Ken Burns: Baseball

Where is the complimentary HD upgrade?

Baseball is a well done documentary film and an enjoyable watch for fans of the game and non-fans alike. Anyone that enjoys history and/or documentaries will enjoy these films and needn’t know a thing about baseball. There is one qualifier for the above statement though. To enjoy Baseball, you must be able to do something that Mr Burns cannot do, which is to check politics at the door and objectively assess a topic without bias. Even the viewers least versed in politics will find it impossible to overlook Burns incessant inclusion of leftwing politics throughout the film. The individuals chosen to provide perspective on Baseball are nothing short of baffling. Noted liberals Doris Kearns and Mario Cuomo are two of the most featured commenters. While the perspectives are admittedly interesting and entertaining, the choices destroy the credibility of the series, reminding the viewer that the creator of the series has an agenda that he’s not even willing to attempt to conceal. Of course, the most blatant illustration of Mr Burns agenda and bias are drawn from the Bill Lee interviews in which Mr Lee dons a red hat with a giant CCCP on it. The series also devotes a disproportionally high amount of time to the Negro Leagues, however many viewers may find this welcome as the Negro Leagues are generally understated relative to their importance to Major League Baseball. A mistake which Mr Burns does not make. If a viewer can put on their political blinders and pretend that segments of the film don’t come off like nothing short liberal propaganda, then nearly all will enjoy the film. Even the most clearly biased segments of the film are still well done and entertaining accounts.

It’s a great documentary, but why charge $6.99 and episode and $55.99 for the entirety? I can go to Amazon Prime and buy each episode for $1.99. Typically Apple markup in price.

I enjoyed the old footage and series, but 90% of it is about the Red Sox and New York teams. Disappointing that the great history of the other teams were not covered as much.

.. and Ken Burns did a masterful job laying the foundation about the game. Even after 20 years it is a great thing to watch. Play Ball!!

I love baseball and as such love anything that discusses it. But after watching the entire series I am annoyed that Burns spends so much time talking about New York teams and the Red Sox. Some teams are barely mentioned, if at all. Burns spends significantly more time discussing the Negro League than he does any team outside of New York or Boston. Remarkably slanted for a man that calls himself a historian.

Great series, but why does iTunes not offer episodes one and eight? Apparently, they don't know. After days of trading emails with customer service, I found that they are not sure why episodes are missing. Also, they are unwilling to solve this problem. As soon as I can find an option to iTunes, I'm gone.

At $2-$3 an episode I would easily buy most if not all of them, but $7 is simply more than I am willing to pay per episode. Too bad, because this series is fantastic and I would love to have it on my iPod. Stop taking tips from Barry Zito's agent and reduce the price to something reasonable

'Baseball' is just what you'd expect from Ken Burns - a sweeping, touching, epic, insightful and engaging documentary on Our National Pastime. Even if you're not a fan of the game, you probably will be after watching this. It's that good. But where is the episode 'The Capital of Baseball' (the 7th inning), covering the 1950s?

I have innings 1 - 9 on tape at home, so I ain't buying this. But I always thought that the 10th inning was pointless.