# Who's watching Tom Hanks WWII on History? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** documentary-bio\ **Created:** [May 26, 2026, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397 "2026-05-26T01:03:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/1 "2026-05-26T01:03:11Z")
Hanks put fresh naration onto the old History channel video. I think the war narrative is better organized. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/2 "2026-05-26T02:17:36Z")
It’s on at Dog O’Clock. Got my DVR set for all new episodes. Can skip the ads that way, too. Me and Beck gonna watch it together. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/3 "2026-05-26T02:57:48Z")
I haven’t had cable TV in ten years. Is the History Channel actually carrying shows about History? Where do people go for their UFO and pawn shop fix now? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/4 "2026-05-26T03:20:10Z")
Recording it. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/5 "2026-05-26T04:03:10Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Got my DVR set for all new episodes. Can skip the ads that way, too. Likewise. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/6 "2026-05-26T04:05:28Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Where do people go for their UFO and pawn shop fix now? That’s daytime and late night. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/7 "2026-05-26T07:11:00Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Hanks put fresh naration onto the old History channel video. I’m seeing a lot of its footage for the first time. The presentation is quite good, though it runs through a lot of information very quickly, ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/8 "2026-05-26T23:15:36Z")
More will air next Monday. > **[World War II with Tom Hanks review – one of the largest documentaries in...](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/may/26/world-war-ii-with-tom-hanks-review-documentary-sky-history-now)** > > This 20-episode take on the second world war, helmed by the Saving Private Ryan star, is a vast creation. But it still manages to wind up feeling basic – despite its great archive footage ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/9 "2026-05-26T23:52:42Z")
I can’t imagine a series better than _ **The World at War** _. I waited three years for it to come to the US back in the '70s. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/10 "2026-05-27T00:08:09Z")
[Victory At Sea](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046658) has always been my favorite. It’s quite dated by today’s standards but the score is outstanding. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/11 "2026-05-27T00:18:56Z")
Leonard Graves’ narration is also unforgettable, but I don’t think the two series are comparable. _ **Victory at Sea** _ told the story through vivid images and music. _ **The World at War** _ was more a lushly illustrated graduate-level history course. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/12 "2026-05-27T00:28:39Z")
It doesn’t get any better than Richard Rodgers. I can’t listen to this theme without getting all choked up. ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/S-EXNounv-U/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/S-EXNounv-U?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/13 "2026-05-27T00:31:10Z")
Good one. So far, I have watched the first episodes, and so far so good. I once thought that if we took some German POWs, badly injured and non-nazi, then showed them all the footage of America the Arsenal of Democracy, plus tours, then sent them home- that could have damaged German morale. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/14 "2026-05-27T00:40:48Z")
Just showing footage of the steel mills in Pennsylvania, the auto and aircraft factories in Michigan, and the shipyards along each coast should have put the idea of declaring war on the US out of the mind of any rational actor. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/15 "2026-05-27T00:49:13Z")
Yep. The USA was making 80 tanks and 300 aircraft (100000 in 1944 alone) _per day._ Not to mention a half dozen ships. The Germans could have watched them rolling off the assembly lines. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/16 "2026-07-31T03:35:23Z")
Bumped. My wife and I just finished the 20 episodes of this, World War II with Tom Hanks. It was excellent! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/17 "2026-07-31T04:07:12Z")
Pretty damn good, I agree. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/18 "2026-07-31T04:11:48Z")
The series was really well done. I learned some new details about the battles. This seemed like a passion project for Tom Hanks. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/19 "2026-07-31T04:53:42Z")
Hanks is allover this history stuff. I have loved the series. But I like the history stuff too. Especially militaria documentaries. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-watching-tom-hanks-wwii-on-history/1030397/20 "2026-07-31T09:39:07Z")
We’re actually going to watch it again, to learn some more from it. We’re up to episode 3. The Nazis were brutally cruel. And in the early- to mid-1930s, the world and especially Neville Chamberlain was so naive.