'The Roosevelts': Masterful study of an American dynasty

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History
PBS, Sunday, 8 ET/PT (times may vary)
**** out of four

The Roosevelts were not made for a 140-character world.

Oh, odds are they would have conquered Twitter, as they did most everything else. But they were of a time that valued active social contact and a more expansive use of language. Their great shared gift was for sealing bonds, moving crowds and persuading doubters through torrents of words — both written and spoken —and carefully controlled images, all directed at a more patient and attentive audience.

The same can be said for our pre-eminent TV historian, Ken Burns, as evidenced by the 14 hours and seven consecutive nights he devotes to the story of this pivotal American dynasty, which in typical Burns fashion turns out to be our story as well. Burns does not rush: he explains, he explores, he probes, and he does not move on until he has made his point. And once again, we and PBS are all the better for it.

Written by Geoffrey Ward, who's been collaborating with Burns since 1985, The Roosevelts stretches from the birth of Theodore in 1858 to the death of his niece Eleanor in 1962 — with the life and presidency of Teddy's distant cousin Franklin dominating the hours in between. That's an incredibly long and fraught stretch of time, and it allows Burns and Ward to explore some of their favorite themes: the evolution of race relations, the expansion of women's rights and the transformation of America from a rural, isolated, loosely governed nation to an urbanized world power run by a strong central government.

What makes The Roosevelts' story important is that Teddy, FDR and Eleanor didn't just watch that transformation, they drove it. What makes this "intimate history" so completely absorbing, however, is that all three were incredibly complex, almost endlessly fascinating people whose flaws, virtues and personalities were entertainingly (and sometimes tragically) larger than life.

And as you'd expect from Burns, they're brought to life not through tacky re-creations, but by perfectly chosen stills, videos and letters. Sometimes the subjects speak for themselves, but more often they speak through three wonderful actors who lead a host of great vocal talent: Meryl Streep for Eleanor, Edward Herrmann for Franklin and Paul Giamatti for Teddy.

Much of the story may be familiar, though odds are that new discoveries, humorous and dramatic, await all but the most dedicated Roosevelt scholar. What seems totally novel, however, are the connections Ward and Burns draw and reinforce among the main trio. Most of us, when we think of Teddy and FDR, focus on their presidential terms. We forget that their lives overlapped: that Teddy gave Eleanor away when she married Franklin, or that Franklin and Eleanor attended Teddy's inauguration.

As the title suggests, however, this is not just the story of their public triumphs and failures. It's a story of their private lives: the illnesses Teddy and Franklin overcame, the emotional torments Eleanor suffered, and the way those problems shaped their lives. But don't let that "intimate" description mislead you — Franklin's infidelity is documented, but not detailed, and the show takes no stance on Eleanor's sexuality beyond making it clear that the subject is more complicated than some may assume. As were these people, and as is this completely splendid documentary.

The Roosevelts deserve no less.