Thread by @BrooksDSimpson

I understand that any historical documentary has to make choices (although the emergence of the internet means that a "director's cut" can be made available).

In #Grant's case, were some of the limits self-imposed? @HISTORY

Lots of ads, lots of previews, and some interesting (and debatable) choices on what to spend time on and what to pass over or quickly summarize. #Grant @HISTORY

I wonder how much running time there really was over three nights at two hours/night, and how that compared to 2002's @AmExperiencePBS Grant program.

So, what did we learn about Grant and alcohol? Any real answers? We learned something about "Grant the butcher." But what about the complexities of the Lincoln-Grant relationship? What about Grant during the Johnson administration?

One could make the case that #Grant offered a truncated version of President Grant and Reconstruction. But what else did one really learn about the Grant presidency?

And what about Grant the private man ... his relationship with his father; his relationship with Julia and the children (who basically disappear during the war, although Julia and some of the children were with him a good deal of the time)? What about nepotism?

There are interesting omissions. General Order No. 11? The third term? Grant's 1872 reelection? Grant saving Lee from being tried for treason? Grant's pointed critical comments on Reconstruction?

And there's some laziness and sloppiness that someone could have corrected if there was a review of the entire documentary. Some things would have been very, very easy to address. Some people associated with the production of the series have been a little snippy about this.

I'm not talking about people who served simply as talking heads. Talking heads rarely see the final product. They don't even know when they will appear. I'm talking about the upper levels of production and advising. #Grant

You tell me: what were the major themes, and how well do you think they were handled, keeping in mind that there are time constraints? If you want to add something, what would you take out or trim?

I really wonder about reenactments that don't really reenact. All we hear about afterwards is comments about authenticity followed by "so what?" Is this "combat porn"? Does it distort and detract as much as it contributes? #Grant

In short, be fair as you look at #Grant @HISTORY. Understand the nature of the vehicle. But you can also be critical, and meaningful and useful criticisms should not be cavalierly dismissed.