"The Eighties" maintains the level of quality and interesting topics that "The Seventies" boasted, and even a few surprises. For one, President Reagan. I didn't expect the man to come out gleaming after the AIDS crisis , but the series surprised me with the coverage of his 1980 campaign. That was indeed a glowing assessment. I dunno, maybe I was expecting a more leftist outlook.
Some of the topics were distinctly cynical, and it can be hard to shake off. On the other hand, it was always interesting.
And just as it was with "The Seventies", my real complaint is no coverage of '80s cinema. There's plenty of material from the domination of sci-fi/fantasy to the staggering inflation of budgets to fill an episode. They've apparently green-lit a '90s miniseries, so there's time to rectify this. Although I don't think I want to relive that decade.
Pessimist streak aside, this is worthwhile stuff.
8/10
Some of the topics were distinctly cynical, and it can be hard to shake off. On the other hand, it was always interesting.
And just as it was with "The Seventies", my real complaint is no coverage of '80s cinema. There's plenty of material from the domination of sci-fi/fantasy to the staggering inflation of budgets to fill an episode. They've apparently green-lit a '90s miniseries, so there's time to rectify this. Although I don't think I want to relive that decade.
Pessimist streak aside, this is worthwhile stuff.
8/10