Much Anticipated

"HBO invests two hundred and thirty million to create 'The Pacific', grand premiere is imminent!"

"After nine years since 'Band of Brothers', 'The Pacific' once again ignites the frenzy of war genre works!"

"Hanks and Spielberg join forces again to create a brutal war narrative."

"With a production cycle of three years, 'The Pacific' is finally set to premiere officially."

"Beyond the expectations of classics, 'The Pacific' carries HBO's ambitious breakthroughs."

"'Confident,' declares Steven Spielberg."

...

The day after the premiere, news about "The Pacific" spread like wildfire. With HBO and the signature styles of Tom and Steven, not to mention the beloved "Band of Brothers," "The Pacific" has been highly anticipated since its inception. Despite setbacks during script adaptation, controversies in funding, and difficulties in assembling the cast, after more than three years of lengthy preparations, the television series is finally ready to shine. It's safe to say that anticipation has reached its peak.

The grand premiere last night further fueled the anticipation.

"Using inexperienced newcomers as lead actors, can 'The Pacific' replicate the success of 'Band of Brothers'?"

"Renly Hall: A fresh face appearing in the cast like a comet."

"Tom Hanks: Hall is the central character of the entire series."

...

Compared to "Band of Brothers," the attention focused on Renly is limited. Following the experience of "Band of Brothers" to present the authenticity and balance of the cast, "The Pacific" also refrains from using big-name stars. Therefore, almost all actors are unfamiliar faces, with little distinction between newcomers and minor actors.

Moreover, "The Pacific" is an ensemble piece and a television series, so even with Tom and Steven collaborating on the production, the focus is not solely on the actors.

Even Damian Lewis from "Band of Brothers" didn't spark much discussion back then. In fact, after the broadcast of "Band of Brothers," none of the actors immediately shot to stardom because the success of the series stemmed from the ensemble rather than individuals.

This time, at least a few media outlets mentioned Renly's name separately, attempting to attract attention from different angles, thanks to Renly's stunning performance at the premiere.

Undoubtedly, major media outlets have reserved space for "The Pacific" on important pages. With the North American film market slightly subdued in the spring season, the arrival of a heavyweight production naturally attracted attention.

On the largest film, actor, and television online database website, IMDb, "The Pacific" has become a hot topic even before its premiere. Since the series hasn't aired yet, IMDb hasn't opened its rating and discussion systems. However, it has updated HBO's official trailer and detailed production information.

Nevertheless, this hasn't stopped the enthusiasm of netizens. "The Pacific" has skyrocketed to third place in the most anticipated works list, trailing only behind this summer's hits "Toy Story 3" and "Inception," leaving behind "Iron Man 2," "Twilight: Eclipse," "Shrek Forever After," and other works, demonstrating its immense appeal.

Just as "The Shawshank Redemption" dominated IMDb's top 250 movies list for over a decade, "Band of Brothers" has ruled the top 250 TV series list for nearly ten years. What's even more incredible is that while "The Shawshank Redemption" reigns with a high rating of 9.2, "Band of Brothers" scores a remarkable 9.5 among over 240,000 ratings, truly a miracle among miracles. This indicates the divine status of "Band of Brothers" in the hearts of viewers.

Now, with "The Pacific," the brother series of "Band of Brothers" about to air, the audience's anticipation has reached its peak.

Not only on IMDb, but discussions about "The Pacific" have also exploded on Yahoo community forums, thanks to the imminent premiere, awakening the enthusiasm of countless "Band of Brothers" enthusiasts, becoming the most discussed series on the forum for twenty-four hours, attracting over ten thousand netizens to participate in the discussion.

As a television series, "The Pacific" has already attracted significant attention. In the years since "Band of Brothers" ended, perhaps only the finale of "Friends" could match this fervor, and neither hits like "Lost" nor "Prison Break" could compare.

What's more interesting is that "The Pacific" airs on HBO, a premium cable channel, not every household in America subscribes to HBO. For cable channels, neither ratings nor viewership numbers are their main concerns; professional reviews and subscriber feedback are their core competencies. However, "The Pacific" has ignited an unbelievable viewing frenzy among the audience.

This is truly a spectacle.

Under the anticipation of millions, on the night of March 21st, "The Pacific" finally premiered!

William Taylor is one of them. As a fervent fan of "Band of Brothers," he started counting down two weeks ago, clearing his schedule for this Friday a week ago, without any other plans, even his parents knew about his "special plan" for tonight – he's only eighteen this year and will enter college in September.

"Billy, Billy." Out of breath, a voice rushed in from outside. Graham Hughes practically burst through the door, still greeting, "Good evening, Mrs. Taylor, Mr. Taylor."

But William paid no attention to the creaking door and instead put his finger to his lips, gesturing quickly, "Turn off the lights at the door, three minutes left." Even his voice was deliberately lowered, as if in a real cinema, afraid of startling other viewers.

Graham didn't even have time to wipe his sweat, he sat down next to William, took out popcorn and cola from his backpack one by one, glanced at William, and they both showed similar smiles. They adjusted their sitting positions on the couch, hugging the popcorn, their eyes fixed on the TV screen.

Advertisements were playing at the moment, but the two of them were staring at the screen as if watching the most exciting movie in the world, their eyes glued to the screen.

William's mother walked to the door, looked at the two sitting upright, and shook her head with a smile, "You guys are too nervous. Anyway, there will definitely be DVDs or Blu-rays later..."

"Mom/Mrs. Taylor!" William and Graham shouted in unison, as an understanding gesture to close the door followed, they both turned their attention back to the TV screen.

"It's starting!" William's voice was trembling, and Graham held his breath, his pupils seemingly dilated.

Not only in the Taylor household, but at this moment, on this Friday night, on this festive night, on this weekend welcoming night, countless families across America chose to stay home, not because they were too old to attend evening activities or too tired from work to go out, but simply to watch "The Pacific"!

In addition, some people chose to go to a friend's house with HBO subscription to watch the live broadcast of the series, bringing a dozen beers, inviting a group of friends, gathering like a party to enjoy this special night; even more so, some went straight to the bar, aiming to find like-minded strangers to watch together as if watching football or the World Cup.

Such scenes were playing out in every corner of the North American continent, not exactly deserted streets, but not far from it.

Later, according to statistics, the premiere of "The Pacific" set new highs in viewership and ratings for the past two years, easily surpassing the achievements of "Band of Brothers" back then.

Although HBO, as a premium cable network, doesn't care much about ratings, focusing more on overall subscriber satisfaction, the frequently set viewing records still drew attention.

The viewing performance of American television series is divided into two data: viewership and ratings. Viewership represents how many people watched the series, while ratings represent the proportion of viewers aged eighteen to forty-nine among the audience – generally considered the main consumer group.

Before this, HBO's viewing record was held by the finale of the classic series "The Sopranos" in 2007, with a viewership of 7.1 million and an astonishing rating of 11.9. Simply put, for cable TV series that rely on ratings, anything above three is cause for celebration, and above five is a rarity.

Now, "The Pacific" boasts a viewership of 5.9 million and a rating of an astounding 4.6, surpassing all wireless TV series that night, becoming the rating champion! It's the most outstanding series performance for HBO in the past two years since the sweeping finale of "The Sopranos"!

It's worth mentioning that "The Pacific" is a miniseries. The real money-making parts of such series are DVD sales, video-on-demand, and awards ceremonies. But now, this miniseries has caused a frenzy at its debut, even for HBO, which isn't short of money, this is a reason to rejoice.

All signs indicate that "The Pacific" has started off on the right foot, continuing the glory of "Band of Brothers," seemingly within reach.

The first episode ended quickly, the runtime of less than an hour made time seem to fly by. As William and Graham watched the end credits scroll up the screen, William's expression was somewhat strange, and Graham also cast a puzzled glance. Then William furrowed his brow and said in a puzzled tone, "Why do I feel like... something's missing?"

...

A/N: 

500 power stones = 2 bonus chapters

Ratings = 2 bonus chapters