The Century: America's Time

There's an interesting Catch-22 at the center of ABC's landmark 12 hour miniseries The Century: America's Time, based on host Peter Jennings' coffee table bestseller. Certainly one of the most indelible images associated with the assassination of President Kennedy is the sight of CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite quietly breaking down while announcing Kennedy's death to a stunned nation. You won't see it here, however, and the reason--one suspects--is that the shot is a CBS, not ABC, moment. Although it would take a far more compartmentalized mind than my own to recognize news footage by its parent station, there's little doubt that the lion's share of the archival film shown here is--to seriously mix my trademark metaphors--neither the peacock's nor the eye's. That huge caveat aside (and one other which I'll get to presently), The Century is pretty darn powerful stuff. I watched Volume 5, which featured two episodes encompassing the 1970s, featuring interviewees ranging from recent literary sparring partners John Updike and Tom Wolfe to filmmakers Dennis Hopper and Oliver Stone, and historian/journalists Stephen Ambrose and Tom Wicker, among many others (500 interviews were conducted in all for the series). The primary focus is overwhelmingly political: the rise and fall of Richard Nixon, the "peace with honor" exit from Vietnam, the Attica bloodbath, Love Canal, Three Mile Island, the Iranian hostage crisis, etc. I'm not entirely sure how, even within the confines of 90 minutes, a program on the 1970s can omit Star Wars--indeed, arts and culture, in general, are largely absent (except for a segment on disco, humorously distinguished as featuring "lyrics stripped entirely of social purpose"). Despite my quibbles, The Century is easily a cut above most news compilations, sporting incredible (ABC) footage, superb interview clips and cogent bridging narration. Definitely recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)