Change Your Image
![](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjQ4MTY5NzU2M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNDc5NTgwMTI@._V1_SY100_SX100_.jpg)
few-14-344990
Reviews
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (2016)
Spry, fearless and, above all, hilarious
The opening monologue was like a machine gun, punching holes in what has to be the weirdest election cycle of all time. A fearless concise enfilade that instantly made all the other similar commentary seem redundant, meek and prolix. By the time the opening was over, all other late night comedy hosts, save John Oliver, were put on notice to step up their game or be trampled under a sensible 3" heel. The contrast between Bee's spitfire take-downs and Colbert's thoughtless nodding agreement with Bill O'Reilly spewing forth the FOX news narrative one half hour later drove that point home. Bee's delegation to correspondents for the field piece indicated that she's planning to be the ring-leader of a terrifying truth/comedy-machine reminiscent of Jon Stewart of 2007-08 & 2011-12.
The World Wars (2014)
Almost entirely wrong
In hopes that the History Channel would start making shows about history and not more pointless reality pap, I really wanted to see this show succeed. I was willing to forgive:
- that the opening shows a full scale night attack by the British (some wearing shorts and puttees for some reason) even though full scale attacks where not done at night.
- that the WWI french are shown driving 1941 M3 Stuart tanks.
- that Patton is seen on a 1941 Sherman tank in WWI.
- that the German had fully constructed and prepared trenches in Oct 16 1914; a time when the German high command was still in denial about the Marne and continued to force offensive maneuvers.
- that if the date is actually Oct. 16 1914, it would be the Germans attacking at Yser, not the Brits at Ypres which started three days later.
- that many of the German infantry was wearing Stahlhelm (iconic German helmets), had Gas masks and used Potato Masher grenades none of which were not issued in 1914.
- that tear gas doesn't dissipate so fast you can hold your breath through the incident.
- that Hitler wore a Kaiser Handlebar mustache until 1919.
All of those errors where in the opening scene. In other episodes you're treated to Nimitz class super-carriers, a long pan of a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, a C130 Hercules with German paratroopers, and other modern weaponry are placed in 1941. I chalked it up to budgetary constraints and a general disrespect the producer, Stephen David, has of his audience. But what I was not willing to forgive:
- The dramatizations added almost nothing to the story, rather was imaginary and somewhat deceptive; for example Hitler was a charismatic and compelling speaker - the actor, not so much.
- There was a consistent bizarre insistence that the USA, specifically Patten and MacArthur where the ones who won WWI.
- The nationalistic bend that if the USA wasn't directly involved, the event was not important.
- Extensive time line inaccuracies such as the Battle of Britain occurring after the Blitz, Pearl Harbor and the loss of the German 6th Army happened at the same time and many more.
- The insistence that Dugout MacArthur was a "hero" in the Philippine campaign and not a panicked paralyzed incompetent failure who only obeyed one order: abandon post. Literally, he was directly ordered to attack Lushan and not only ignored the order, but countermanded his air commander, Major General Brereton, to do just that. Then later in the show it credits MacArthur with the success of pacific campaign when he was just a costly distraction insisting on objectives that didn't further the goal of the island-hopping campaign.
- North Africa campaign never happened, the USA went straight to Sicily which Patton took single-handedly.
- Implies Italy was a quick and easy campaign and the USA (and only the USA) fought Italians not Germans.
- Apparently neither the British nor the Americans bombed Germany.
- The talking head interviews with disgraced incompetent twits like Donald Rumsfeld or Dick Cheney are there to use highly edited examples and sound bites to whitewash and spin their own failings in Iraq and Afghanistan into a more favorable light.
This was a reworking of history with an agenda of glorifying eight "heroes"; to the detriment of everyone else involved in the struggle. It assigns blame and praise to these "heroes" for events they where neither responsible for nor, at times, involved in. It's jingoistic, nationalist and heavily skewed towards the USA's contributions. It's inaccurate to the extreme skipping whole campaigns and even years as well as utterly failing to describe causal relationships or even get chronology remotely correct. Any historian involved in this production will not be listing it on their CV. .