HBO explores World War II in 'Pacific'

Having covered the European battles of World War II in "Band of Brothers," Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks teamed again to produce "The Pacific," a 10-hour, $200 million miniseries debuting Sunday night on HBO.

"The Pacific" is as graphic, gritty, violent and triumphant as "Band of Brothers" (1998), which won six Emmy Awards. It follows the men of the 101st Airborne Division from boot camp to the D-Day invasion and on to victory in Germany.

"The Pacific" is inspired by real-life accounts from Marines who fought against Japan in the islands of the Pacific, including John Basilone, a hero at Guadalcanal who was awarded the Medal of Honor.

It also is based on books such as E.B. Sledge's "With the Old Breed," "Red Blood, Black Sand" by Chuck Tatum and Robert Leckie's "Helmet for My Pillow." There's a companion book coming out for "The Pacific," written by historian Hugh Ambrose.

Basilone is played by Jon Seda, Sledge by Joe Mazzello and Leckie by James Badge Dale. They head a cast of more than 30 principal roles. The story recounts the bloody battles of Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, tiny Peleliu and Okinawa.

Hanks, on the cover of the current Time magazine, is being hailed for producing American history dramas, including "John Adams."

Hanks' father served in the Navy during World War II and saw action in the Pacific. In the Time interview, Hanks says he wanted to show the bravery of those who fought in the Pacific and also the horrors of that war.

CANCER SEARCH: CBS morning host Harry Smith will undergo a colonoscopy live on "The Early Show" on Wednesday. Katie Couric, who had the procedure live on NBC's "Today" show in 2000, will be with him.

Couric, now anchor of the "CBS Evening News," inspired a 20 percent jump in colonoscopy procedures. After losing her husband to colon cancer in 1998, she became an advocate for early detection.

GO, BETTY: Betty White has told People magazine that she will be on an episode of "Saturday Night Live." NBC hasn't confirmed it, but we trust Betty. More than 500,000 Facebook fans of the 88-year-old former "Golden Girl" have petitioned "SNL" producer Lorne Michaels to have her as a guest host.

EARLY RENEWALS: Fox has renewed "Fringe" for a third season. The sci-fi series returns from hiatus on April 1 with a visit to a parallel universe where we meet Peter Bishop's mother (Irish actress Orla Brady).

Meanwhile, NBC has renewed the comedy "Community" for a second season. That means all the Thursday night comedies will be coming back: "Parks & Recreation," "The Office" and "30 Rock."

NBC reports that "30 Rock" has more viewers with annual incomes exceeding $100,000 than any other scripted series on television.

NEW CO-HOST: TV personality Brooke Burke, who won the seventh season of "Dancing With the Stars," will return as co-host of the show along with Tom Bergeron. She also is host of TV Land's reality competition series "She's Got the Look" and is the new "Mommy Correspondent" on the syndicated daytime talk show "The Doctors."