Was Masters of the Air worth the wait?

More than 20 years in the making, "Masters of the Air" follows on from 2001's "Band of Brothers", and "The Pacific" in 2010. The same writing and production team – which includes Steve Spielberg and Tom Hanks – are now tackling the Second World War from a different perspective: looking at the battle for aerial supremacy that proved so crucial in shaping the outcome.

What's the story of 'Masters of the Air'?

The nine-part series spans 1943 to 1945, and is based on the 2007 book of the same name by Donald L. Miller. It tells the story of the 100th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force, an American unit sent to Norfolk in the spring of 1943, which earned the nickname "the Bloody Hundredth" on account of their losses. 

As with "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific", a gentle narrator guides us through "the familiar soldier's journey of excitement, losses, replacements, burnout, and salutary reminders of why we fight", said Empire.

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Similarly, too, the aerial action scenes come thick and fast, and "their intensity" will "take your breath away", said The Telegraph. We witness the "pure terror" of "a gunner trapped in the ball turret of a B-17" bomber, and see "men have their faces blown off, go down in burning aircraft", or bail out over enemy territory. "And the men who witness all this happening to their comrades and somehow make it back alive have to go out and fly another mission tomorrow."

Its style echoes classic war films, with its "earnest, clunky dialogue and swaggering heroes", said the BBC, and "old-school cinematic opening credits", said The Guardian. These feature "sweeping orchestral music, stormy skies, slow-motion shots of characters saluting, marching, staring into the distance as the wind buffets their perfect hair, small children staring wistfully at the skies".

However, as Empire pointed out, it's all handled with "a certain strain of American exceptionalism" with non-Americans appearing as stereotypes, Brits portrayed as "invariably stiff-upper-lipped" and "only a passing mention" for the RAF.

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Who's in the cast and crew?

Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks both return as producers, with Dee Rees ("Mudbound") and Cary Fukunaga ("No Time to Die") among the directors.

The credits for the vast cast are "stuffed with shots of actors we don't even meet until far, far into the series", said The Guardian, because, to put it bluntly, "many of the characters die, some of them before the first episode is done", said The Telegraph.

The "Masters of the Air" heroes are a pair of pilots, Major John "Bucky" Egan (Callum Turner) and Major Gale "Buck" Cleven (Austin Butler), who are best friends with "similar nicknames but polar-opposite personalities", said the BBC. Bucky is a "rabble-rouser and a drinker who fights with passion", said The Guardian, while Buck is "solid, sedate and tempers Bucky's fire". 

"Band of Brothers" was credited with launching the careers of relatively unknown actors such as Damian Lewis, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy and Tom Hardy "who went on to big things" said The Telegraph. And we may see something similar here, with "Butler (Elvis), Barry Keoghan (Saltburn) and Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who), who were little known when filming began in 2021 but are now the men-of-the-moment".

Will it be as successful as 'Band of Brothers'?

You can "feel the love lavished on this project" by Spielberg and Hanks, said The Telegraph. You can also "feel the $250 million budget", twice that of "Band of Brothers", which at the time was the most expensive TV series ever made.

With today's streaming services we're spoilt for choice with what to watch, which may contribute to the "strange lack of hype" around the drama, said The Guardian. However, "Masters of the Air" is "truly fantastic television" that deserves to be a hit so "the buzz" may be set "to make a late appearance".

Two recent reports have suggested that the "Peak TV" era is over, said the Financial Times, but "could Spielberg's own military aviation epic help usher in a new dawn for the small screen?"