David Bianculli

In the colonies, those who were faithful to the crown were called loyalists and those against them called themselves patriots.

This series humanizes both sides and also explains why some native tribes, including the Shawnees, sided with the British in hopes of protecting their own lands.

The program even looks at old events in a new way, as when historian Maya Jasanoff reacts to the story of a loyalist who was dragged from his home by patriots and tarred and feathered.

Peter Coyote, the actor who has narrated many Ken Burns documentaries, does so again here.

He's got a great voice for it and leans into all the difficult place names and people's names with confident authority.

At one point, I suspect he even has fun reading a particular passage.

It comes in Episode 5, right after the awful winter at Valley Forge.

General George Washington has decided he must train his remaining exhausted troops to a higher level.

Over the course of this series, we learn many new things about familiar names like Nathan Hale, Paul Revere, and Benedict Arnold.

But the name Coyote mentions here was new to me.

The sheer number of the battles and the details about them attest to how hard our ancestors fought for the notion of a Federalist society.

At the end, the American Revolution reminds us that the quest to maintain that society and to strive to achieve a more perfect union is far from over.

I'll end The Way the Series Does by citing Alexander Hamilton.

Death by Lightning is a period piece, but it plays like a 19th century version of the West Wing.

It's full of political intrigue and unexpected betrayals, focusing on an elected representative whose desire is to do right and do good, no matter how many obstacles are in the way.

James Garfield, played by the always intense Michael Shannon, brings his intensity to Garfield's public oratory.

But at home, his Garfield is a gentle, loving husband, father, and farmer, an unlikely person to rise to the top in the snake pit of national government in the 1880s.

Equally unlikely to achieve any level of success is Charles Guiteau, another character from humble beginnings.

Guiteau, though, is a lot less noble than Garfield and a lot less humble.

In fact, he may be delusional about his own self-worth, and he's not above stealing, lying, forging, or other crimes to further his ambitions.