A classic of early U.S. television, Victory at Sea was produced by Henry Solomon, formerly a research assistant to the famous historian Samuel Eliot Morrison, and originally aired on NBC in 1952–53.
It is a 26-part series showing combat footage, especially naval, from World War II; including some famous shots like the flag raising at Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi and the "Kiss" in Times Square on V-J Day. It is famous for its orchestral soundtrack composed by Richard Rodgers, which is often played separately from the series.
Tropes include:
- Badass Navy: The U.S. Navy and the British Royal Navy are both shown as being this.
- Big Badass Battle Sequence: And a lot of them, too.
- Brits With Battleships: The Royal Navy's actions in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Indian Ocean are presented.
- Black-and-White Morality: There is no pretense of objectivity; Allies are good, Axis are bad and that is that. Of course, this is one of the few wars where that would almost be appropriate, but in Real Life it was closer to Black-and-Gray Morality, considering that the Allies included half of the signatories of the Nazi-Soviet pact.
- Catchphrase: "And now...Volume Titled X"
- Cool Ship: Various warships on the Allied side are given attention, including aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and submarines.
- Averted for the Axis, as the only ship given such attention is the Graf Spee; Bismarck, Tirpitz, Yamato, and Musashi are given little more than off-hand mentions.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: "The Turkey Shoot" (about the Battle of the Philippine Sea).
- Earth Is a Battlefield: Earth's oceans, at any rate.
- Easy Logistics: Averted; many of the shots taken are of the supply train and they get due credit for winning the war.
- Epic Ship-on-Ship Action: Not just big battles, but also surface raiding, cruiser actions, and Anti-Submarine Warfare.
- Evil Navy: All Axis navies. However the series isn't completely without sympathy for those who serve in them. The IJN especially are given due respect for the horrible conditions of their sleeping quarters.
- Final Battle: "Suicide for Glory".
- Flaunting Your Fleets: What else, with that title?
- Hot Sub-on-Sub Action: Averted. German U-Boats and American submarines are shown as always targeting merchant navy ships or isolated surface vessels, not enemy submarines. Instead, it's Destroyers and aircraft that are the submarines' greatest threat.
- March: The Guadalcanal March is a recurring theme that plays whenever the Americans are building, organizing, or preparing for a big battle. You'll probably be humming along by the end of the show.
- Purple Prose: Admittedly slightly over the top. But quite poetic at times and has a number of literary references, including biblical quotes, and at least one reference to Clausewitz (in the 18th volume).
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: King George VI is sometimes seen visiting the front lines to inspect the British Army and the Royal Navy.
- There's No Place Like Home: The final volume, "Design for Peace".
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Values Resonance: Often, the series will take a moment to focus on women working in the factories, African-American or Asian-American sailors and soldiers, etc. This happens often enough that one suspects it's being done on purpose, to push back against the stereotypes of the time and remind of the contribution of ALL Americans. - What a Senseless Waste of Human Life: "The once magnificent Imperial Fleet is no more. That dream has ended. It dies in the battle of Leyte Gulf. And it dies in vain."
- Yanks With Tanks: The US Navy easily gets the most attention in the series, of course.
- You Shall Not Pass!: Samar Island, in the volume "Leyte".
