The BEST episodes of American Experience season 20
Every episode of American Experience season 20, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of American Experience season 20!
Presents an absorbing look at the personalities, events and resources that have had a profound impact on the shaping of America's past and present.
#1 - Eyes on the Prize II (4): The Promised Land (1967-1968)
Season 20 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/10/2008
Chronicles the final years of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life. It also covers the Poor People's Campaign and Resurrection City in Washington, D.C.
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Season 20 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/3/2008
Follows Martin Luther King Jr. during the Chicago Freedom Movement in Illinois and the tumultuous Detroit Riot of 1967 in Michigan.
#3 - The Lobotomist
Season 20 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/21/2008
A look at the controversial work of Walter Freeman, a neurosurgeon who sought to alleviate severe mental disorder by permanently disabling the brain's frontal lobes.
#4 - Eyes on the Prize II (8): Back to the Movement (1979-mid 80s)
Season 20 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/24/2008
Covers the Miami riot of 1980 and the election of Harold Washington as the first African-American mayor of Chicago. The film finishes with an overview of the Civil Rights Movement and its effect upon the United States and the world.
#5 - Eyes on the Prize II (6): A Nation of Law? (1968-1971)
Season 20 - Episode 9 - Aired 2/17/2008
Chronicles the leadership and assassination of Fred Hampton of the Black Panther Party (BPP) in Chicago. The second part of the film covers the Attica Prison riot in Attica, New York.
#6 - George H.W. Bush (2)
Season 20 - Episode 18 - Aired 5/6/2008
#7 - George H.W. Bush (1)
Season 20 - Episode 17 - Aired 5/5/2008
A detailed chronicle of the Bush family and the life of the 41st President of the United States - from World War II to the Gulf War and beyond.
#8 - Roberto Clemente
Season 20 - Episode 16 - Aired 4/21/2008
An examination of the athletic career and humanitarian interests of the acknowledged baseball star of the late 60s and earliest 70s.
#9 - Walt Whitman
Season 20 - Episode 15 - Aired 4/14/2008
A chronicle of the poetry of Whitman through the lens of his personality and background - with a discussion of both the literary praise and criticism of his work.
#10 - Minik: The Lost Eskimo
Season 20 - Episode 14 - Aired 3/31/2008
A documentary of a young Greenland Inuit who experiences New York City at the end of the 19th century.
#11 - Buffalo Bill
Season 20 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/25/2008
The varied career of William Cody - from western legend to even greater fame in preserving the culture and mystique of the lifestyle through his "Wild West" shows.
#12 - Eyes on the Prize II (7): The Keys to the Kingdom (1974-1980)
Season 20 - Episode 11 - Aired 2/24/2008
The documentary examines the Boston school desegregation crisis involving busing in Massachusetts. The second part of the film chronicles the election of Maynard Jackson as mayor of Atlanta and the first African American to become mayor of a major U.S. city in the southern United States. The last part of the film examines affirmative action and the landmark United States Supreme Court ruling Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978).
#13 - Kit Carson
Season 20 - Episode 10 - Aired 2/18/2008
The true story behind the mountain man whose unique abilities were critical to America's westward expansion.
#14 - Eyes on the Prize II (5): Ain't Gonna' Shuffle No More (1964-1972)
Season 20 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/17/2008
Chronicles the emergence of boxer Muhammad Ali, the student movement at Howard University, and the gathering of the National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana.
#15 - Eyes on the Prize II (3): Power! (1966-1968)
Season 20 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/10/2008
Chronicles the election of Carl Stokes as the mayor of Cleveland and one of the first two African Americans to become mayor of a major U.S. city. The film also covers the formation of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and community control of the Ocean Hill-Brownsville school district in Brooklyn during the New York City teachers' strike of 1968.
#16 - Grand Central
Season 20 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/4/2008
The story of the origins of New York's re-imagined Grand Central Station in the early 20th century, proclaimed in its time as the most majestic and advanced train terminal of all.
#17 - Eyes on the Prize II (1): The Time Has Come (1964-1966)
Season 20 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/3/2008
Examines a lead member of the Nation of Islam - Malcolm X. It also chronicles the political organizing work of the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO) in Alabama and the shooting of James Meredith during the March Against Fear.
#18 - Oswald's Ghost
Season 20 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/14/2008
A re-examination of the JFK assassination and the subsequent investigations that led to a mistrust of the government's explanations of the act.