(3 of 3)
Despite the length, the first twelve hours are rarely repetitive, never languorous. The narration, by Boston Actor Will Lyman, is unintrusive and kept to a minimum. The only conspicuous adornment is a jungle-beat musical theme written by Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann of the rock group the Grateful Dead.
There are shortcomings. The series gives glancing attention to the destructive American impact in South Viet Nam: corruption, prostitution, an overheated and dependent economy. The first twelve shows offer almost no impression of life in North Viet Nam or of what the Communists planned to impose on the South. As usual, the U.S. suffers for being an open society: there is almost no film or discussion of Soviet military activity, and the footage supplied by Hanoi often seems sanitized; while most of the Americans who are interviewed are thoughtful, there is no flicker of self-criticism among the people interviewed in today's Viet Nam.
For Americans who do not recall the war, especially its all but accidental beginnings, the 13 hours can serve as a comprehensive and comprehensible history lesson. For those who remember all too well, the series offers an opportunity for reconsideration, perhaps reconciliation. If given the chance, the chronicle might captivate even those who feel they have no will or wish to relive the sorrow and the pity of that time. —By William A. Henry III. Reported by James Wilde/New York