Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War, a 26-part Canadian television documentary

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 on the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

, was produced in 1980 by Michael Maclear

Michael Maclear

Michael Maclear is an award-winning Canadian journalist, documentary filmmaker,and former correspondent for various CBC programs and for CTV's W5.He is the great-great-grand-nephew of South African astronomer Sir Thomas Maclear....

. The series aired in Canada on CBC Television

CBC Television

CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...

, in the United States and in the United Kingdom on Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

.

Maclear visited Vietnam during the production of the series and had access to film material there. He was the first Western journalist allowed to visit that area since the war.

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

National Education Association

The National Education Association is the largest professional organization and largest labor union in the United States, representing public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college students preparing to become...

 award for best world documentary.

Series writer Peter Arnett

Peter Arnett

Peter Gregg Arnett, ONZM is a New Zealand-American journalist.Arnett worked for National Geographic magazine, and later for various television networks, most notably CNN. He is well known for his coverage of war, including the Vietnam War and the Gulf War...

 was an Associated Press

Associated Press

The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

 reporter in Vietnam from 1962 to 1975.

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

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

's 1984-85 season.

Episodes

#	Episode title	CBC Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...  airdate	Channel 4 Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel... airdate
1	America in Vietnam	to be confirmed	15 October 1984
2	France in Vietnam	to be confirmed	22 October 1984
3	Dien Bien Phu	to be confirmed	29 October 1984
4	Early Hopes	to be confirmed	12 November 1984
5	Assassination	to be confirmed	19 November 1984
6	Days of Decision	to be confirmed	26 November 1984
7	Westy's War	to be confirmed	3 December 1984
8	Uneasy Allies	5 November 1980	7 January 1985
9	Guerilla Society	to be confirmed	14 January 1985
10	The Trail	to be confirmed	21 January 1985
11	Firepower	to be confirmed	28 January 1985
12	The Village War	to be confirmed	4 February 1985
13	Air War	to be confirmed	11 February 1985
14	Siege	to be confirmed	18 February 1985
15	Tet!	10 December 1980	25 February 1985
16	Frontline America	17 December 1980	4 March 1985
17	Soldiering On	to be confirmed	11 March 1985
18	Changing the Guard	31 December 1980	18 March 1985
19	Wanting Out	17 January 1981	25 March 1985
20	Bombing of Hanoi	14 January 1981	1 April 1985
21	Peace and Consequence	to be confirmed	8 April 1985
22	The Prisoners	21 January 1981	15 April 1985
23	The Unsung Soldiers	28 January 1981	22 April 1985
24	Final Offensive	to be confirmed	29 April 1985
25	Surrender	11 February 1981	13 May 1985
26	Vietnam Recalled	4 February 1981	20 May 1985

External links

• BFI: Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War episode list
• TVArchive.ca: The Ten Thousand Day War