The third episode of the iconic Band of Brothers mini-series, produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, Carentan, first aired on 16 September, 2001. It was written by E. Max Frye who used historian Stephen E. Ambrose’s non-fiction book about the 101st, Band of Brothers, to bring it to life.

Once again, the episode is introduced by the men actually involved in the event, and we follow the 101st on the days following D-Day as they fight to take the small French town of Carentan as they attempt to push deeper into the continent.

They need to take Carentan so mobile infantry like the tanks on the beaches can make their way inland. Along the way the men of Easy Company see the horrific results of war as they take the fight to the Nazis.

The events take their toll on the entire of Easy Company, but we see specifically how it affected Private Blythe (Marc Warren).

If you take the horror of the first thirty minutes of Saving Private Ryan and expand it over the course of an hour, not to mention the episode previous, you have a chilling, brutal and all too realistic look at war.

For thirty-six days, Easy Company fought on the front lines before being given some R&R back in England. There, they rest, relax, get drunk, and brace themselves for the fact that new men will be joining them in the near future, and the chilling reveal that after this brief respite, they are headed back overseas.

Fantastically shot, the engagements are brilliantly recreated and throw viewers righ into the midst of these terrifying experiences. There is no glorification of war, this is not some Hollywood shoot-em-up, these are regular men, put in extraordinary situations which altered the global landscape forever.

The cast continues to render stellar performances, bringing actual soldiers and the moments that scarred and shaped them to life. I especially enjoy Damian Lewis, Donnie Wahlberg, and Rick Gomez. I also love the little real moments that bring the characters to life, Winters (Lewis) being hit by a ricochet, a soldier lugging around his reserve chute, made of silk, so he can send it home to serve as a wedding dress.

The episode ends with a great scene with Malarkey (Scott Grimes) picking up his laundry, and then the long list of names of others who left their clothes tot be laundered who won’t be coming back. Brilliant.

Replacements first aired on 23 September, 2001. It was written by Graham Yost and Bruce C. McKenna.

New members or Easy Company have arrived, and they are all off to the Netherlands, and they are finding it difficult to be accepted into a group that has already been bonded by the horrors of combat. This is wonderfully demonstrated in a pub scene that has Luz (Rick Gomez) and Buck (Neal McDonough) hustling in darts, with one of the new recruits who has been accepted by the group, because of where he grew up. But on the horizon is the strategic failure of Operation Market Garden.

Guarnere (Frank John Hughes) intimidates and not quite bullies the new recruits (including James McAvoy), but definitely establishes the fact that they aren’t quite welcome, but recognizes the need for them. And the older recruits definitely don’t want to be friends with them.

And just to throw a curveball at Easy, Sobel (David Schwimmer) makes an appearance.

When they drop into the Netherlands, they are greeted as heroes. There is a massive celebration in the streets. But there is a mission. We also see the repercussions for those who aided the Germans in their occupation.

Buck is wounded in the engagement, while Bull (Michael Cudlitz) ends up separated from the company and needs to hide out until daylight. And the trials and terrors of war are first and foremost in everything that is put on screen.

Market Garden is brought to vivid life, and once again, it’s about ordinary men doing things to survive and make sure the man next to them does as well.

It’s an unparalleled piece of filmmaking, and is still must-see television.