
I closed 'Apollo 13: Survival' leads nominees for Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards for Wayback Wednesday by telling my readers "Stay tuned for Throwback Thursday, when I plan on continuing my News & Doc Emmy Awards coverage along with another retrospective about entertainment." I resume with the remaining nominees for Outstanding Historical Documentary, beginning with the most nominated program, Tsunami: Race Against Time, which has two nominations including Outstanding Promotional Announcement – Documentary. Watch the nominated Tsunami: Race Against Time | Official Trailer | National Geographic.
Marking 20 years since one of the deadliest natural disasters in history which spanned 14 countries, TSUNAMI: RACE AGAINST TIME provides a 360-degree view into the heart-stopping events of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The powerful series, from executive producers Tanya Winston and Danny Horan of multi-award-winning Blast Films and directed by Daniel Bogado, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker of Nat Geo’s “9/11: One Day in America,” features personal accounts from survivors, scientists who raced against time to understand the catastrophic disaster and warn the world, journalists who broke the shocking news, and the fearless rescuers who risked their lives to save others. Told minute by minute through harrowing video and gripping stories of survival and courage – some both seen and heard for the first time – the four-part series offers the most comprehensive and immersive look at the destructive wave as it surged across the ocean, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake.I'm not teaching geology this summer, but I'm scheduled to run three sections in the fall, so I plan on recommending this series to my geology students next semester for extra credit. Welcome to blogging as professional development.
Returning to the awards, I think it's a good sign that the same people who produced 9/11: One Day in America created Tsunami: Race Against Time and that series won both Outstanding Historical Documentary and Outstanding Promotional Announcement – Documentary. On that basis and it leading in nominations, it's my favorite to win at least Historical Documentary. It helps that The Sixth was removed from this category while retaining its nominations for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary and Best Documentary. I'll get to it in a future installment of this series.
The remaining three nominees have only this nomination, so I'm going through their trailers in alphabetical order beginning with An American Bombing: The Road to April 19th | Official Trailer | HBO.
"The Oklahoma City bombing was a crossroads.”Ugh, corn pone fascists. That written, this documentary examines a critical episode in their development.
#AnAmericanBombingHBO: The Road to April 19th explores the surge in anti-government ideals and political violence in the 1980s, leading to the Oklahoma City bombing and continuing today.
Next, The women who changed the world while flying it | FLY WITH ME | American Experience | PBS.
At a time when single women were unable to order a drink or eat alone in a restaurant, own a credit card or get a prescription for birth control, becoming a stewardess offered unheard-of opportunity and adventure. Maligned as feminist sellouts, “stewardesses,” as they were called, knew different: they were on the frontlines of a battle to assert gender equality and transform the workplace.I agree with the video description; this looks like serious fun, especially compared to the other nominees, which are serious and scary, if not downright tragic.
Featuring firsthand accounts, personal stories and a rich archive, FLY WITH ME tells a lively, fun and important but neglected history of the women who changed the world while flying it.
Today's final trailer is Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War | Official Trailer | Netflix.
From Luminant Media and director Brian Knappenberger, comes the definitive documentary on the Cold War and its aftermath post the collapse of the Soviet Union leading to the rise of Vladimir Putin. Featuring interviews with prominent politicians, journalists, and the people who lived through history, this series is an exploration of the decades-long conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union framed by current events that reveal the Cold War continues and the world remains on the precipice of nuclear war.Multi-Oscar-winning Oppenheimer just told the beginning of the story. The rest of the story is still unfolding, 80 years on. Like all the rest of the nominees, it exemplifies the truth of the William Faulkner quote, "The past is never dead. It's not even past." Because of the subject's continuing relevance, along with its trailer having the most views of any of the nominees, it's my pick to upset Tsunami: Race Against Time.*

Tsunami: Race Against Time is up against very stiff competition in this category, particularly Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story with six nominations, The Grab with four including Best Documentary, and Blink with two. The rest have just this one nomination. I plan on examining this category at least three more times, so I'm holding off on handicapping the nominees until I see all of them.
Follow over the jump for a retrospective of the most read entries from the back catalog with an emphasis on those with an entertainment theme.
I begin with an entry I covered in My Saturn Awards preferences and predictions vs. the winners for Flashback Friday.