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| Posted: Mon Jan 16th, 2006 12:52 pm |
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1st Post |
javal1
Grumpy Geezer
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Folks,
As most of you know, we have had two reviews of the TV show "Lincoln" posted for a couple of weeks. We'd like to see all of you review it as well. The show airs first tonight on History Channel, and additional airings are scheduled ( see Civil War TV Guide for show times ). Although we usually use this section for book reviews, watch the show and drop your thoughts and reviews as replies to this post.
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| Posted: Mon Jan 16th, 2006 11:36 pm |
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2nd Post |
javal1
Grumpy Geezer
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Our lack of modesty prevents us from not posting this from the Register-Mail newspaper in Galesburg, Illinois (wherever that may be!)  :
Wilson 'hidden star' of Lincoln documentary
Monday, January 16, 2006
GALESBURG - A History Channel documentary on Abraham Lincoln will feature an interview with Douglas Wilson, co-director of the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College. The program "Lincoln" will be shown at 7 p.m. today on the History Channel, channel 52 on the Insight cable system in Galesburg.
The program features interviews with Wilson and other leading Lincoln scholars and historians, including Gore Vidal, Harold Holzer and Jay Winik.
The program "focuses primarily ... on the hidden demons which Lincoln bore ... and how they affected him," wrote one reviewer on the web site Civil War Interactive. The reviewer, Joe Avalon, also calls Wilson "the hidden star" of the program.
Both Avalon and Laurie Chambliss, another reviewer for Civil War Interactive, compare Wilson to Shelby Foote, a novelist and historian who gained fame as the narrator of the 1990 PBS production, "The Civil War."
Wilson is the author of a book about Lincoln's pre-presidential years, "Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln," which has won both the Barondess/Lincoln Award from the Civil War Roundtable and the Abraham Lincoln Institute's Book Prize. Wilson taught English at Knox from 1961 to 1997. He also has been Saunders Director of the International Center for Jefferson Studies.
Wilson and his colleague at the Lincoln Studies Center, Rodney Davis, are working on a series of books about Lincoln for the University of Illinois Press. The series includes a new edition of William Herndon's 19th-century biography of Lincoln and a new edition of the texts of the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.
Reviews at Civil War Interactive:
http://www.civilwarinteractive.com/ReviewHCLincolnLAC.htm
http://www.civilwarinteractive.com/ReviewLincoln2.htm
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17th, 2006 03:57 am |
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3rd Post |
Cap
Member
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Joe and Laurie,
Congratulations.....it's nice to see someone other than us notices your great work . I enjoyed your reviews as well but have yet to watch the Lincoln special. I have recorded it and expect to watch it sometime in the next couple of days.... so I will avoid this thread until then and then look forward to seeing what others thought of the show.
As for Galesburg, it is several hours north of me and I have yet to make a visit up there, but do plan to someday. They are the sight of the 5th Lincoln-Douglas debate and claim to have the only building still standing from the time of the debates. They also have a statue of Mother Bickerdyke that was erected back in 1911. I hope to see both sites sometime in the future.
Cap
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| You have chosen to ignore indy19th. click Here to view this post |
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| Posted: Thu Jan 19th, 2006 03:37 pm |
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4th Post |
indy19th
Guest
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I didn't really care much for this program. There were some good spots, but the negatives overwhelmed them.
Jean Baker added nothing to the program, aside from annoyance. The whole sexuality thing would have been better served on a station like Lifetime for Women. To allude that Lincoln was gay is ridiculous anyway, aside from the fact that there is no hard evidence.
Gore Vidal's negative comments about the current administration and war were unneccesary and even offensive as when he compared to war on terror to war on dandruff. Plus he called the Civil War, the WORLD'S bloodiest, which clearly it's not.
We should have heard more from Douglas Wilson and Harold Holzer, or any number of other Lincoln experts that were not on the program.
They delved too much into psychoanalysis.
If I were asked what documentary to watch about Abraham Lincoln, I would not even mention this one.
Last edited on Fri Jan 20th, 2006 02:25 pm by
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| Posted: Thu Jan 19th, 2006 04:24 pm |
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5th Post |
David White
Member
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Indy:
I won't watch the program until Saturday night but your analysis is pretty close to what others are telling me and what I feared the show might be. I have to reserve my comments until I see it but I too am tired of the homosexual spin on Lincoln as well.
Hell let's just speculate that he was a pedophille too because his father abused him, he had a close relationship with his children and he sure was broke up when Willie died so he must have been a pedophille.
I wish people with a political agenda would stop writing "history."
BTW, I did watch the first installment of PBS's "The War that Made America" last night and it was quite good. The episodes are almost stand alone so you can watch it next week and not be lost (four epsidoses total). Good indepth view of the French and Indian War for television anyway, although not much from the French perspective, more the English and Indian viewpoint.
Last edited on Thu Jan 19th, 2006 04:31 pm by David White
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| Posted: Thu Jan 19th, 2006 05:39 pm |
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6th Post |
Kent Nielsen
Member
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Well I was upset that we don't get History Channel here in Canada, but from what I'm reading it sounds like I didn't miss anything. I did like Abraham and Mary Tod Lincoln by PBS several years ago. Re: The War That Made America. This is what happens when I cancel my TV Guide subscription. I didn't even know it was on. 
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| Posted: Thu Jan 19th, 2006 05:48 pm |
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7th Post |
David White
Member
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Kent:
It kind of slights the Great White North as well if that is any consolation to you, in summary:
Epidsode 1: Braddock's Defeat
Episode 2: Ft. William Henry
Hopefully we'll see Quebec and Louisburg but it is an American PBS production.
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| Posted: Fri Jan 20th, 2006 08:51 pm |
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8th Post |
connyankee
Member
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My thanks to Cwi for their excellent (and timely) reviews! I watched the program and soon after fell asleep, catching what I missed on the replay that same night.
It's utterly characteristic of the modern period that anyone famous in the past was neurotic, abused, depressed, and/or battling a wide variety of other pathologies. No doubt this says a great deal more about these historians and their generation than it does about the great figures of history. We seem to be wallowing in our own psychic deformities that people in their day would find uncomprehensible.
There's hardly a mention of Lincoln's step mother, Sarah Bush Johnston. I have read biographies that state Lincoln had a very warm and loving relationship with his step mother all his life and she played a very crucial and supportive role in his life.
As I watched "The Darkness of Abraham Lincoln" revisionist history, which was the production's working title for nearly three years, I kept wondering how someone as pathologically "depressed" as Abe allegedly was could possibly have told all those jokes and humorous little stories for which his friends and enemies alike best remembered him - not to mention all the memorable quotable ad libs attributed to him. What was missed, and what left wing liberals always miss, is the tremendous load Lincoln had to bear fighting the Civil War. Not only the politics, but the conduct of the war, failed Generals, political opportunists, foreign countries that wished America ill, insurrection at home in loyal states, undercover operations by the enemy, and the opposite political party, the Democrats, undermining the war effort at every turn. Sound familiar, Gore Vidal?
All this wishy-washy jazz about a man who lived in a different time and age is pure BS. Lincoln was a product of his time. What we have in common with Lincoln is that all of us have our moments in love, family, and death and living life itself. Was Lincoln depressed? I'll bet he was. I've never met a soul who wasn't at one time or another. He rose above it, always keeping his gifted eyes on the prize that really mattered. No matter how liberal vermin try to paint Lincoln as a whacko or gay, they will never succeed. Lincoln was a blessing from God to the United States, and thus, he will always remain.
I wouldn't recommend this program to anyone. While I wouldn't go so far as to say it's garbage for it does shed some light on Lincoln's early years, it certainly contains yellow journalism, a load of speculation with no facts to substaniate the BS.
History Channel programming is heading downhill in my view. Did anyone watch The Crusades (those darn Christians!)? Mail Call and older programming is about the only thing I find worth watching over there anymore.
Regards,
CY
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| Posted: Mon Jan 23rd, 2006 04:14 pm |
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9th Post |
David White
Member
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Okay, I've seen it now and there have been some very good comments posted so far that I don't need to rehash. Just who the heck was that British woman in the show and what made her the expert and the person to get the last word in, she added nothing to the show. I think the producers of this show went in with an agenda and asked everyone to respond in kind. There were several errors in the show I noted and many ridiculous assertions. Even the ususually respectable Jay Winik with his Lincoln never carried a pocket or pen knife for fear he would kill himself screws up. AHHHH Jay, ever see the contents of Lincoln's pockets the night he died-- he had a penknife.
Overall a very poor production and the only person who kept it on the even keel was Mr. Wilson who didn't give in to the producer's desire for the sensational. Oh and as to my previous post about Lincoln being a pedophille, not only that, he was a necrophiliac Pedophile why else was he reopening Willie's grave?
I'll cut the History Channel some slack this time because their show on Camp Douglas wasn't bad.
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| Posted: Wed Jan 25th, 2006 05:03 am |
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10th Post |
Hellcat
Member
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From the sounds of things, I'm glad the commercials themselves turned me off of the whole thing.
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| Posted: Wed Jan 25th, 2006 07:49 am |
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11th Post |
| Posted: Thu Jan 26th, 2006 06:34 pm |
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12th Post |
javal1
Grumpy Geezer
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Wanted to throw out a heads up for those who haven't seen the show yet....
Date: 0128
Start Time: 4 p.m.
Show Length: 180 minutes
Channel: History Channel
Lincoln
Subtitle: Special/other
The life of the 16th president is examined from his early days to his death at Ford's Theater, with discussion of new research on his possible depression and other aspects of his life.
Of course, you know this if you read the CWi TV Guide! 
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| Posted: Fri Jan 27th, 2006 02:59 pm |
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13th Post |
David White
Member
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Javal:
IMO that subtitle should be rewritten:
"The thoughts of the 16th president as theorized by a couple of historians and a host of pop psychologists of questionable authority, from his early days to his death at Ford's Theater, with psychobabble on his possible depression and other aspects of his life, that are sure to please the agenda of more than one special interest group." Last edited on Fri Jan 27th, 2006 03:00 pm by David White
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| You have chosen to ignore indy19th. click Here to view this post |
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| Posted: Fri Jan 27th, 2006 03:31 pm |
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14th Post |
indy19th
Guest
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It looks like we are all pretty much in agreement.
I noticed that the two "formal" reviews for this program, (which led me here in the first place), gave the program a thumbs up.
I wonder if there is any wish by these two reviewers to perhaps change their tune. Not because "we" said so, necessarily, but sometimes after reading an opposite review or two, an item may be looked at differently.
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| Posted: Fri Jan 27th, 2006 04:09 pm |
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15th Post |
javal1
Grumpy Geezer
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As one of those "formal reviewers" , I stand by my review. My conclusion was that it was a needed show, and it was. As for much of it being "psycho-bable - yes, some of it was. But I think an analysis of the inner-workings of Lincoln's mind is a valid approach. Viewers can decide which parts to believe and which to disregard. But I for one was sick to death of shows potraying the man as a one dimensional iconic figure without delving into the deeper motivations. Now it's out there for others to decide. Glad to see it provoke discussion though....
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| You have chosen to ignore indy19th. click Here to view this post |
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| Posted: Thu Apr 13th, 2006 01:24 pm |
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16th Post |
indy19th
Guest
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The History Channel re-aired "April 1865" on Sunday.
It had been awhile since I'd seen it. A couple things. One, it's still really good. For some reason I forgot that my favorite "historian" (read: sarcasm) Thomas DiLorenzo said a few words.
Secondly, (and how it ties into this thread) Jean Baker was also on the show. She talked mostly about James Buchanan. Sure enough, she's the one that talked about his personal life the most, including the fact that he was our only bachelor President and that he may have been homosexual. Funny that she mentioned there wasn't overwhelming evidence with him, but the whole "Lincoln" program, you would have thought she was convinced that he was gay, even with LESS evidence.
If she has some kind of agenda, it would appear that Mr. Buchanan does not qualify enough, but since everyone knows Lincoln, he will suffice even more.
I hope in the future that the History Channel will sever their ties with Ms. Baker.
Last edited on Thu Apr 13th, 2006 01:26 pm by
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| Posted: Thu Apr 13th, 2006 01:35 pm |
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17th Post |
javal1
Grumpy Geezer
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lol - indy I watched the same program (again) last weekend and thought the exact same thing.... "is there anyone in US history that this woman doesn't think was gay?" I couldn't care less if Buchanan (or anyone else) was or wasn't, but she certainly does seem to be obsessed by it.
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| Posted: Mon Apr 17th, 2006 03:18 pm |
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18th Post |
Current time is 09:32 pm | |
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