A Very Top-Level Overview of the Feud
If you know nothing about the Hatfield & McCoy Feud this video is a nice introduction. It is well produced and reasonably accurate. They interview several descendents of the original families plus the best-known authors of books on the subject. There's not a lot of detail though. If you really want to understand the relationships between the families, the geography of the region and the political situation you'll need to do quite a bit of additional reading and study.
Begins with Confusion but Improves
This is not one of the Biography Channel's better efforts, especially in the beginning, but it does improve. The confusion at the beginning comes from the fact that a synopsis of the entire feud is presented in just a few minutes. After that, the progression of the feud is chronicled. The chronicling is done fairly well. The problem is that it is not readily apparent that the first part has ended and the second has begun. This leads to a bit of confusion, at least in me, as to what was actually happening. When it does become apparent, though, it is a quality program, though not the most interesting.
The feud took place shortly after the Civil War. It was not the worst such event to happen in the area but it was the one that captured the imagination of the press. From these events, we get our modern stereotypes of the hillbilly hicks. To a great degree, the image was the construction of the press. Some things never change.
Good
I wanted to see this before I watched the movie. I found it to be honest about these two families.....sad as it is.
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