Customer Reviews

Carrier

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Owing to a childhood fascination, I've watched pretty much every documentary on carriers produced in the last ten years. A few of them have been Nat Geo productions, and the latest rounds play all the time on the Discovery Channel and the Military Channel. This series beats them all, hands down.

The problem with most documentaries on this subject--or virtually any 'mainstream' docu on military topics, is that the filmmakers get distracted by the whistles, bells, and blinking lights of all the technology. As a result, the documentary lens becomes clouded by all the 'gee-whiz' of the technology and machines. Granted, this sort of perspective has its place. What gets lost, or uncovered, however, is something far more compelling, and that's the human element. A carrier is, as the old saying goes, a city at sea, and it's the lives of the crew that make for real storytelling, not more of the same file footage of missile launches or facts about the latest blocks of the CIWS and the takeoff thrust of an F/A-18 at full military power.

This series focuses on the stories of the crew, and many of them are quite moving. It's hard not to get a lump in the throat when watching how hard these (predominantly) 18- and 19- year olds have to work in order to send aircraft over the bow, or how they're trying to meet the demands of family life from thousands of miles away at sea. Their personal struggles and hopes are the meat of this series.

Production values on this series are quite high. I met the producers at a sneak preview and found that they had shot over 3,000 hours of HD video over the course of a six-month deployment. Working over that time, and with a 17-member production and shooting team, they found the real stories in the nooks and crannies of the ship. The editing, which was done by a team, is also quite good, as is the music design. The net result is a series that has the look and feel of a modern reality series, without any of the sensationalism. In short, it's filmmaking by adults. The assistance of the Navy was also nothing short of remarkable--here on the series some of the characters speak openly about how hard their jobs are, or how they work with gay crewmembers, or how they don't understand the war they're supporting. This internal confliction and confusion, from the words of servicemen and women, makes for real storytelling and makes this series worth recommending above any other on the same topic.

I just finished watching "Carrier" on PBS and was extremely impressed by the honest, warts-and-all portrayal of life aboard a carrier. The producers did an outstanding job providing compelling human-interest storylines and showing the diversity of attitudes among the sailors, airmen, and Marines regarding their military service. The show captures the real ambivalence some have regarding our strategy on "the war on terror" and yet how they continue to serve professionally in fulfilling their duties. What I most took away from the series was the exceptional sacrifices these military members make by serving long (monotonous) tours away from their families and from the remedial comforts of home that most of us take for granted. "Carrier" puts a human face to the Navy and its personnel whose service is often performed out of sight of the American public. Kudos to PBS for airing this; to the show's producers for their painstaking work in piecing these individuals' stories together in such an informative and engaging manner; and mostly to the service members and their families who made this series possible.

My wife's name may appear as the author of this review.

I was on the maiden cruise for the Nimitz back in 1975, a NATO cruise to the North Atlantic following workups in the Caribbean. I was then on the first full Med cruise in 1976.

Much has changed aboard the ship, and yet so much is still the same. The mess deck (chow hall) looks a lot nicer, the workout area far exceeds the dinky gym we had, there is no comparison to our little stores and what is there now, and of course no phone calls or email. And most notably, no women.

But beyond that I felt like I could nearly recognize many of the sailors and marines portrayed in the show. The same kind of emotions, doubts, enthusiasm, and bonehead actions were there 30 years ago as are there now. The documentary did a wonderful job of showing what life on a carrier is like.

And that seemed to be the point of the show. There are other documentaries, many of which get rather boring, that go through and talk about all the technical aspects of a carrier, but you get the feeling the people there are just a highly evolved ant taking care of the machine. This documentary showed the people and how it is a microcosm of America. Very rightly so we often referred to it as the small town of Nimitz, Virginia.

I look forward to passing this DVD set on to my daughter and her family so they can see where I spent a year and change and understand a bit of what my life was like.

RVAH-9 Hoot Owls - HHMF!

The first two hours have already proved to be pretty close to how real life is on a ship. If anyone knows someone in the Navy and doesn't know what that someone does, I think this series will answer many untold stories. It will reveal how event/uneventful life at sea away from family for 6 months really can be.

I had alot of fun being in the show; It's been nearly three years now, so glad this has seen the light of day. Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre, Matthew Akers are great!! -

-Christian Garzone

I'm a sucker for documentaries. Even though PBS comes in with lots of ghosting and static, I watched the first five episodes, then bought the DVD to watch the rest. My father was a carrier pilot, but beyond that personal connection, it is interesting to see the different military mindsets up and down the ranks. To some extent, our American class structure replicates itself on board the Nimitz. Non-commissioned support grades are highly integrated while command is still largely, though not entirely, white and male. Command staff are generally gung-ho patriotic; Lower ranks are often just as intense but some express, "It's just a job" or, "We're here for the oil" opinions, too. If Carrier is any indication, the Navy offers full employment, hard work, intense supervision and the sort of camaraderie you don't always find on dry land. That so many of these folk admitted they needed all that is a sad commentary on parenting, schooling and society.

The documentary is definitely character-driven, with some personal revelations drawing gasps from my wife, who identified all too well with the working class element on board. One episode featured a good ol' OK boy that tragically couldn't (or wouldn't) get past his racist upbringing. Another sad moment was the fallout from an inebriated sexual encounter, while on liberty, between two shipmates that barely even knew each other.

Update: I think I can see why some have complained about the personal stories. Whereas the first five or six hours struck a good balance between the requirements of the mission and the personal stories of the crew, the last three or four hours focused almost entirely on personal situations. To some extent this is understandable since the primary mission was completed, but as much as I connected with their stories, all that personal griping did become a bit tedious.

I loved it. It seems as real as it can get considering those guys had cameras in their faces. When some guys would ham it up, you could still see their character behind it all.

The quality of the DVD was excellent. And the choice of music fit the mood and character of the film. Even though much of the ship could not be filmed, I was surprised at times by what was allowed.

Highly recommended, award winning material. Thanks PBS. Take all the reality crap TV off the air and let PBS step in with top notch video.

Wow. I have to say that the first 3 episodes really brought back the memories. My first ship I was stationed on fresh out of boot was the USS America (CV66). It was in dry dock in Norfolk. It had just come back from a Westpac to Vietnam. In thirty plus years, nothing has changed, with exception of women on board warships now days. At sea, it was a 24/7 operation. On a Med cruise, once the carrier left the pier in Norfolk, you never tied up at a pier again until you returned to the states. Always anchored out, and the always enjoyable boat ride to the dock. The constant cleaning, the enjoyable 3 months spent `mess cooking', and like they pointed out in the show, the ship was like a huge high school. You had it all, from the jocks to the geeks and everything in between. My personal favorite was the every three day refueling/resupply evolutions. Just like clockwork, and for some strange reason, we did it around midnight every time. Top Gun was Hollywood, this is the real deal.

This was a well made series. The producers tried to cover different areas of the Carrier life. I understand the story line, because I was stationed aboard the USS Nimitz, when I was in the Navy from 94-98. The only problem I have with this video is that they spend too much time with people who are not satisfied with Navy or carrier life, or have other issues going on. There should have been more time spent with sailors who enjoyed the Navy/carrier life. I enjoyed my time aboard the USS Nimitz, even though I was only apart of the air wing. That is the only complaint I have about the video. Overall though, it was a great series to watch and I would recommend it.

My father worked on aircraft carriers (including the Nimitz), not as a sailor but as an engineer who worked on the designs. So when I found out this show was airing, I marked my calendar so as not to miss a single episode. I was not disappointed. I remember my father describing life aboard aircraft carriers as being like "a city at sea," but I never fully understood what he meant by that until seeing this series. Of course one of the most exciting, suspense-filled episodes is the one where they show the aircraft taking off and landing. But the real story that's uncovered is just how much manpower it takes to make that happen.
I was literally moved tears to see the sacrifices these young recruits make, and my heart goes out to them. All episodes are good but my least favorite of them is episode 8, "True Believers" which explores the many faiths on board the Nimitz. In place of this episode, I would've preferred to see a visit to the ship's hospital or clinic, with interviews with the ship's doctor, dentist, and nurse, to see how the medical personnel fit into the overall scheme of things. Overall, this series gives an unbiased glimpse into the interworkings of an aircraft carrier that highlights the human element. I highly recommend this series to anyone.