Authoritative, Informational
Maybe it's just me, but in a half-hour documentary on the Coast Guard, I expect to get at least one boat ride out of the deal. This piece is built entirely on interview tape from Coast Guard personnel, sprinkled with tape of President Bush giving a speech to (and about) the Coast Guard. It's produced in a solid, polished way and is chock full of information about how the Coast Guard works in these times of the GWOT. But it's all telling, no showing. Coast Guard members describe their training. Officers outline policies on when and where they can stop foreign ships and board them. Somebody describes how suspicious shipping containers are identified. And so on. Some of these people are standing out in the breeze as they talk, but there's not a single scene. We don't see (hear) any coast guarding happen. It all adds up to a rather, um, dry listen, I'm afraid.
John Biewen
, Center for Documentary Studies
Durham, NC
August 4, 2007
The Coast Guard with a new challenge
