Ken Burns - "The Roosevelts"

...and football.

 

Very enjoyable. Great pictures.

 

If it's any consolation, I just finished the Roosevelt's and liked it. That said, last night's game was quite good...

 

Really?!? Can't like a Ken Burns special and a bit of football. Good to know...

 

I'm a big fan of Ken Burns' style of documentary. Just recently bought The Dust Bowl and Prohibition on blu-ray.

I'm watching The Roosevelts as I type this. Fascinating stuff. The familiarity of the storytelling style is part of what makes these documentaries so interesting; it focuses on the people behind the history.

Although I believe that Burns has potentially many subjects and themes to explore, his time frame seems to be limited from the mid 19th Century to the mid 20th. Even his Jazz series tended to peter out by the 1960's. But I'm always looking forward to each new presentation.

 

It has been interesting. Those people got things done.

 

I watched the first episode tonight and loved it. I'm almost embarrassed to say this is my first Ken Burns doc and I found it and the style really compelling. I think it's asking too much of the audience though to show this every night for a week. Who has that kind of time? It should be on once a week like Masterpiece.

 

Agreed. I missed the first installment as my wife and I were on the road, driving back from out of town and I forgot to DVR before we left.

I thought the 2nd installment was very well done and enjoyed it. But I checked my local PBS listing and they will now have me captive for the week through Saturday unless I DVR and then...try to find the time to watch them all in my spare time. I may be just as well bite the bullet and save the DVR space.

Still....well done so far Mr. Burns ....

 

Enjoying it. I wasn't aware of the contention between Mark Twain and TR.

 

Watching it too

 

I started watching it just the pictures of old NY are compelling by themselves. I can't fault Ken Burns because his work is excellent, but I can't help thinking some other talented Documentarian should get a shot once in a while.

Ken is thorough but he always just gives us the prevailing conventional wisdom on any given topic. He rarely surprises me and he doesn't take risks. PBS uses him as a brand and he get ratings and he raises big corporate bucks, so it works for them.

 

I never knew Eleanor led such a sad, horrible life.

 

TR was fascinating. But I hadn't realized he was so reckless and, well ... insane. His actions with the Rough Riders around San Juan were totally reckless and he was LUCKY to have survived. It was almost suicidal. His attack on the Philippines was idiotic imperialism run amock. That said, he was in the mold of LBJ in a way - he knew what he wanted, why he wanted it, and worked diligently and smartly to get it done, without hesitation. There's a lot to be said for that. I am especially looking forward to the FDR part. Didn't know he was such a weak, mama's boy type until I guess after college. It will be interesting to see his transformation into a great leader.

 

I kinda thought TR went for it and really didn't care if he lived or died after his wife and daughter passed.

 

All I have to say about this series is.............Bully ! Bully ! Delightful !

 

Not only a great documentary of the Roosevelts but also an interesting snapshot of those times.

 

Guess I missed that part. Doing some internet scrolling, and there is a new book out about this. Also did not hear the word "Armour" mentioned in the beef trust problem. They mention the men involved, but leave out the brand names, or did I also miss that?

 

Yep, love the pics.

 

Football! What football? The first two episodes were excellent. My plan to DVR them and watch the games didn't work out. Just five minutes and I was hooked.

 

Some excellent books out there on TR. One of the best is the recent "The Bully Pulpit" by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

 

Watched both nights so far, and it's good. I didn't know Teddy has so reckless, and FDR's mother is a piece of work.

 

His first wife died from a kidney ailment two days after giving birth to their daughter, Alice, but the child survived and lived into her 90s.

 

Maybe it was his wife and then his mom?