That love story of Leckie and Stella was all made up. Leckie never wrote about any "Stella" in "Helmet for My Pillow", so I wonder why the producers put it in and took up so much time with it. I guess it was to show a tender side to Leckie's character, but I'd preferred if they had stuck with his other girls as described in his book.

I didn't remember a stella either, but had chalked it up to me not knowing the books very well (I have read them, but only once). If that's the case, then I consider any time spent developing her family and her character as wasted.

perhaps she is there to showcase Leckie's character? And while sleeping around may have been common for Marines on R&R in WWII, even in straight-laced Oz, it isn't looked upon as benignly in 2010. Not after so callled 'heros' such as Tiger Woods and so on.

Showing Leckie having one serious fling, while still 'writing' to his Dear Vera, makes him a more sympathetic character perhaps. Or at least more sympathetic than showing him have a whole series of different women.

But I haven't seen the episode yet, perhaps I'll have a different take than

wow really? disappointing. I enjoyed her story/family the most in Ep3 and it was made up?

Wasn't one of the reasons because the woman they were going to use didn't want to be apart of the series. Didn't Sid Phillip's daughter or niece mention it in a facebook message?

Who cares if it was made up or not. It's a frikin movie not a documentary. Sheesh.

Just figured Stella was a composite character, like Manny Rodriguez. Not enough time to show all of Leckie's liasons with the lovely Australian ladies, ya know.

That'd take 3 episodes, I'd bet. Then we'd have a bunch of posts complaining about "Too many icky girlie stuff, not enough war action!"

I thought she was a composite character as well...

But doesn't that really kind of change the nature of the encounters? If he were to have random hookups with three or four women, to me, compositing them into one sympathetic character that he grows to deeply care about and is torn up by when she breaks up with him, that's totally apples and oranges to me.

By the way did they really use the phrase "dump" back then? when he said, "so you're just going to DUMP me?"....felt out of place to me.

It seems that by introducing Stella and her family we get to see the Australians' perspectives and it's interesting to see a portrayal of a Greet family in Australia. But too much time spent on Stella because the "chases" were only few pages in the book and far more interesting things happened to him while in Melbourne. They should have focused more on character development of Leckie's buddies like Chuckler, Runner, and Hoosier... dodging the MP's and whatnot.
It was still an enjoyable episode. I thought how Basilone was portrayed here reflects how Leckie portrayed himself in the book a little. Sad to see Basilone and JP saying goodbye.

That WAS a great scene. Thanks for the reminder.

You would be shocked at how many modern phrases are not really modern.

I know lots of them are ages-old, I just had never heard this particular one used in that context.

Well said im enjoying just watching it, i havent read the books and i don't want to hear people saying i should lol, i just want to watch it. Can't anyone just watch it without saying 'OMG the book is better they missed out this' read the book then instead of watching the pacific. lol just enjoy it.