Guadalcanal/Leckie 

Veteran Sergeant John Basilone ships out soon after Pearl Harbor for Guadalcanal while other young enlistees are sent to boot camp.

Director:

Timothy Van Patten (as Tim Van Patten)

Writers:

Bruce C. McKenna, Robert Leckie (based in part on the book "Helmet for My Pillow")

Stars:

James Badge Dale, Joseph Mazzello, Jon Seda

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
James Badge Dale	...	PFC Robert Leckie
Joseph Mazzello	...	Eugene Sledge (as Joe Mazzello)
Jon Seda	...	Sgt. John Basilone
Jon Bernthal	...	Sgt. Manuel Rodriguez
Joshua Bitton	...	Sgt. J.P. Morgan
Tom Budge	...	PFC Ronnie Gibson
Linda Cropper	...	Mary Frank Sledge
Caroline Dhavernas	...	Vera Keller
Josh Helman	...	PFC Lew 'Chuckler' Juergens
Ashton Holmes	...	PFC Sidney Phillips
Toby Leonard Moore	...	Sgt. Stone
Henry Nixon	...	2nd Lt. Hugh Corrigan
Keith Nobbs	...	PFC Wilbur 'Runner' Conley
Conor O'Farrell	...	Dr. Sledge
Jacob Pitts	...	PFC Bill 'Hoosier' Smith

Storyline

Directly following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Sgt. Jon Basilone ships out to fight the enemy somewhere in the Pacific, and young journalist, Robert Leckie, enlists in the Marine Corps. Sidney Phillips ships off to boot camp after saying farewell to his friend Eugene Sledge, who cannot go with him due to a heart murmur. Eight months later, Phillips and Leckie have completed boot camp and are sent to secure an airfield on Guadalcanal, and defend it against counterattack.

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Plot Keywords:

teenager | grave digging | handshake | crying | bicycling | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

The night action by the Japanese against the Marines' positions on the sandbar at the mouth of Alligator Creek is known as the Battle of the Tenaru. The Japanese had badly underestimated the scale of the US forces on the island. This led to overconfidence on their part, and so in the early hours of 21 August 1942, 917 Japanese attacked entrenched and well-defended Marine positions on the Tenaru sandbar. They lost over 780 dead in that single battle.

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Goofs

During Lt. Col. Puller's presentation in which he describes the areas conquered by the Japanese, he mentions Hong Kong but he clearly points to Hainan Island, almost 400 miles to the southwest of Hong Kong and about 40x larger.

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Quotes

PFC Robert Leckie: [reading a letter from home] "P.S., your mother would like to know if you want us to send you your dress blue uniform."
[they all laugh]
PFC Robert Leckie: Must think we get a lot of fancy dress balls around here.
PFC Wilbur 'Runner' Conley: Hey, if we have one, can I be your date?
PFC Robert Leckie: *You* are ugly. I want Hoosier.
PFC Bill 'Hoosier' Smith: [casually] Take a number.

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Connections

Version of Guadalcanal Diary (1943)

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Soundtracks

With The Old Breed
(uncredited)
Written by Hans Zimmer, Blake Neely, and Geoff Zanelli

User Reviews

Very good start

Greetings from Lithuania.

I've been waiting for this show from the first time i heard that creators of "Band of Brothers" are making this. And, i can say now, i'ts been worth waiting. First episode is very good. It's not a masterpiece, it's nothing we haven't see before, but it's a very good first episode of (hopfuly) great mini series. Acting, directing is good - no surprise, when S.Spielberg is ex-producer. Watching the first episode, i start thinking about "The Thin red line", but it's a totally different (no surprise here). So far so good.Can't wait for next episode.

Details

Release Date:

14 March 2010 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Playtone, DreamWorks, Home Box Office (HBO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

52 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1