 was in Heller's head.

Wow, great assessment, Mr. Positivity! You're right, I guess Heller should have never written the book. If he never wrote the book, the movie would not have been made. If the movie had not been made, the vast majority of flying B-25's would not exist and be flying. Yep, I see your point. This is a win-win situation for the warbird movement. Thanks for your insightful input on this historically accurate non-fiction piece of literature.

[airnutz]

OMG!!! Another "dead messenger"! Redrum! Redrum!! Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story...
Actually, Heller's title was not a literal one, or was 22 set in stone. They went thru several numbers before they settled on 22. The story was based on the absurdities sometimes encountered in military life.
A minor one I encountered in the Navy...we were issued tan colored swim suits. One August day, we were working in the superstructure of the boat which was hot as he11 being all black. I told the guys to change into the swim trunks in an attempt at some comfort. Everything was going as well as possible considering until the XO showed up demanding we change into our standard "hot azz polyester work attire". Long story short...the Admirals wife had seen us on break and assumed we were lounging on deck in our skivvies! Attempts to explain or attempt to have him go explain to the Admiral's wife about military issue fell on deaf ears...in fact it was a test of his patience and blood pressure...which was relieved by an interdiction of the Weapons Officer and a change of work clothes. Sheesh....

[Kyleb]

Wow, great assessment, Mr. Positivity! You're right, I guess Heller should have never written the book. If he never wrote the book, the movie would not have been made. If the movie had not been made, the vast majority of flying B-25's would not exist and be flying. Yep, I see your point. This is a win-win situation for the warbird movement. Thanks for your insightful input on this historically accurate non-fiction piece of literature.

Holy overreaction, Batman!

[p51]

I'm not surprised to see the skivvies story.
I'll never forget what a TAC SGT yelled at me at ROTC advanced camp when I was a cadet, carrying my M-16 by it's handle as we didn't have slings yet:

Cadet, don't carry that weapon by it's carrying handle!

Everyone around, even the active duty and cadre, stopped and looked at him for how insane that sounded. He never got it.
I never got to carry it for the carrying handle, even after that.

[Mark Sampson]

Let's not forget that Joseph Heller was indeed a B-25 bombardier, stationed on an island off the coast of Italy, and flew a full complement of combat missions. He chose to write a satiric novel (fiction) based on his experiences. Neither the book, the movie, or this TV series should be considered history, nor were they intended to be. A good story? Yes, good enough to be told three different ways over many decades.

[shrike]

I'm not surprised to see the skivvies story.
I'll never forget what a TAC SGT yelled at me at ROTC advanced camp when I was a cadet, carrying my M-16 by it's handle as we didn't have slings yet:

Cadet, don't carry that weapon by it's carrying handle!

Everyone around, even the active duty and cadre, stopped and looked at him for how insane that sounded. He never got it.
I never got to carry it for the carrying handle, even after that.

Got to do that ONCE in Basic. I was put in charge of moving a small group form A to B. "Trail, ARMS. Route Step, Forward, HARCH". "Huh?". "Carry it like a suitcase and walk in a line." DS just shook his head. The commands were correct, and he HAD just given me 'command'. Needless to say I was NOT put in charge of movement again.