Band of Brothers (2001)

A critically acclaimed, ten-part mini-series that first aired on HBO in 2001, Band of Brothers is a fictionalized account of the World War II exploits of Easy Company, part of the 101st Airborne, as they make their way from jump school to the taking of Hitler’s Eagles Nest, all the way to Japan’s surrender. Based on Stephen Ambrose's nonfiction book of the same name, most of the action is told from the perspective of Major Richard Winters (Damian Lewis), who would end up winning the Distinguished Service Cross for his work parachuting behind enemy lines during the Normandy invasion. While some creative license is taken to tell the story, it remains a remarkable chronicle of ordinary men doing extraordinary things.  Oh yeah it was also produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, so it’s got that going for it too. But with all due respect to the heroes of the greatest generation, what made this one so great was how many beautiful actors that would become huge stars portrayed our paratroopers on the show. Easy Company is quite easy on the eyes in this fictionalized account. Big names like Ron Livingston, David Schwimmer, Donnie Wahlberg, Dominic Cooper, Colin Hanks, Simon Pegg, and James McAvoy all appeared in this one, which is a pretty wild lineup of stars for a series that was only ten episodes. Our roster of military men were always going shirtless to show off the push up and pull up built bodies that had Mr. Man pulling down his pants. But it was Tom Hardy who got us the most hard! He plays the rebellious Private John Janovec, who finds himself in bed with a lucky German farmgirl who is very welcoming to the Allied Powers, in the form of lying in bed with her legs in the air for him! We get to see Tom's tight tush when he hops out of bed after getting caught by a superior officer in the midst of the action. In the era of don't ask don't tell, having an ass like that should get you banned from the Army! Easy Company would make us too easy in their company! War is Hell, but Band of Brothers will have your hand storming the land below your waistband!