Band of Brothers hits DVD

Band of Brothers is the best television I've seen in years, probably since Lonesome Dove.

An artistic and thematic sequel to Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers follows the men of Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles" paratroopers, from training in North Georgia, to their deployment on D-Day minus 1, their involvement in the "bridge too far" campaign of Operation Market-Garden, their famous defense of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, liberation of a concentration camp, to holding Hitler's retreat at Berchtesgaden at war's end. The series aired on HBO last year to terrific reviews.

The miniseries works not because of the incredible historical impact the Eagles had, but because it takes the time (like Private Ryan) to build characters and relationships in addition to fight scenes. Included with the DVD set is a documentary on the men of Easy Company, featuring surviving soldiers telling their stories.

The set is a little pricey, but likely to appear on my Christmas list.