Telling “The Story of China” in Six Hours is Futile, But Give BBC Credit for Trying

At least once a decade the public broadcasting networks of the Anglo-American world put together a multi-part documentary on the Middle Kingdom. (See: China: A Century of Revolution, and China from the Inside). The Story of China is simply more ambitious in its scope. It also differs by having TV historian Michael Wood out front — he’s one of the producers and chief writer of the series — as a stand-in for the audience in this exploration of China’s past.