Battle 360 Jaws of the Enemy (2008– ) Online

This episode is up to the usual standard in describing the events surrounding the battles of Savo Island and what is sometimes called the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in the late summer of 1942.

Savo Island was a disaster for the US Navy and the commentators freely admit the superiority of the Japanese in night fighting tactics and training. The withdrawal of the carriers from the vicinity of Guadalcanal meant that, in the absence of any air cover, the transports had to retreat as well, leaving the Marines on shore with inadequate supplies. They at the rice and canned fish the Japanese had left behind. But the fury of the Marines isn't mentioned.

The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal is adequately described, both in its tactical and human aspects. The Enterprise took two devastating bomb hits but managed to reach a repair facility.

In my other comments I've been kind of hard on the editor and director for the lurid way in which this information has been presented. But I'm beginning to wonder if that's too harsh. For one thing, the series covers minor encounters that are almost always lost in documentaries and histories describing the engagements. For another, yes, each episode resembles a child's video game, with instantaneous cuts, floating images, loud bangs on the sound track where there be no bangs on screen. It may be precisely the kind of presentation that would most appeal to the kids who know least about the subject. God forbid that they become bored and start texting in the middle of an anecdote by a crew member or an aviator about life aboard a warship in World War II -- when there wasn't any action. There's even a brief shot of two guys playing checkers.

That said, this is the worst episode yet. How is it possible to give a high rating to a series in which the producers, director, and editor have literally gone OUT OF THEIR WAY to spoil it? The images shake and rattle. Flecks of white drift here and there on the screen. A Japanese title flashes for a second and is gone. The film leaves the sprockets and we can see the holes on the border. There are glimpses of meaningless doodads that you see when a movie is just beginning or ending.

The material itself is just fine and the computer-generated images are splendid but the overall effect is like hearing the "Ode to Joy" sung by a chorus of drunks.