Watergate: Blueprint for a Scandal

I was 8 years old when Nixon resigned. I remember it vividly. I also watched his testimony on TV. So I was excited to see this. It was informative to hear John Dean and the related people's recollections on what happened during that time. This is pretty well done except for CNN constantly connecting this to Trump. They even had Michael Cohen commenting on Trump. He was convicted of fraud and perjury, but sure let's hear his perspective. By the third episode I fast forwarded through all the anti-Trump junk and anytime Michael Cohen showed up on the screen. If they cut out all the Trump stuff, who literally had nothing to do with Watergate, I would have scored this a 10.

I was hoping for a thorough, historically grounded documentary on Watergate, but CNN couldn't resist inserting modern political commentary-specifically references to Trump. Unfortunately, these comparisons felt forced and out of place, disrupting the flow of the narrative rather than enhancing it. The documentary had potential, but the decision to inject present-day politics into a story that stands strongly on its own weakened the overall impact.

So much griping about references to Trump. They also "slammed" other presidents like Clinton and Bush but some reviewers are too concerned about their precious DT. I think this was a great series, even if CNN did produce it. The takeaway is that the allure of absolute power exists in any person regardless of party affiliation. And retaining that power will ultimately compromise a person's ethics, integrity or his willingness to live up to the principles and laws of his country. Any reviewer stupid enough to assume this is the only definitive source on Watergate needs to get off of cable news and go actually investigate the truth. Being intellectually bankrupt is not an endearing quality.

This is obviously an important part of history. Unlike some other reviewers, I can see the parallels to today regarding official attacks on democracy and don't have a problem with that. However, I gave up after 30 minutes because of the awful, annoying music and loud sound effects constantly playing over the talking heads, which seems to be the modern style for some bizarre reason. Is it necessary to have a loud "Whoosh!" or "Boom!" when there is a cut? Does John Dean have to talk like he's inside a dance club? Network documentary makers, stop this!

Hoping to learn some inside details about Watergate, but what a total waste of time! It's sleazy and sordid and I feel like I'm learning nothing. Then i started watching this. OMG, it is so great!! Best way to get an education about this horrible event in our nation's history.