America: The Story of Us
| America: The Story of Us | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre |
Documentary History |
| Written by | Ed Fields Daniel Hall |
| Narrated by |
Liev Schreiber Danny Webb (international version) |
| Theme music composer |
Anne Nikitin John Hardy (4 episodes) Stuart Fox (4 episodes) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 540 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | History |
| Original release | April 25 – May 31, 2010 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
America: The Story of Us (also internationally known as America: The Story of the U.S.) is a 12-part, 9-hours documentary-drama television miniseries that premiered on April 25, 2010, on History channel. Produced by Nutopia, the program portrays more than 400 years of American history (with emphasis on how American creation of new technologies has had effects on the nation's history and, by implication, the world). It spans time from the successful English settlement of Jamestown beginning in 1607, through to the present day. Narrated by Liev Schreiber (Danny Webb for the international version), the series recreates many historical events by using actors dressed in the style of the period and computer-generated special effects. The miniseries received mixed reviews by critics; but it attracted the largest audiences of any special aired by the channel to date.
The following are commentators who appear on the miniseries (listed in alphabetical order):
The documentary received a 60% approval rating from Metacritic.com. Many criticized the series for having too many "celebrities" express their opinions about the United States, rather than having historians provide more insight and data about particular periods and events.
Critics praised the series' willingness to grapple with some of the difficult issues in US history, including African slavery, racial segregation and the genocide of the Native Americans. Mary McNamara, of the Los Angeles Times, wrote that "'America: The Story of Us' seems to draw its inspiration from Fox's '24' and the E! Channel." She continues, "[I]n the first hour, producer Jane Root seems more enamored of her ability to conjure, in glorious CG, the lifecycle of a tobacco plant or the brick-by-brick construction of New Amsterdam than anything so dull as explaining the complexities of actual history."
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Wikipedia