Ken Burns is known for his very good, very long PBS documentaries. But when it comes to the "The Roosevelts: An Intimate History," 14 hours seems barely enough.
The series begins with the birth of Theodore Roosevelt in 1858, continues through the life of Franklin Roosevelt, and ends with the death of Eleanor Roosevelt in 1962. It's an amazing history of an amazing family.
The documentary series debuts Sunday at 7 p.m. on KUED-Ch. 7 and continues for the following six nights, also at 7 p.m. The entire series will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday by PBS Distribution.
"The Roosevelts" was a labor of love — of passion — for Burns and Geoffrey Ward, who wrote the documentary and the accompanying book.
"For 30 years, Geoff Ward and I have found the Roosevelts, all of them, irresistible, deeply flawed, inspirational, complicated human beings central to an understanding of the national narrative that we call an American history," Burns said.
The documentary is packed with information, some of it familiar and some much less so. It is, as the title says, an intimate history of the family — focusing on TR, FDR and Eleanor — but it's not tabloid exploitation. Burns and Ward weave a narrative about private lives in context of public lives. Lives that, arguably, continue to affect all Americans more than any family in history.
"This is the family most responsible for the reason why the government touches you," Burns said.
Although contemporary Utah politicians often rail against Franklin Roosevelt, not only did TR carry the state in 1904, but FDR carried Utah in 1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944.
Perhaps the most surprising things in "The Roosevelts" are the unmasking of TR's many flaws — including the fact that he was a rather casual killer — and film footage that demonstrates just how disabled FDR was as the result of his polio. The press at the time agreed not to show the president's struggles, but Burns' team located "accidental stuff" that makes it clear.
And some of it is absolutely heartbreaking.
The irony is that while Theodore and Franklin Delano Roosevelt are among the greatest American presidents, they'd have a tough time being elected today.
"I'm not sure they could have been president now," Ward said. "TR was very eccentric and Franklin Roosevelt was helpless — physically helpless. And I'm quite convinced that in the modern world in which everything is fair game … TV cameras would compete with each other to see who could get the most helpless footage of FDR.
"And it's sad to think that all these years after the only handicapped president we've ever had, I doubt very much you'll ever have another for that reason."
Scott D. Pierce covers television for The Salt Lake Tribune. Email him at spierce@sltrib.com; follow him on Twitter @ScottDPierce.