Vietnam: A Television History (1983)

WGBH's 13-part history, with Stanley Karnow as chief correspondent and historical adviser, sees the war through the eyes of American soldiers and everyday Vietnamese people, including survivors of the Thuy Bo massacre. That breadth stirred controversy: Accuracy in Media answered it with a rebuttal film, Television's Vietnam: The Real Story, which PBS aired in 1985. The series won six Emmys and a Peabody among other honours. Some framing belongs to the early 1980s, but it remains the best grounding in the war outside Ken Burns's later series.