View single post by TimK
 Posted: Tue May 31st, 2011 06:06 pm
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TimK
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Joined: Thu Apr 10th, 2008
Location: Aurora, Colorado
Posts: 311
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Mana: 
 Hey Doc - I don't write so good, so this probably won't make as much sense as if we could sit across a table from each other, but I'll give it a try.

First, please read Joe's first post in which there is a description of the show and what they want to do. Second, if I remember, at the very outset of the show they (the proverbial they) said they were going to follow the experiences of six less than famous participants in the battle. I think this is what I mean by a new perspective.

Certainly most everyone here has a textbook knowledge of Gettysburg. We have all seen the movie (I still cringe whenever a noble speech and the inspirational music start up), we have all seen the Ken Burns episode, we have all seen the electric map version, and most of us have read several books, or at least chapters on the subject. Certainly we all know the story (not like a certified guide, or as I believe you do as someone that has prepared to take the test).

So, if any of this makes sense, I don't think the show set out to impress anybody on the glorified aspects of Gettysburg, and I believe that is why so much is left out. That wasn't their goal, to re-tell again, the concise battle of Gettysburg. Certainly there was a lot of History Channel shtick that didn't help their effort, but I still applaud the effort.

And having said all this, I understand what everyone else is saying. I just happened to enjoy the show more than a lot of other television I see.