Historical TV

[Thyrsis]

I can't think of better historical TV than Band of Brothers, Ken Burns' Civil and War and OJ: Made in America. I've never seen Roots and I've only watched the start of John Adams. Things like The Tudors, Rome, and the Crown might be pretty good, but they're nowhere near the caliber of the former.

Maybe period pieces is another slice of the pie: Mad Men, All Creatures Great and Small, Queen's Gambit, Boardwalk Empire (I've only seen about one season), Deadwood (only seen a little), Downton Abbey, and Sopranos (?) are probably all really good to some relative degree.

Any difference of opinion on those? Any thoughts on other high-quality historical TV?

 

[mcmurtry66]

I can't think of better historical TV than Band of Brothers, Ken Burns' Civil and War and OJ: Made in America. I've never seen Roots and I've only watched the start of John Adams. Things like The Tudors, Rome, and the Crown might be pretty good, but they're nowhere near the caliber of the former.

Maybe period pieces is another slice of the pie: Mad Men, All Creatures Great and Small, Queen's Gambit, Boardwalk Empire (I've only seen about one season), Deadwood (only seen a little), Downton Abbey, and Sopranos (?) are probably all really good to some relative degree.

Any difference of opinion on those? Any thoughts on other high-quality historical TV?

Lots of good ones here. Mad men’s ending was perfect. Not too many shows accomplish same. Endings are hard

 

[snarlcakes]

I can't think of better historical TV than Band of Brothers, Ken Burns' Civil and War and OJ: Made in America. I've never seen Roots and I've only watched the start of John Adams. Things like The Tudors, Rome, and the Crown might be pretty good, but they're nowhere near the caliber of the former.

Maybe period pieces is another slice of the pie: Mad Men, All Creatures Great and Small, Queen's Gambit, Boardwalk Empire (I've only seen about one season), Deadwood (only seen a little), Downton Abbey, and Sopranos (?) are probably all really good to some relative degree.

Any difference of opinion on those? Any thoughts on other high-quality historical TV?

Rise of Empires: Ottomans on Netflix was good. Also, Peaky “F#cking” Blinders is awesome.

 

[Thyrsis]

Lots of good ones here. Mad men’s ending was perfect. Not too many shows accomplish same. Endings are hard

It may barely qualify, but a recent trip to NYC and the upper west side got me thinking about and briefly watching Seinfeld again. I think it ran from something like '89-'98. That's the world I knew as a maturing post-college person. Funny and (to me) more authentic than something like Friends (which I used to like but can't stomach at this point), it was a blast from the past: no smartphones, no internet or email, people went to movies, people read and relied on newspapers, people had to rely on answering machines, no 24/7 cable news, people dated, people navigated awkward social interactions, cable TV was pretty basic, people had to engage in society. It was truly the end of an era. Everything changed as the show was ending.

 

[mcmurtry66]

Rise of Empires: Ottomans on Netflix was good. Also, Peaky “F#cking” Blinders is awesome.

Peaky ****ing blinders is outstanding

 

[Thyrsis]

It may barely qualify, but a recent trip to NYC and the upper west side got me thinking about and briefly watching Seinfeld again. I think it ran from something like '89-'98. That's the world I knew as a maturing post-college person. Funny and (to me) more authentic than something like Friends (which I used to like but can't stomach at this point), it was a blast from the past: no smartphones, no internet or email, people went to movies, people read and relied on newspapers, people had to rely on answering machines, no 24/7 cable news, people dated, people navigated awkward social interactions, cable TV was pretty basic, people had to engage in society. It was truly the end of an era. Everything changed as the show was ending.

Not the same thing, but I also watched a couple episodes of Northern Exposure recently. Maybe subtle, but another reminder that the world was remarkably different than today. And sure, every generation goes through lamenations about loss of the past. But I doubt the acceleration of change can match what happened post-Seinfeld.

 

[BradStevens]

I can't think of better historical TV than Band of Brothers, Ken Burns' Civil and War and OJ: Made in America. I've never seen Roots and I've only watched the start of John Adams. Things like The Tudors, Rome, and the Crown might be pretty good, but they're nowhere near the caliber of the former.

Maybe period pieces is another slice of the pie: Mad Men, All Creatures Great and Small, Queen's Gambit, Boardwalk Empire (I've only seen about one season), Deadwood (only seen a little), Downton Abbey, and Sopranos (?) are probably all really good to some relative degree.

Any difference of opinion on those? Any thoughts on other high-quality historical TV?

Game of Thrones.

Check out Shogun. Loosely based on a real story. Masters of the Air. New Ben Franklin series with Michael Douglas.

If you like older stuff, I believe the BBC did a famous version of I, Claudius and Wolf Hall more recently (have not seen either one).

 

[Marvin the Martian]

Blackadder, half joke, half serious.

 

[Thyrsis]

Game of Thrones.

Check out Shogun. Loosely based on a real story. Masters of the Air. New Ben Franklin series with Michael Douglas.

If you like older stuff, I believe the BBC did a famous version of I, Claudius and Wolf Hall more recently (have not seen either one).

I tend to avoid watching movie versions of books I really liked. Even though I doubt it's great literature, Clavell is a thing for me, so I'm not sure I want to watch the TV version. I regret watching even a little of Lonesome Dove. Favorite novel of all time.

I keep meaning to go back to Wolf Hall and that book series, but I seriously can't get traction with her writing. Maybe I should give the TV a try.

I've not yet watched Ben Franklin, but I'm struggling with Michael Douglas in the previews.

Based (again) only on the previews, the lead in Masters of the Air bugs me. Not sure I can get over that. I'm super petty.

I've not really watched Game of Thrones, but I trust everybody when they say how great it was. I just got behind and then everybody couldn't keep their pieholes shut and had to talk about it all the time and basically ruined everything.

 

[mcmurtry66]

I regret watching even a little of Lonesome Dove. Favorite novel of all time.

stop flirting

 

[BradStevens]

I tend to avoid watching movie versions of books I really liked. Even though I doubt it's great literature, Clavell is a thing for me, so I'm not sure I want to watch the TV version. I regret watching even a little of Lonesome Dove. Favorite novel of all time.

I keep meaning to go back to Wolf Hall and that book series, but I seriously can't get traction with her writing. Maybe I should give the TV a try.

I've not yet watched Ben Franklin, but I'm struggling with Michael Douglas in the previews.

Based (again) only on the previews, the lead in Masters of the Air bugs me. Not sure I can get over that. I'm super petty.

I've not really watched Game of Thrones, but I trust everybody when they say how great it was. I just got behind and then everybody couldn't keep their pieholes shut and had to talk about it all the time and basically ruined everything.

I agree wholeheartedly with you on Mantel as a writer. I tried Wolf Hall three separate times and just couldn't do it. She's no Melville . . .

Game of Thrones Seasons 1-4 are the best TV of all-time, in my mind.

 

[mcmurtry66]

I agree wholeheartedly with you on Mantel as a writer. I tried Wolf Hall three separate times and just couldn't do it. She's no Melville . . .

Game of Thrones Seasons 1-4 are the best TV of all-time, in my mind.

Second behind breaking bad for me

 

[Univee2]

stop flirting

Great book.

Duvall and Jones - maybe the two best portrayals of characters of all-time.

In fact, I can’t think of an actor in the series who didn’t absolutely nail their role.

So many memorable lines.

 

[mcmurtry66]

Great book.

Duvall and Jones - maybe the two best portrayals of characters of all-time.

In fact, I can’t think of an actor in the series who didn’t absolutely nail their role.

So many memorable lines.

Like thyrsis I avoided watching it for many years. Was angry that they made it. Then broke down and yea duvall and jones were perfect

I absolutely love the last picture show series too. Books

 

[Hoopsdoc1978]

The great BBC documentary world at war is as good as it gets for historical tv. Interviews with a lot of the people who lived through it.

And it’s available for free on YouTube.

So is the battlefield series for the total history geeks like me.

 

[BradStevens]

The great BBC documentary world at war is as good as it gets for historical tv. Interviews with a lot of the people who lived through it.

And it’s available for free on YouTube.

So is the battlefield series for the total history geeks like me.

I've heard good things about World on Fire, too.

 

[TheOriginalHappyGoat]

I can't think of better historical TV than Band of Brothers, Ken Burns' Civil and War and OJ: Made in America. I've never seen Roots and I've only watched the start of John Adams. Things like The Tudors, Rome, and the Crown might be pretty good, but they're nowhere near the caliber of the former.

Maybe period pieces is another slice of the pie: Mad Men, All Creatures Great and Small, Queen's Gambit, Boardwalk Empire (I've only seen about one season), Deadwood (only seen a little), Downton Abbey, and Sopranos (?) are probably all really good to some relative degree.

Any difference of opinion on those? Any thoughts on other high-quality historical TV?

For historical TV, The Civil War is tops*, no question. For dramatized history, Band of Brothers probably deserves #1. John Adams was good, too. For loosely-inspired drama, I have to stick with Rome. It was better than "pretty good." It was phenomenal. After that, The Americans, The Tudors, and Deadwood, and I won't argue whatever order you put those three in.

I'm still waiting for someone to come along and really do Justinian well. I think that could be a great series. War, the plague, sex scandals, insurrection, gang warfare, his reign had everything.

*Tom Shales of WaPo gave what I still think is both the most laudatory and paradoxically the most spot-on review of a TV show when he wrote, "This is not just good television, nor even just great television. This is heroic television."

 

[BradStevens]

Clive Owen has two, now, as well. The Knick is about 10 years old now, but good, as I remember. And now he has a series called Monsieur Spade.

 

[TheOriginalHappyGoat]

I've not yet watched Ben Franklin, but I'm struggling with Michael Douglas in the previews.

I just can't see anyone as Ben other than Tom Wilkinson.

 

[Thyrsis]

I just can't see anyone as Ben other than Tom Wilkinson.

Heard. But I’m still convinced if I watch the new one that Ben Franklin is going to slip in references to Bluestar Airlines.

 

[Marvin the Martian]

There is a three part series called Our World War that is very good. Is is about WW1. Episode 1 on Mons is nearly Band of Brothers good. It's weakness is the 3 stories don't tie together.

Germany made Generation War on WW2 showing a band of friends throughout the war. It is very good, maybe tries a bit too hard to show every possible German position during the war.

 

[UncleMark]

Daniel Boone?

Sgt. Preston of the Yukon?

 

[Marvin the Martian]

Daniel Boone?

Sgt. Preston of the Yukon?

F Troop

 

[CO. Hoosier]

I can't think of better historical TV than Band of Brothers, Ken Burns' Civil and War and OJ: Made in America. I've never seen Roots and I've only watched the start of John Adams. Things like The Tudors, Rome, and the Crown might be pretty good, but they're nowhere near the caliber of the former.

Maybe period pieces is another slice of the pie: Mad Men, All Creatures Great and Small, Queen's Gambit, Boardwalk Empire (I've only seen about one season), Deadwood (only seen a little), Downton Abbey, and Sopranos (?) are probably all really good to some relative degree.

Any difference of opinion on those? Any thoughts on other high-quality historical TV?

Gettysburg is great. I have the DVD and watch it about once a year or so.

Narcos and Narcos Mexico were very good.

HBO’s from Earth to the Moon is good. All about the moon landing.

B.o.B. Is still the king though.

 

[larsIU]

The Wire. It now stands as historical fiction.

John Adams might be better than BoB.

 

[mcmurtry66]

It may barely qualify, but a recent trip to NYC and the upper west side got me thinking about and briefly watching Seinfeld again. I think it ran from something like '89-'98. That's the world I knew as a maturing post-college person. Funny and (to me) more authentic than something like Friends (which I used to like but can't stomach at this point), it was a blast from the past: no smartphones, no internet or email, people went to movies, people read and relied on newspapers, people had to rely on answering machines, no 24/7 cable news, people dated, people navigated awkward social interactions, cable TV was pretty basic, people had to engage in society. It was truly the end of an era. Everything changed as the show was ending.

Well I finished curb your enthusiasm tonight. Between that and Seinfeld that’s a lot of years of laughs

 

[DANC]

I can't think of better historical TV than Band of Brothers, Ken Burns' Civil and War and OJ: Made in America. I've never seen Roots and I've only watched the start of John Adams. Things like The Tudors, Rome, and the Crown might be pretty good, but they're nowhere near the caliber of the former.

Maybe period pieces is another slice of the pie: Mad Men, All Creatures Great and Small, Queen's Gambit, Boardwalk Empire (I've only seen about one season), Deadwood (only seen a little), Downton Abbey, and Sopranos (?) are probably all really good to some relative degree.

Any difference of opinion on those? Any thoughts on other high-quality historical TV?

I started re-watching Game of Thrones, an historic series about a time about a world with dragons and English accents.

What I learned is that, historically, women's boobs were damn near perfect back then. Unfortunately motor-boating had not yet been discovered.

 

[DANC]

Game of Thrones.

Check out Shogun. Loosely based on a real story. Masters of the Air. New Ben Franklin series with Michael Douglas.

If you like older stuff, I believe the BBC did a famous version of I, Claudius and Wolf Hall more recently (have not seen either one).

Dammit, you beat me to GOT.

 

[DANC]

I tend to avoid watching movie versions of books I really liked. Even though I doubt it's great literature, Clavell is a thing for me, so I'm not sure I want to watch the TV version. I regret watching even a little of Lonesome Dove. Favorite novel of all time.

I keep meaning to go back to Wolf Hall and that book series, but I seriously can't get traction with her writing. Maybe I should give the TV a try.

I've not yet watched Ben Franklin, but I'm struggling with Michael Douglas in the previews.

Based (again) only on the previews, the lead in Masters of the Air bugs me. Not sure I can get over that. I'm super petty.

I've not really watched Game of Thrones, but I trust everybody when they say how great it was. I just got behind and then everybody couldn't keep their pieholes shut and had to talk about it all the time and basically ruined everything.

Ben Franklin is excellent, so far. I just wish I knew more French.

 

[DANC]

The great BBC documentary world at war is as good as it gets for historical tv. Interviews with a lot of the people who lived through it.

And it’s available for free on YouTube.

So is the battlefield series for the total history geeks like me.

So is Combat. Not great acting the the stories are kind of hokie, but I knew sever WWII vets who liked it. Not history, exactly.

 

[Aloha Hoosier]

Great book.

Duvall and Jones - maybe the two best portrayals of characters of all-time.

In fact, I can’t think of an actor in the series who didn’t absolutely nail their role.

So many memorable lines.

Great book. Read it twice and listened to it once. If you’re going to do an audiobook on a trip like I have, it’s at the top of my recommendation list. That mini-series was excellent too.

 

[TMFT]

I love anything Ken Burns. His early stuff on the Brooklyn Bridge, the Congress, and Statue of Liberty stand out. I used to absolutely love his Civil War doc but I don’t think it has aged particularly well. Shelby Foote is mesmerizing in how he tells stories, but he romanticizes the confederacy (as a good Mississippi boy born in like the 20s or 30s would do) in a way I’m not comfortable with now. I’d also throw in a recommendation for Horatio’s Drive. Incredible story that I can’t believe they haven’t made a movie out of yet.

Band of Brothers - amazing
The Pacific - felt disjointed to me because it’s based on multiple narratives
Masters of the Air - I didn’t finish. Some stunning visuals but I didn’t care for the actors

We Were Soldiers
Blackhawk Down
Good for a war fix, if a bit gratuitous.

Outlander (Season 1) felt like a pretty solid interesting period piece. Leaned too far into the fantasy elements later on IMO.

For young kids, “Liberty’s Kids” is outstanding.

Any Crash Course series on YouTube is wonderful.

Oversimplified & Extra History are great YouTube documentary series. OS comes out much more sporadically though and you will learn more on volume with EH.

I’ve gotten into watching lectures on YouTube. Eric Foner basically uploaded the lecture portion of his Civil war (pre & post) onto YouTube. There are other lectures from like the army War College where academics break down notable wars/campaigns/battles in a very detailed way.

 

[BradStevens]

I love anything Ken Burns. His early stuff on the Brooklyn Bridge, the Congress, and Statue of Liberty stand out. I used to absolutely love his Civil War doc but I don’t think it has aged particularly well. Shelby Foote is mesmerizing in how he tells stories, but he romanticizes the confederacy (as a good Mississippi boy born in like the 20s or 30s would do) in a way I’m not comfortable with now. I’d also throw in a recommendation for Horatio’s Drive. Incredible story that I can’t believe they haven’t made a movie out of yet.

Band of Brothers - amazing
The Pacific - felt disjointed to me because it’s based on multiple narratives
Masters of the Air - I didn’t finish. Some stunning visuals but I didn’t care for the actors

We Were Soldiers
Blackhawk Down
Good for a war fix, if a bit gratuitous.

Outlander (Season 1) felt like a pretty solid interesting period piece. Leaned too far into the fantasy elements later on IMO.

For young kids, “Liberty’s Kids” is outstanding.

Any Crash Course series on YouTube is wonderful.

Oversimplified & Extra History are great YouTube documentary series. OS comes out much more sporadically though and you will learn more on volume with EH.

I’ve gotten into watching lectures on YouTube. Eric Foner basically uploaded the lecture portion of his Civil war (pre & post) onto YouTube. There are other lectures from like the army War College where academics break down notable wars/campaigns/battles in a very detailed way.

Thanks for those recommendations! I can't wait to introduce my son to Extra History. He loves Oversimplified and watches those episodes over and over.

 

[BradStevens]

I love anything Ken Burns. His early stuff on the Brooklyn Bridge, the Congress, and Statue of Liberty stand out. I used to absolutely love his Civil War doc but I don’t think it has aged particularly well. Shelby Foote is mesmerizing in how he tells stories, but he romanticizes the confederacy (as a good Mississippi boy born in like the 20s or 30s would do) in a way I’m not comfortable with now. I’d also throw in a recommendation for Horatio’s Drive. Incredible story that I can’t believe they haven’t made a movie out of yet.

Band of Brothers - amazing
The Pacific - felt disjointed to me because it’s based on multiple narratives
Masters of the Air - I didn’t finish. Some stunning visuals but I didn’t care for the actors

We Were Soldiers
Blackhawk Down
Good for a war fix, if a bit gratuitous.

Outlander (Season 1) felt like a pretty solid interesting period piece. Leaned too far into the fantasy elements later on IMO.

For young kids, “Liberty’s Kids” is outstanding.

Any Crash Course series on YouTube is wonderful.

Oversimplified & Extra History are great YouTube documentary series. OS comes out much more sporadically though and you will learn more on volume with EH.

I’ve gotten into watching lectures on YouTube. Eric Foner basically uploaded the lecture portion of his Civil war (pre & post) onto YouTube. There are other lectures from like the army War College where academics break down notable wars/campaigns/battles in a very detailed way.

This should be pinned to the top of the board:

 

[Thyrsis]

I love anything Ken Burns. His early stuff on the Brooklyn Bridge, the Congress, and Statue of Liberty stand out. I used to absolutely love his Civil War doc but I don’t think it has aged particularly well. Shelby Foote is mesmerizing in how he tells stories, but he romanticizes the confederacy (as a good Mississippi boy born in like the 20s or 30s would do) in a way I’m not comfortable with now. I’d also throw in a recommendation for Horatio’s Drive. Incredible story that I can’t believe they haven’t made a movie out of yet.

Band of Brothers - amazing
The Pacific - felt disjointed to me because it’s based on multiple narratives
Masters of the Air - I didn’t finish. Some stunning visuals but I didn’t care for the actors

We Were Soldiers
Blackhawk Down
Good for a war fix, if a bit gratuitous.

Outlander (Season 1) felt like a pretty solid interesting period piece. Leaned too far into the fantasy elements later on IMO.

For young kids, “Liberty’s Kids” is outstanding.

Any Crash Course series on YouTube is wonderful.

Oversimplified & Extra History are great YouTube documentary series. OS comes out much more sporadically though and you will learn more on volume with EH.

I’ve gotten into watching lectures on YouTube. Eric Foner basically uploaded the lecture portion of his Civil war (pre & post) onto YouTube. There are other lectures from like the army War College where academics break down notable wars/campaigns/battles in a very detailed way.

Heard on The Civil War, but those of us who can accurately discern the Shelby inappropriate bias can still enjoy the series without reservation and get a ton out of it.

 

[SqueakyClean]

I'd also give a shout-out to Chernobyl on HBO. There was a bit of dramatization to it (a few characters in real life were combined into one person and a couple of events were different), but overall is a fairly accurate depiction of the events.

Band of Brothers is nearly perfect.

 

[Marvin the Martian]

Band of Brothers - amazing
The Pacific - felt disjointed to me because it’s based on multiple narratives
Masters of the Air - I didn’t finish. Some stunning visuals but I didn’t care for the actors

The first time I watched The Pacific I had the same issue. But after a coupleof viewings I really like it. It helps I also have read both books it is based on. It does a good job of driving home the difficulty in fighting on islands.

I am still only 3 episodes in Masters. The 8th Air Force has always been a huge interest of mine, so I am only watching it when I am fairly certain of no interruptions. So that really limits when I can see it. The Schweinfurt-Regensburg episode (3) is brilliant. But I agree that it isn't as easy to really love the characters like BoB.

Band of Brothers is the gold standard though. It has a tight story, well-acted, and mostly accurate.