Vietnam: A Television History

Edited 1997 version

When PBS aired the series again in 1997 on American Experience, it showed a shortened version that was 120 minutes less than the original, for a total of 660 minutes instead of 780. Episodes 2 and 13 were left out entirely. The cuts were reportedly made to get rid of outdated material and make the story flow better.

Some viewers who had seen the original 13-episode version called the changes censorship, claiming they spotted a political cleanup that removed a French captain calling the Viet Minh "Red Termites," a man recalling plantation workers being called "fertilizer" because so many died, and footage of the British rearming defeated Japanese soldiers to fight the Vietnamese. No proof was offered that PBS executives made the edits for political reasons. Why the 1997 shortened version was used for the 2004 DVD release instead of the full 1983 version has never been explained.

Reception

The New York Times described the series as "determinedly even-handed" and "delicately balanced," calling it a landmark in television journalism. The critic also pointed out weaknesses in reportorial technique. The Washington Post, Variety, Time, and Newsweek gave very positive reviews, with the latter two hailing it as fair, brilliant, and objective. In the UK, the series received good reviews but did not achieve the high ratings seen in the U.S. The series won six Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, a George Polk Award, a DuPont-Columbia Award, and an Erik Barnouw Award. A rebuttal documentary, Television's Vietnam: The Real Story, narrated by Charlton Heston and produced by Accuracy in Media, aired on PBS in 1985.

Did You Know?

• The series originated from discussions in 1977 among PBS President Lawrence K. Grossman, filmmaker Richard Ellison, and foreign correspondent Stanley Karnow.
• Stanley Karnow, who had been a journalist in Paris during the 1950s and a reporter in Southeast Asia from 1959 to 1974, served as Chief Correspondent and Historical Advisor.
• Karnow's tie-in book, Vietnam: A History (1983), became a best-seller.