More of President Lincoln Coming to TV

If you had a chance to see Daniel Day Lewis in the film Lincoln, you may have had your fill of dramatic recreation of history.  If not, you may be disappointed with a Lincoln in the hands of Billy Campbell, a less accomplished actor.  If not, you may be avoiding history books by big mouth Bill O'Reilly.  If not, the National Geographic special on Sunday (February 17) called Killing Lincoln is for you.  

All of that said, I plan to watch it because I enjoy programs that illuminate history, and Billy Campbell is a good actor in his own right (see 4400 and The Killing for some of his more charismatic roles).  However, I am not a fan of Bill O'Reilly, so I will leave that point aside.  

Here is a little background on the special from National Geographic:

April 14, 1865. One gunshot. One assassin hell-bent on killing “a tyrant,” as he charged — the 16th President of the United States. And in one moment, our nation was forever changed. This is the most dramatic and resonant crime in American history: the true story of the killing of Abraham Lincoln. From Executive Producers Ridley Scott and Tony Scott, and narrated by Tom Hanks, National Geographic Channel's first original docudrama, Killing Lincoln, based on the New York Times bestseller, combines re-creations with historical insight in a thrilling chronicle of the final days of President Lincoln and his assassin, John Wilkes Booth.

The two-hour special is a welcome addition to a list of period pieces on television that provide viewers which options beyond reality shows and poorly scripted comedies.  I put the History Channel's drama Hatfields & McCoys into this same category of beneficial period pieces.  I hope to see many more of these programs.  And I recommend visiting the website for the show since it provides a lot of additional information on Lincoln and Booth - something I would expect from National Geographic.