Dogfights (TV series)

"Dogfights" redirects here. For close-range aerial combat, see Dogfight. For other uses, see Dogfight (disambiguation).
Dogfights

A CGI P-40 Tomahawk from Dogfights
Created by Cynthia Harrison
Jason McKinley
Brooks Wachtel
Starring Pilots involved
Narrated by Phil Crowley
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 29+1 Pilot Episode
Production
Executive producer(s) Robert Kirk
Rob Lihani
Producer(s) Abe Scheuermann
David Connelly
Running time about 45 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel The History Channel
Original run November 3, 2006 – May 10, 2008
External links
Website

Dogfights is a military aviation themed TV series depicting historical re-enactments of air-to-air combat that took place in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, as well as smaller conflicts such as the Gulf War and the Six-Day War. The program consists of former fighter pilots sharing their stories of actual dogfights in which they took part, combined with computer-generated imagery (CGI) to give the viewer a better perspective of what it is like to engage in aerial combat.[1] Dogfights originally aired on the History Channel from November 2006 to May 2008.

Historical documentary format

The show has simulated not only air combat, but also surface sea combat, as in the case of Taffy 3's stand against the Japanese Center Force, and the Royal Navy's pursuit and destruction of the German battleship Bismarck, which included the Bismarck being hit by torpedo bombers. These episodes have been cited as a source for several Wikipedia articles, such as the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Simulated models include views from the cockpit, pilots visible through canopies, and battle damage. Orders of battle, comparisons of aircraft, and dissections of particular maneuvers are also presented. Jet and prop powered aircraft and ships from various eras from the First World War to the late 20th century are featured. The series often presents interviews of pilots and experts, so far mostly Americans or their allies such as a survivor of the HMS Hood (as was a German survivor of the Bismarck), though the first episode of the second season showed interviews with Japanese pilots.

Creation of the series

The series was created after the airing of a one-time special called Dogfights: The Greatest Air Battles in September 2005. That program's combination of realistic-looking CGI dogfights, interviews, period documentary footage, and voice-over narration proved so successful, that the History Channel requested the production of an entire TV series, which became Dogfights.[2] The original special continues to air occasionally and has been recently updated to reflect the current series logo.

Overview

In each episode, a true historical dogfight is played out. Pilots from the actual fights are brought in to re-tell their accounts of the battle. Along with the battle, there are occasional scenes that describe the pilot's living conditions and events that have happened outside the battle. Each battle is told by the pilot and a special narrator. CGI effects are used, providing a realistic simulation. Also, the show describes the planes. It takes some time to describe their advantages and disadvantages. It also describes air maneuvers and tactics pulled off by pilots. Usually, the battles told are the ones won by the American side of each war. Occasionally, there are other enemies brought into a dogfight, rather than planes. Sometimes, the pilots have to destroy ship fleets, or bomb enemy air fields, but the process is interrupted by enemy planes. After each battle, the show usually gives each pilot a short biography about future battles they might fight in, and then the credits roll.

Episode list

Pilot episode

Season one

Season two

DVDs

Dogfights - The Complete Season One DVD set was released on April 24, 2007. Featuring all eleven episodes, it also includes the original pilot episode and a behind-the-scenes featurette called "Dogfights: The Planes." The picture format is 4:3 (1.33:1) even though the series was produced in anamorphic 16:9 widescreen.

Dogfights - The Complete Season Two 5 DVD set was released on June 24, 2008.

Dogfights - The Complete Series All the episodes including Dogfights of the Future are included in a 10 DVD set, which was released on October 27, 2009.

The game

Starting with season 2, the History Channel produced, in conjunction with Kuma Reality Games, a free PC video game based on the Dogfights series. Dogfights: The Game puts players in interactive recreations of actual episodes from the TV show. As of now the game primarily concentrates on the World War II episodes of the series. This can be found on History.com

See also

Notes and references

  1. Mavis, Paul. Dogfights — The Complete Season One review, DVD Talk, April 20, 2007
  2. "Interview with Radical 3D about Visual Effects for Dogfights", NewTek.com, June 1, 2006

External links