The American President (2000)
The American President (2000) A seemingly impossible task magnificently accomplished in this ten-hour PBS series. Among the 41 presidents in this series are a few giants, some dwarfs, and a range of personalities in between. Written and produced by the Kunhardts, who are responsible for the marvelous 4-video Lincoln, the historical continuity is provided by Richard Neustadt, the distinguished Harvard presidential scholar.
Presidents are grouped by a common theme. Episode 1, Family Ties, focuses on John Quincy Adams, Benjamin Harrison, Franklin Roosevelt, and John Kennedy. Other themes include Happenstance, An Independent Mind, The Professional Politician, The American Way, The World Stage, The Heroic Posture, Compromise Choices, Expanding Power, and the Balance of Power.
Each one-hour episode has a focus and continuity that contributes to superb historical insights. It is daunting to imagine condensing FDR or other major presidents into a fifteen-minute snippet. Personally, I found myself saying “but” as key aspects of presidents were omitted. Nonetheless, the severe synthesis was accomplished with no historical errors that I noticed. Moreover, the character of each president clearly emerged. The thematic context made some of our less renowned presidents more comprehensible. I found that I learned something new from each vignette. Overall, a masterful achievement, the more so when contrasted with C-Span’s rather tedious series on the American presidents. Viewers should look at C-Span’s 1999 historians’ ranking of American presidents, which is the most comprehensive yet undertaken.
