The BEST episodes directed by Lynn Novick

The Homeless, The Tempest-Tossed (1942–)

8.77

35 votes

#1 - The Homeless, The Tempest-Tossed (1942–)

The U.S. and the Holocaust - Season 1 - Episode 3

A group of government officials supports rescue operations; the public sees for the first time the scale of the Holocaust as Allies liberate German camps.

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8.50

2 votes

#2 - College Behind Bars (1)

Storyville - Season 2020 - Episode 8

A two-part Storyville documentary that tells the inspiring story of a group of men and women in the USA struggling to earn college degrees while in prison for serious crimes. The Bard Prison Initiative is one of the most rigorous and effective prison education programmes in the United States. Shot over four years in maximum and medium security prisons in New York State, the films tackles a pressing issue - the failure to provide meaningful rehabilitation for over two million Americans living behind bars. Through the stories of the students and their families, we discover many dropped out of high school before being incarcerated and never imagined they would go to college. During four years of study, however, they become accomplished scholars, beat the Harvard debating team, reckon with their pasts and discover how truly transformative education can be.

8.50

2 votes

#3 - College Behind Bars (2)

Storyville - Season 2020 - Episode 9

The debate team faces West Point and Harvard. Seniors complete their 100-paged thesis projects. Giovannie is sent to the Special Housing Unit and might not finish his project. Students at Taconic and Eastern receive their degrees at graduation.

The Weight of Memory (March 1973–Onward)

8.50

304 votes

#4 - The Weight of Memory (March 1973–Onward)

The Vietnam War (2017) - Season 1 - Episode 10

Saigon falls and the war ends. Americans and Vietnamese from all sides search for reconciliation.

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8.24

45 votes

#5 - Yearning to Breathe Free (1938–1942)

The U.S. and the Holocaust - Season 1 - Episode 2

As World War II begins, Americans unite in their disapproval of Nazi brutality and work to help refugees escape; Germany invades the Soviet Union and secretly begins the mass murder of European Jews.

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8.21

332 votes

#6 - A Disrespectful Loyalty (May 1970–March 1973)

The Vietnam War (2017) - Season 1 - Episode 9

South Vietnam fights on its own as Nixon and Kissinger find a way out for America. The POWs return.

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8.19

57 votes

#7 - The Golden Door (Beginnings–1938)

The U.S. and the Holocaust - Season 1 - Episode 1

Congress reverses open borders; Hitler and the Nazis begin their persecution of German Jews, causing many to seek refuge; President Franklin D. Roosevelt is concerned but unable to coordinate a response to the crisis.

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The History of the World (April 1969–May 1970)

8.14

357 votes

#8 - The History of the World (April 1969–May 1970)

The Vietnam War (2017) - Season 1 - Episode 8

Nixon withdraws troops but when he sends forces into Cambodia the antiwar movement reignites.

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Things Fall Apart (January 1968–July 1968)

8.11

404 votes

#9 - Things Fall Apart (January 1968–July 1968)

The Vietnam War (2017) - Season 1 - Episode 6

Shaken by the Tet Offensive, assassinations and unrest, America seems to be coming apart.

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The River Styx (January 1964–December 1965)

8.04

491 votes

#10 - The River Styx (January 1964–December 1965)

The Vietnam War (2017) - Season 1 - Episode 3

With South Vietnam in chaos, hardliners in Hanoi seize the initiative and send combat troops to the South, accelerating the insurgency. Fearing Saigon's collapse, President Johnson escalates America's military commitment, authorizing sustained bombing of the North and deploying ground troops in the South.

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