The Reagans

This was a good documentary on the Reagans. I was a child and a teenager through most of Reagan's presidency, so I remember a lot of these events, (and even some of Carter's presidency) but it was nice to see it all narrated w/ more historical detail.

I think some of the good things Reagan did were downplayed (I mean he did turn the economy around significantly in his first term (compared to what a mess things were w/ Carter)). The program also had an overly ominous tone in general - as though the Reagan presidency was this dark awful time for everyone but the very rich - which was not the case. Things improved compared to Carter for many, many regular people too - thus why Reagan was so popular. However, these types of programs always like to make conservatives villains so the negative slant wasn't unexpected to me (got to just take it with a grain of salt).

I especially liked the commentary of Kitty Kelly, their son and Stu Spencer - was nice to hear their real life accounts. James Bakker was good too.

I'm not a Reagan-fan by any mean, I watched the documentary from a liberal minded European view. But I'm also a historian and value a balanced effort and fact-based telling of things. Because Reagan is such a mythical being it's good to be critical of that myth and most of the criticism in this documentary is based on reality.

Still, you cannot just push the narrative, you have to base it on facts and numbers which are not shown to us in the documentary. If you talk about economy or poverty, show the numbers! There are good moments in this mini-series but it's frustrating and too one-sided to be considered a great documentary.

I love history and politics so this 4 part doc from "Showtime" called "The Reagans" was must viewing for me. It was indeed informative and revealing which was historical and biography type telling of Ronald's early and humble start of being a radio announcer to his start in Hollywood with B pictures, to his election as California governor to his rise as the president. All of this is supported by footage vintage clips and news interviews and interviews are given with media people and republican cabinet members Jim Baker, Ed Rollins, and Stu Spencer are interviewed as they give thoughts and opinions. Plus son Ron Jr. give his thoughts on his parents life and how they seemed different as he did not always agree with them. Shown also is how Ronald was influenced by his Hollywood days to become pro right and leave his union membership, and after elected he became a pro military hawk and was influenced in domestic issues by the religious right. Also his final term was plagued by scandal the Iran contra affair, and Nancy always ruled and looked over his shoulder even though she consulted with the stars. Plus his final years hints and clues were displayed by the actor/politician of memory loss. Really great super doc that looks back at an era and a man that shaped many things like him or hate him see this doc if you are a political or history type buff!

I thought this was a very well made, interesting, and informative documentary. I think it's important to look deeper at powerful public figures, especially those who are revered as much as Reagan. It's disappointing to me to see so many people angry about this, calling it left wing propaganda and defamation. It's not. If you can't watch a well made documentary and make your own conclusions without getting defensive and irrational, well that just concerns me a bit. I learned a lot from this show, but I didn't come out of watching it thinking Reagan was some kind of a monster. I still think Reagan was a good man and a highly successful president. That doesn't mean, however, that we should ignore his shortcomings or deny the dangers of his success.

Watch it yourself ignore the scores of 1 by right wingers, bringing the score down.