[tank nut]

Has anyone had a chance to see the tv series dog fights? I seen it for the first time on our history channel (canadian history channel) and it is a neat show. .I see that it is also on the U.S history channel so I'm sure one of you guys may have seen it, what do you think of it if you have?

[Shawn 507]

They are great aren't they. I only wish the same team could do something with the Great Naval and Armored battles of history. Most other CGI stuff can't hold a candle to the team that does DogFights.
- Shawn

[1250ships]

Originally Posted by Shawn 507

They are great aren't they. I only wish the same team could do something with the Great Naval and Armored battles of history. Most other CGI stuff can't hold a candle to the team that does DogFights.
- Shawn

Ironically the two naval related episodes they did do in the series have lots of errors including mistakes in the graphics. Most memorable was having the gun directors on the US destroyers at the Battle off Samar spinning around like radar antennas.

[Shawn 507]

Yes I'm sure your right. However, they did look like Fletcher Class Destroyers. Most CGI armor looks like crap or are always based off of some inaccurate line drawing, or shown with features typically not present on any tank in the field.
- Shawn

[MULE]

Love the show. I bought some of the DVDs, though not all titled "Dogfight" they are all similar.

History Channel – Dogfights, Air Ambush
History Channel – MiG Alley
History Channel – Hell over

[1250ships]

Originally Posted by Shawn 507

Yes I'm sure your right. However, they did look like Fletcher Class Destroyers. Most CGI armor looks like crap or are always based off of some inaccurate line drawing, or shown with features typically not present on any tank in the field.
- Shawn

I don't mean to sound overly negative about the show. The aircraft sequences are excellent. They just don't have the same follow through on the naval stories. The way the show is designed is perfect for the modern hour long show as each dogfight is short enough and simple enough to be told in one or two segments. Most naval battles involve dozens of ships, last for hours, and focusing on just one ship really doesn't do justice to the overall battle.

The exception to that is the Bismarck which is in some respects made for this short of story telling. However even in that they had some problems. Been a while since I saw it but the Bismarck camo was wrong, they ignored the first attempt by the Ark Royal Swordfish which resulted in a "friend fire" incident with HMS Sheffield, they ignored the efforts by the British destroyers to engage Bismarck the night before she was sunk, and so on. The Leyte Gulf segment was even more limited ignoring the efforts of the other DD and DEs of Taffy 3.

Another engagement that would probably work well on the show would be the sinking of the Scharnhorst by HMS Duke of York. The loss of HMS Glorious would be good too- or even expand that to cover the entire Norwegian campaign. Loss of Blucher, Konigsburg, HMS Glowworm ramming Hipper, Warspite going up to Narvik, HMS Renown running into Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. But in an hour long show like that you will never do a good job on a larger naval battle. Perhaps a two hour special on the Battle of Midway would be good- it breaks up nicely into segments. Just make sure to use Shattered Sword as the reference to get the story and timing correct.

[ZS-VAN]

I've seen a few on the History channel here too. Mig Alley, Robin Olds Air ambush, Sakai and the one I enjoyed most featured Bud Anderson and Old Crow. Great shows.

[larz]

My understanding is that new episodes are to start on Friday, July 13, at 10pm EDT.

Larz

[Shawn 507]

I understand what your saying. I'm just advocating the same treatment for other types of engagements. If they have to be two hours long thats fine. I think they would spark an interest in other forms of warfare and or battles.
- Shawn

Originally Posted by 1250ships

I don't mean to sound overly negative about the show. The aircraft sequences are excellent. They just don't have the same follow through on the naval stories. The way the show is designed is perfect for the modern hour long show as each dogfight is short enough and simple enough to be told in one or two segments. Most naval battles involve dozens of ships, last for hours, and focusing on just one ship really doesn't do justice to the overall battle.

The exception to that is the Bismarck which is in some respects made for this short of story telling. However even in that they had some problems. Been a while since I saw it but the Bismarck camo was wrong, they ignored the first attempt by the Ark Royal Swordfish which resulted in a "friend fire" incident with HMS Sheffield, they ignored the efforts by the British destroyers to engage Bismarck the night before she was sunk, and so on. The Leyte Gulf segment was even more limited ignoring the efforts of the other DD and DEs of Taffy 3.

Another engagement that would probably work well on the show would be the sinking of the Scharnhorst by HMS Duke of York. The loss of HMS Glorious would be good too- or even expand that to cover the entire Norwegian campaign. Loss of Blucher, Konigsburg, HMS Glowworm ramming Hipper, Warspite going up to Narvik, HMS Renown running into Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. But in an hour long show like that you will never do a good job on a larger naval battle. Perhaps a two hour special on the Battle of Midway would be good- it breaks up nicely into segments. Just make sure to use Shattered Sword as the reference to get the story and timing correct.

[1250ships]

Originally Posted by Shawn 507

I understand what your saying. I'm just advocating the same treatment for other types of engagements. If they have to be two hours long thats fine. I think they would spark an interest in other forms of warfare and or battles.
- Shawn

Tank engagements might work well in that format. They are especially good at showing the viewer the perspective of the fight, something that would be very valuable in a ground situation with sometimes iffy line of sight.