THE TV COLUMN

President’s Men special revisits Nixon’s downfall

Watergate reporters Carl Bernstein, left, and Bob Woodward in Woodward's office at the Washington Post, Tuesday, May 31, 2005 the day Deep Throat was outed by Vanity Fair. (AP Photo/Katherine Frey, Washington Post)
Watergate reporters Carl Bernstein, left, and Bob Woodward in Woodward's office at the Washington Post, Tuesday, May 31, 2005 the day Deep Throat was outed by Vanity Fair. (AP Photo/Katherine Frey, Washington Post)

Deep Throat. Enemies List. Eighteen-minute gap.

For viewers of a certain age, all that instantly brings to mind one word: Watergate.

For younger viewers, Watergate may be just a muddled mystery and ancient history.

It’s been more than 40 years since a bungled “third rate burglary” led to the downfall of President Richard Nixon, a tale that was told in the seminal 1976 film All the President’s Men.

Starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Washington Post rookie reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the film launched a generation of investigative reporters who wanted to emulate their heroes.

Now, thanks to Discovery Channel, the importance of the film and that period of American political history is put into perspective.

All the President’s Men Revisited airs at 7 p.m. today. The two-hour presentation features Redford and Hoffman and many of the key players who were involved in the scandal “that broke all the rules of press and politics, brought down a president and forever changed the country.”

For those who are fuzzy on the facts, on June 17, 1972, a break-in by five men occurred at the Democratic National Committee’s offices at the Watergate complex in Washington. The incident was traced back to Nixon’s Committee for the Re-Election of the President.

After a couple of years of agonizing political drama, Nixon resigned on Aug. 9, 1974. It was the only presidential resignation in American history.

Woodward and Bernstein uncovered the story “after doggedly investigating the scandal and exposing a long, twisted trail of cover-ups and lies.” The duo earned a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting.

The special features access to the top players, from those directly involved in Watergate to others from politics, journalism and the media.

In addition, Redford and Hoffman reflect on the events that influenced journalism, the presidency and even the global political culture. Most importantly, the question is asked, in the post-Watergate world “has hope and optimism forever been replaced in our national dialogue by doubt and cynicism?”

In a Discovery interview, Redford said, “I wanted this to feel like it was the first time you’re hearing this story even though it’s one of America’s most notorious political scandals. Juxtaposing the reality of those who perpetuated the crime and those who pursued them, alongside those who portrayed them in the film, unfolds this historical turn of events in an entirely new way.”

The film includes a who’s who list of interviews. They include former executive editor of The Washington Post Ben Bradlee; The Daily Show host Jon Stewart; NBC News’ Tom Brokaw; former Republican congressman and MSNBC host Joe Scarborough; John Dean, former general counsel to President Nixon; journalist Sir David Frost; and Fred Thompson, former minority counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee and actor.

Also commenting are MSNBC host Rachel Maddow; Republican political consultant Mary Matalin and (her husband) Democratic media adviser James Carville; former treasurer of the Committee for the Re-Election of the President Hugh Sloan; New York Times reporter David Carr; former Nixon speechwriter and actor Ben Stein; former Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus; and former deputy assistant to President Nixon Alexander Butterfield.

Also on hand is Joan Felt, daughter of the late Mark Felt. He was revealed to be the secret inside informant Deep Throat in 2005.

All the President’s Men Revisited might be a good program for older viewers to watch with a young person. There could be an important lesson that deserves not to be forgotten.

“We act like it can’t happen again,” Carville says in the special. “There was a lot of hoo-hawin’ and passing laws and giving speeches. If you ask me if we learned anything from it - no.”

AMC oaters. Do you like Westerns? There was a time back in the day when there were several dozen on the tube at the same time. It was an important part of my childhood viewing, but the genre has fallen into “dearth valley” in recent years.

Yet, whenever one does pop up, such as AMC’s Hell on Wheels, the fans go wild. At least those old enough to remember how Johnny Yuma was a rebel and Rowdy Yates made our day.

With The Lone Ranger set for the big screen in July (Johnny Depp plays Tonto), AMC is also jumping on the oater bandwagon big time.

The network that brings us Mad Men, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead is planning on moving Hell on Wheels to Saturday nights on Aug. 3. AMC also has the rights to broadcast vintage Westerns The Rifleman and Rawhide. They’ll also find a home on Saturdays.

Now, move ’em on, head ’em up, cut ’em out, ride ’em in, cut ’em out.

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Style, Pages 50 on 04/21/2013

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