The History Channel finally broadcasts some HISTORY -- as opposed to crypto-biological monsters, UFOs, loggers, arctic truck drivers, prophecies of impending doom and the existence of Atlantis.
"3 shots" is divided into two 2-hour broadcasts. Part one begins on the morning of November 22, 1963 before the assassination and ends with Oswald dying 2 days later. Part two begins November 24, 1963 and ends at present day.
Both parts show the events only through use of archival news footage. There is no narration; just the occasional black screen telling us the time as it goes by.
Part one is not quite "You are There" -- a music background has been laid over everything; it's mostly very effective, but occasionally it intrudes -- but it's damn close. What it effectively shows is the fog everyone was in during the first 48 hours after JFK's death. Shock and confusion ruled. Every adult interviewed is in a daze: not just the man (or woman) on the street, but the news media, the doctors, the Dallas Police Chief and particularly the Dallas D.A., who appears in his first interview as a deer staring into the headlights.
The killing was beyond everyone's comprehension. Having no precedent or policy to fall back upon, every professional made mistakes in dealing with the barrage of emotions while attempting to carry out their various duties. Reporters continuously called him "Lee Harold (or Harry) Oswald". Doctors made autopsy errors. Law enforcement -- after capturing Oswald quickly -- took a long time in deciding what charges would be brought. They also let anyone with a microphone clog the halls of the building and allowed civilians (like Jack Ruby) to roam there, too.
With the exception of its first half-hour -- leading viewers from Oswald's death to the formation and report of the Warren Commission -- part two shows a) the effect that JFK's murder has had on popular culture and b) how fading memories and the passage of time have only served to dish up various conspiracy theories.
I was 10 when JFK was killed. I saw some of the footage shown in part one. I saw Ruby killing Oswald on live TV. I saw its slow-motion replay when it was first broadcast.
Watching part one was like watching an open door into the past. Watching part two (directly after the first half) would have been humorous to me had the consequences not been so tragic. Jim Garrison is revealed to be a publicity-seeking big-mouth whose main contribution to this subject is spawning a wrong-headed movie 25 years after he spouted his strange theories. Under strong suspicion that Oswald was not buried in his own grave, it is dug up only to discover that (surprise!) Oswald was buried in it. The revelation that "the man with the umbrella" during the House Select Committee on Assassinations hearings is (gasp!) a man with an umbrella.
Other than my already-indicated problem with the show's music, I have just one other, minor criticism here. This should be titled "FOUR shots that changed America": three from Oswald, one from Jack Rubenstein, AKA Ruby.
Whether you -- like me -- believe Oswald was the lone gunman or not, we can all agree Ruby did history and all future American generations no favor when he selfishly stepped out of the crowd in that hallway below the Dallas jail-house.
All of us also should applaud and commend the hours of work that went into the making of this two-parter. It does bring history -- and all its imperfections -- truly alive.
And now back to whether the Abominable Snowman is behind the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle.........
"3 shots" is divided into two 2-hour broadcasts. Part one begins on the morning of November 22, 1963 before the assassination and ends with Oswald dying 2 days later. Part two begins November 24, 1963 and ends at present day.
Both parts show the events only through use of archival news footage. There is no narration; just the occasional black screen telling us the time as it goes by.
Part one is not quite "You are There" -- a music background has been laid over everything; it's mostly very effective, but occasionally it intrudes -- but it's damn close. What it effectively shows is the fog everyone was in during the first 48 hours after JFK's death. Shock and confusion ruled. Every adult interviewed is in a daze: not just the man (or woman) on the street, but the news media, the doctors, the Dallas Police Chief and particularly the Dallas D.A., who appears in his first interview as a deer staring into the headlights.
The killing was beyond everyone's comprehension. Having no precedent or policy to fall back upon, every professional made mistakes in dealing with the barrage of emotions while attempting to carry out their various duties. Reporters continuously called him "Lee Harold (or Harry) Oswald". Doctors made autopsy errors. Law enforcement -- after capturing Oswald quickly -- took a long time in deciding what charges would be brought. They also let anyone with a microphone clog the halls of the building and allowed civilians (like Jack Ruby) to roam there, too.
With the exception of its first half-hour -- leading viewers from Oswald's death to the formation and report of the Warren Commission -- part two shows a) the effect that JFK's murder has had on popular culture and b) how fading memories and the passage of time have only served to dish up various conspiracy theories.
I was 10 when JFK was killed. I saw some of the footage shown in part one. I saw Ruby killing Oswald on live TV. I saw its slow-motion replay when it was first broadcast.
Watching part one was like watching an open door into the past. Watching part two (directly after the first half) would have been humorous to me had the consequences not been so tragic. Jim Garrison is revealed to be a publicity-seeking big-mouth whose main contribution to this subject is spawning a wrong-headed movie 25 years after he spouted his strange theories. Under strong suspicion that Oswald was not buried in his own grave, it is dug up only to discover that (surprise!) Oswald was buried in it. The revelation that "the man with the umbrella" during the House Select Committee on Assassinations hearings is (gasp!) a man with an umbrella.
Other than my already-indicated problem with the show's music, I have just one other, minor criticism here. This should be titled "FOUR shots that changed America": three from Oswald, one from Jack Rubenstein, AKA Ruby.
Whether you -- like me -- believe Oswald was the lone gunman or not, we can all agree Ruby did history and all future American generations no favor when he selfishly stepped out of the crowd in that hallway below the Dallas jail-house.
All of us also should applaud and commend the hours of work that went into the making of this two-parter. It does bring history -- and all its imperfections -- truly alive.
And now back to whether the Abominable Snowman is behind the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle.........