Band of Brothers: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''We few... we happy few...''|'''[[Trope Namer|King Henry]]''', ''[[Henry V]]''}}

{{quote|''All for one, one for all...''|'''[[Alexandre Dumas]]''', ''[[The Three Musketeers (novel)|The Three Musketeers]]''}}

A '''Band of Brothers''' is a group of people, [[Thicker Than Water|dedicated and loyal to each other beyond all other considerations]], due to the dangerous (usually combat-related) circumstances they have faced together. The spilling of their blood, mixed together with [[Fire-Forged Friends|a desperate life-or-death struggle]], make them a family as close as any mere blood tie can make them. Beyond mere comradeship, being a '''Band of Brothers''' evokes an ideal of grim determination to face whatever comes together, and to see it through together. It is this shared struggle that they become a '''Band of Brothers'''.

Members of the '''Band of Brothers''' know that they can depend upon each other. Their relationship is often deeper than mere friendship. After one helps [[A Friend in Need|another in danger]], gratitude is often dismissed with [[Think Nothing of It]] because "You would have done it for me." A similar concept is ''esprit de corps''.

The individual members of the group might not even actually ''like'' each other all that much, and may spend a lot of their time deriding and insulting each other... but those activities are strictly kept within the borders of the brotherhood. An outsider, someone not a member of the '''Band of Brothers''', who insults a single member of the group will find himself opposed by all members of the group, including several who had but recently been tossing insults themselves.

A '''Band of Brothers''' is often formed after a [[Misfit Mobilization Moment]]. They are equally often a [[Badass Crew]]. See also [[The Power of Friendship]], [[Blood Brothers]], [[A Friend in Need]], [[Fire-Forged Friends]]. Sometimes explain why the [[Mildly Military]] organization manage to remain efficient despite its apparent lack of regard for discipline and normal military procedure.

For our article on the TV series, clicksee ''[[Band of Brothers (TV series)|here]]''Band of Brothers'' (TV series)]].

* ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' from the ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' ends up like this, especially the four hobbits and the three hunters. In fact, many novels that are based on small long-term groups with fixed rosters that do ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons|D&D]]''-style adventuring result in a Band of Brothers of sorts.

* Several of these form during the ''[[Horus Heresy]]'' novels. Most of them are torn into shreds over the course; we ''are'' talking the backstory to [[Warhammer 4000040,000]], after all. The best example is the Mournival, which starts as a [[Four-Temperament Ensemble]] and ends up as [[Blood Brothers|Torgaddon and Loken]] vs. Aximand and Abaddon in a fight to the death.

** Likewise, in ''[[Discworld/Monstrous Regiment|Monstrous Regiment]]'', the half dozen soldiers of the eponymous regiment end up this way after saving the Duchy.

** ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]]'' had a bit of this going on, particularly during the first season, before the characters had worked each other out. Riker was uneasy about their second officer, Picard had to tell people not to let him "make an ass of himself" around children (and shouted Wesley out in the very first episode, thus enraging Wesley's mother with whom Picard ''already'' had an uneasy relationship), Worf disliked ''everyone'' (but [[Word of God|especially Data]]), and Troi and Riker had Uncomfortable Ex's syndrome. But within a matter of episodes (and fairly ridiculous episodes at that) it became obvious that they'd all pretty much die for each other.

* ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Star Trek Deep Space Nine]]'' and ''[[Star Trek: Voyager|Star Trek Voyager]]'' both feature crews of people who don't even want to be on the same ship/station with each other, but over the courses of each series have wound up going as far as disobeying orders to save one another.

'''Mal:''' Yeah, but she's ''our'' witch. * {{[[[Dramatic Gun Cock]] |KA-CHINK!}}]]* So cut her the hell down. }}

* ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined(2004 TV series)|The 2004 reimagined ''Battlestar Galactica]]'']]: If adult adoption were legal, [[Team Dad|Bill Adama]] would declare his entire crew as his children... though as the series wears on, his fatherly patience is repeatedly tested.

* "''[[Band of Brothers" (TV series)|Band of Brothers]]''. They even named the mini-series after the trope naming quote. Fittingly this series EPITOMISES''epitomises'' a band of brothers. Winters, Nixon, Spiers, Bull, Lipton, Malarkey, Luz, Martin, Liebgott and many many more. And from what we see, the actors also lived up to this trope during the boot camp prior to filming, and still get together once a year for reunions.

* A common thread of the ''[[CSI]]'' series-pick any of the three and watch how protective they get when one of their own is in trouble and how they look out for each other all the time.

* ''[[Terry and the Pirates]]''{{'}} Terry Lee, Pat Ryan and Connie.

* The [[Space Marine|Adeptus Astartes]] in ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'', complete with 'brother' as the proper form of address. andBetween a rip-off of the Trope Namer in the background material and becoming sort of warrior monks (the Chapters' headquarters are officially called "fortress monasteries", etc).

== Theater Theatre ==

* The [[Rousing Speech{{quote|full version]] of [[Shakespeare]]'s ''Henry V'' page quote reads as follows: ''This story shall the good man teach his son; and Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by, from this day to the ending of the world, but we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we Band of Brothers... [[Fire-Forged Friends|for he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother]]; be he ne'er so vile, this day shall gentle his condition. [[Straw Civilian|And gentlemen in England now-a-bed]] shall think themselves '''accurs'd''' they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap whilst any speaks that fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day!'' [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAvmLDkAgAM Branagh’s delivery in his film version is a particularly well-remembered rendition.]}}

* One of the reasons that the plot of ''[[Othello]]'' works is that Iago is part of Othello's band of brothers, and thus it is assumed that he is playing the role.

* ''[[Rainbow Six]]'' pulls this in Vegas with Bishop, especially with Logan and Gabe where she stresses they are a team and a family. In the final mission [spoiler]where Bishop is defying orders to go after a traitor,[/spoiler] Logan says the same thing back to Bishop when he shows up out of the blue to provide backup. Her reply? "Who said that horseshit?"

* Throw dart in a Militarymilitary base in Afghanistan in the 2000s and early 2010s, you'll find one. Whether it be the Mercian Regiment joking about the tracks on their [[APCs]] in Camp Bastion, or the USMC trekking it through sandy streets in Sangin, or even a Danish Company trading jokes about their duties, the ISAF forces are '''made''' of these.

* The Wehrmacht. Founded in 1935 it had abolished the old adage that 'a soldier should fear his sergeant more than the enemy' which was the bread and butter of prussianPrussian military and instead built heavily on the ''esprit dude corps''. Units went together through basic training with their officers, soldiers were recruited from the same general area and were kept together through the fighting.

* British regiments are kind of like tribes or more like (as they are not necessarily kin-based or self-reproducing though serving in them can be a family tradition) guilds. They will have esoteric ceremonies, eccentric totems, something almost like ancestor veneration, and traditional friendships and enmities including feuds carried on with bar brawls and practical jokes.

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