Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War

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Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War
Written by Peter Arnett
Narrated by Richard Basehart
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes26
Production
Executive producer Michael Maclear
Producer Ian McLeod
Running timepilot: 52 minutes, regular episodes: 26 minutes
Original release
Network CBC
Release22 October 1980 (1980-10-22) 
1 August 1982 (1982-08-01)

Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War, a 26-part half-hour Canadian television documentary about the Vietnam War, was produced in 1980 by Michael Maclear. The series aired in Canada on CBC Television, in the United States on NBC, and the United Kingdom on Channel 4.

Contents

Maclear visited Vietnam during the production of the series and while he was there, he was granted access to film material. He was the first Western journalist to be allowed to visit Vietnam since the end of the war.

The documentary series was consolidated into 13 hour-long episodes for American television syndication. [1] The series was released on videocassette format by Embassy and won a National Education Association award for best world documentary. [2]

Series writer Peter Arnett was an Associated Press reporter in Vietnam from 1962 to 1975.

CBC only aired 18 of the 26 episodes during the 1980–81 season because the production of the series was incomplete. The remaining 8 episodes were broadcast during CBC's 1981–82 season. British audiences saw the series during Channel 4's 1984–85 season.

Episodes

List of episodes: [3]

#Episode title CBC airdate Channel 4 airdate
1America in Vietnam16 October 198015 October 1984
2France in Vietnam22 October 1984
3Dien Bien Phu29 October 1984
4Early Hopes23 October 198012 November 1984
5Assassination19 November 1984
6Days of Decision30 October 198026 November 1984
7Westy's War3 December 1984
8Uneasy Allies5 November 19807 January 1985
9Guerilla Society14 January 1985
10The Trail12 November 198021 January 1985
11Firepower28 January 1985
12The Village War19 November 19804 February 1985
13Air War11 February 1985
14Siege26 November 198018 February 1985
15Tet!10 December 198025 February 1985
16Frontline America17 December 19804 March 1985
17Soldiering On31 December 198011 March 1985
18Changing the Guard7 January 198118 March 1985
19Wanting Out25 March 1985
20Bombing of Hanoi14 January 19811 April 1985
21Peace and Consequence8 April 1985
22The Prisoners21 January 198115 April 1985
23The Unsung Soldiers22 April 1985
24Final Offensive4 February 198129 April 1985
25Surrender13 May 1985
26Vietnam Recalled11 February 198120 May 1985

References

  1. "TV Notebook Ups and Downs". The Globe and Mail . 23 July 1982. p. P5. Item: A Syndicated War.
  2. "Michael Maclear fonds" (PDF). University of Toronto Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. 2000.
  3. Episode Calendar, retrieved September 21, 2017, https://episodecalendar.com/en/show/vietnam-the-ten-thousand-day-war/season/1