The Best Episodes Written By Herman Wouk

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Fan Favorite
   

   8.0/10(3 votes)

   #1 - Into the Maelstrom

   S1:E72/13/1983

   Still assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Henry saves the day when friction rises between the Russian hosts and their visitors at a State dinner. In return, Stalin agrees to greater cooperation with the U.S., and agrees to let Henry visit the frontlines. Henry isn't so sure about the visit when he learns that Pamela and her father will be accompanying him. Henry finally receives orders to command a battleship and to report to Pearl Harbor.

   Director:N/A

   Writer:Herman Wouk

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2. 

   7.7/10(3 votes)

   #2 - The Winds Rise

   S1:E12/6/1983

   In April 1939, Victor 'Pug' Henry and his wife Rhoda set sail for Europe where he is to take up his post as a Naval Attache at the U.S Embassy in Berlin. Aboard ship, they meet General Von Roon and Pamela Tudsbury, who is traveling with her journalist father. Their youngest son Byron is abroad while eldest son Warren is also in the Navy learning to become an aviator; daughter Madeleine is left on her own in New York and as soon as her parents leave, starts looking for a job.

   Director:N/A

   Writer:Herman Wouk

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3. 

   7.7/10(3 votes)

   #3 - Defiance

   S1:E42/9/1983

   At Roosevelt's request, Henry goes to London to meet with the British and provide his own personal view on their doings. However, Henry is amazed to find how efficient their radar is, and encounters Pamela Tudsbury and meets her fiancé, an RAF pilot. When he is shot down over the English Channel, Henry and Pamela spend a good deal of time together. Although he remains loyal to his wife, it is apparent that they have developed feelings for one another.

   Director:N/A

   Writer:Herman Wouk

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4. 

   7.3/10(3 votes)

   #4 - The Storm Breaks

   S1:E22/7/1983

   With the German invasion of Poland underway, Henry is called to Washington for a meeting with President Roosevelt. Impressed that Henry foresaw the German-Soviet pact, Roosevelt asks him to write from time to time on potentially interesting topics. Henry is a bit concerned when he learns from Warren, at flight school, that his daughter is living and working in New York.

   Director:N/A

   Writer:Herman Wouk

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5. 

   7.3/10(3 votes)

   #5 - Cataclysm

   S1:E32/8/1983

   Henry accompanies American banker Luigi Gianelli on a diplomatic mission to Italy to see if Il Duce will meet with a peace envoy. The Italian dictator agrees but when the same approach is made to Hitler, he declines. Meanwhile, Rhoda, bored in Berlin, is thrilled when they're invited for a hunting weekend to the home of wealthy banker Wolf Stoller. Henry is aware however that Stoller has made his fortune by forcing Jews to sells their businesses for only a fraction of their value.

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   Writer:Herman Wouk

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6. 

   7.3/10(3 votes)

   #6 - Of Love and War

   S1:E52/10/1983

   Safely back from the bombing mission, Henry begins to realize the strength of the mutual affection he and Pamela share. Any plans to spend time together are cut short when Henry is ordered to wrap up in Berlin and return to Washington for a new assignment. Rhoda takes her relationship with Palmer Kirby a step further when they spend the night together at a country inn.

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   Writer:Herman Wouk

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7. 

   7.3/10(3 votes)

   #7 - The Changing of the Guard

   S1:E62/11/1983

   With the Lend-Lease Act about to be passed, Roosevelt asks Henry to lead an informal escort of 70 merchant ships delivering much needed supplies to England. They're banking on the fact that the German U-Boats won't fire on neutral U.S. warships. After the mission, Roosevelt promises Henry command of a battleship. First, however, he must go to Moscow where he is reunited with Pamela. Rhoda goes on a week's holiday with Palmer. When the Henrys are invited to the White House for dinner, Byron asks the President for help in resolving Aaron Jastrow's passport difficulties. He also goes to Pearl Harbor where he's reunited with Warren and Madeline. Roosevelt and Churchill meet at Placentia Bay in Newfoundland. The Germans attack Russia and send them reeling as they push them further east.

   Director:N/A

   Writer:Herman Wouk

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8. 

   7.0/10(2 votes)

   #8 - Part II: 27th Jan 1942

   S1:E211/15/1988

   It's early 1942 and Pug Henry is still in command of the USS Northampton. Pamela Tudsbury and her father find themselves in Singapore. The local administration, both civil and military, believes the island outpost to be impregnable but a journalist friend convinces them otherwise. Nathalie Henry and her uncle Aaron decided to stay in Italy. They have been hoping to get exit visas allowing them to travel to Switzerland but these have consistently been delayed. What they do not know is that Aaron's onetime student, now a German diplomat in Italy, has been instructed to find a way to place Italian Jews into Nazi hands. Nathalie's friend and onetime fiancé Leslie Slote is now assigned to the US Legation in Bern and he comes into information on the German atrocities taking place in Eastern Europe. Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, visits Auschwitz and is given a demonstration of its capabilities.

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   Writer:Herman Wouk

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9. 

   7.0/10(2 votes)

   #9 - Part III: 26th May 1942

   S1:E311/16/1988

   The Henrys have a family reunion of sorts when Pug and Byron join Warren and Janice to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They are joined by Pamela Tudsbury and her father who managed to leave Singapore before it fell to the Japanese. Byron applies for a transfer to the Atlantic submarine force after he learns that his wife Natalie and her uncle Aaron Jastrow were not evacuated from Italy with other Americans. Pug and Warren soon depart on their respective ships headed for the Battle of Midway. Pug has a relatively minor contribution compared to son Warren who flies several successful sorties. Natalie and her uncle have a plan to escape the clutches of the Germans. Rhoda Henry travels to Los Angeles to see daughter Madeline and son Byron who have just arrived. She also sees Pamela Tudsbury who has something to tell her.

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   Writer:Herman Wouk

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10. 

    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #10 - Part IV: 25th July 1942

    S1:E411/17/1988

    Natalie Henry, baby Louis and her uncle, Aaron Jastrow, put into effect their plan to escape from Italy. Their hope of traveling from the Italian coast directly to Lisbon are dashed however and they soon find themselves going to Elba, then Corsica and finally to Marseilles where they are taken in by a local Jewish family who have been regularly assisting refugees. There, Natalie re-discovers her Jewish heritage. Byron has been posted temporarily to Gibraltar to work with the British and he has been making regular courier runs to the American Consulate in Marseilles. Rhoda Henry returns to Washington but stops in Chicago having decided to end her relationships with Palmer Kirby. She is soon pursued however by Colonel Harrison "Hack" Peters. General Halder tells Adolf Hitler that he has no chance of winning the war on the Eastern Front.

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    Writer:Herman Wouk

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11. 

    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #11 - Part V: 2nd Nov 1942

    S1:E511/20/1988

    Byron and Nathalie are reunited in Marseilles but the American Consul counsels them not to try and leave France without the proper documentation, so Byron returns to Gibraltar alone. Their plans to meet in Lisbon go awry however when, in November 1942, the Allies invade North Africa. As a result, the Germans occupy Vichy France and the borders are closed. Aaron, Louis and Nathalie travel to Lourdes to await what they hope will be a quick prisoner exchange. Pamela Tudsbury and her father Alistair are in Egypt where he is reporting on the Eighth Army's defeat of Rommel's Afrika Korps. The Russians are putting up stiff resistance on the Eastern Front and Hitler approves a new battle plan. At Auschwitz, the Nazi's complete construction of the gas chambers and the crematoria. Berel Jastrow and Sammy Mutterperl are transferred to a new work gang. In the South Pacific, Pug Henry's ship, Northampton, is severely damaged in an encounter with the Japanese.

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    Writer:Herman Wouk

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12. 

    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #12 - Part VII: 3rd April 1943

    S1:E711/23/1988

    Natalie, Louis and her uncle Aaron Jastrow find themselves in Paris having been transferred there from the prisoner exchange camp in Baden Baden courtesy of Aaron's former student, the German diplomat Werner Beck. He thwarts their attempt to return to the exchange camp and they find themselves transferred to the so-called "paradise camp" of Theresienstadt, in Czechoslovakia. Byron Henry is at sea in the Pacific with his friend "Lady" Aster in command. He also learns of wife Natalie's transfer to a new camp but doesn't get much more than that from the State Department. They have a very successful first mission but Lady's orders to shoot survivors off a Japanese troop ship don't sit well with everyone. Pamela Tudsbury makes her way to Moscow and has a brief meeting with Pug Henry. Berel Jastrow manages to escape from the concentration

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    Writer:Herman Wouk

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13. 

    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #13 - Part VIII: 25th Nov 1943

    S1:E85/7/1989

    Still in the camp at Theresienstadt, where prominent Jews have been interned, Natalie and Aaron have to deal with the fact that more and more of ghetto residents are being shipped to concentration camps in the East. Berel Jastrow is now part of the Prague underground and offers to take Louis out of the camp. When Natalie and Louis are ordered transferred to Auschwitz, Aaron tries to bribe the new camp Kommandant. Byron is now the executive officer on his submarine and he learns that his friend Aster has been having an affair with his sister-in-law, Janice. In Moscow, Pug tells Pamela Tudsbury that he is still receiving anonymous letters about Rhoda's infidelity and that he has decided to return to Washington to find out for himself what is going on. He also has to do business with Rhoda's new friend, Col. Hack Harrison.

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    Writer:Herman Wouk

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14. 

    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #14 - Part IX: 16th May 1944

    S1:E95/8/1989

    It's 1944 and the Allies are preparing for D-day. Pug Henry is now a Rear Admiral and he again meets Pamela Tudsbury at her fiancé's residence, but their meeting is brief as he must return to the Pacific fleet. They do decide they have a future together however. Some members of Hitler's High Command plot to assassinate him, but their first attempt is unsuccessful. Leslie Slote has joined the Army and parachutes behind enemy lines for the D-Day invasions. His job is to organize resistance fighters. After getting a last minute reprieve, Nathalie decides to accept Berel Jastrow's offer of taking little Louis out of the camp. Before they can get him out, they find themselves in the SS interrogation center where the camp commander finds a way to make Nathalie more compliant.

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    Writer:Herman Wouk

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15. 

    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #15 - Part X: 22nd June 1944

    S1:E105/9/1989

    In the so-called paradise ghetto of Theresienstadt, the Nazis prepare for a visit by neutral observers by cleaning up the village, distributing new clothes to the inhabitants and setting any number of happy scenes. The visit goes so well that the Nazis decide to make a film for which Aaron Jastrow must write script. Those plotting to overthrow Hitler make one last attempt on July 20, 1944 resulting in the execution of Count von Stauffenberg and the other plotters. Field Marshall Rommel is seriously hurt in a car accident but he too must pay the price for his participation in the plot. Still in the Pacific, Pug Henry prepares for the battle of Leyte Gulf while Byron becomes the commanding officer of his submarine. Nathalie and Aaron are transferred to Auschwitz.

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    Writer:Herman Wouk

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16. 

    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #16 - Part XI: 28th Oct 1944

    S1:E115/10/1989

    Nathalie and Aaron spend four days traveling to Auschwitz; on arrival, one of them is sent directly to the gas chambers. In the Philippines Sea, Byron Henry, in command of a submarine, gets ready for his first action as Captain. Hitler plans for one, all out attack against the Allied Forces in the Ardennes forest. The battle is launched in mid-December but by January 1945, Allied air power has ensured the Nazis will not succeed. With the Red Army advancing from the East, Himmler orders that all traces of the death camps be eliminated. In Yalta, the Allied leaders meet for the last time to divide the recovered territories.

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    Writer:Herman Wouk

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17. 

    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #17 - Part XII: 12th April 1945

    S1:E125/14/1989

    In April 1945, FDR dies and several days later Hitler, along with several of his cronies, commits suicide. Pug Henry and Pamela Tudsbury are finally married. President Harry Truman asks him to become his Naval aide, forcing him to delay his honeymoon. On May 8, 1945 the Germans surrender and the war comes to an end in Europe. Pug learns that Nathalie is hospitalized and Byron arranges a transfer to Europe. There he begins his search for Louis. The U.S. drop atomic bombs on Japan bringing World War II to an end.

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    Writer:Herman Wouk

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18. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #18 - Part I: 15th Dec 1941

    S1:E111/13/1988

    In the immediate aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Captain Victor 'Pug' Henry finds himself in command of a cruiser, the USS Northampton. His son Warren is a naval aviator on the USS Enterprise and son Byron continues his service on a submarine, the USS Swordfish. Pug's wife Rhoda continues her affair with Palmer Kirby and Byron's wife Natalie has a difficult decision to make when a German Foreign Office official suggests that she and her uncle Aaron Jastrow stay in Italy rather than travel to Palestine. Pamela Tudsbury and her father start a world tour where he will report for the BBC from the far reaches of the British Empire. She is quick to let Pug know that they will also be stopping in Hawaii.

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    Writer:Herman Wouk

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19. 

    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #19 - Part VI: 20th Dec 1942

    S1:E611/22/1988

    Pug Henry returns to Washington where President Roosevelt asks him to take an assignment at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. There, the U.S. Ambassador is none too pleased with the lack of acknowledgment from the Russians on the benefits of lend-lease but Pug is impressed with the work they are doing. All efforts to get Natalie, Louis and Aaron out of Lourdes fail and they learn that all of the internees are being transferred to Baden Baden in Germany. At Pearl Harbor, Byron reports for duty as Executive Officer on a new submarine, the Moray, commanded by his old friend "Lady" Aster. What he doesn't realize is that his friend is having an affair with his widowed sister-in-law, Janice.

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    Writer:Herman Wouk

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