I admit that I had my laptop out and was not continuously focused on the program, so survived the long slog that way. I was surprised that 2 hours were spent on the program before anyone started heading west (that's for the 2nd episode), but found that it reinforced the idea that this was not a short-term disaster. It went on for 10 years that way, in reality. No wonder people went mad. I also found that I liked it better than some Ken Burns productions -- maybe it was because there were people there to tell their own stories, so fewer actor voice-overs.

No, it is not a new story. (In fact, there was another PBS documentary just over a year ago.) And many mistakes contributed to the disaster (not the film, but the events). It brought it over to me differently somehow. Again, stretching it out gave a different sense of the intensity of the experience.

Spaw, were you missing David McCullough? I was really glad it was someone else, although Peter Coyote is getting overused, too.

Unfortunately, it looks like I'll miss episode 2 tonight since I'm still not on the road to Long Beach yet, so I'll get there late. (Discovered that a brake job would be a good idea before hitting the highway). It doesn't look like they're putting it online for viewing. I hope one of the LA area channels will give me a second chance at it this week.

~ Becky in Tucson