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US TV programme criticised by political family as it rehashes well-worn allegations about John and Jackie Kennedy
Almost half a century after its most famous member's assassination, one might have thought that the Kennedy clan was as accustomed to soap operatics and improbable rumours as it is to its own celebrity.
But on Sunday night the first of an eight-part mini-series, The Kennedys, finally aired, despite vehement criticism of the show by supporters of the family and, it has been reported, the family itself. The programme was, one critic of the show claimed, using an unfortunate choice of words, a "political character-assassination".
Considering that the family has already suffered the indignity of being reimagined as a video game and given the Oliver Stone treatment, it was thrilling to imagine what on Earth this series could possibly allege that would prompt such anger. That JFK was a communist? That Jackie was a transsexual? The answer was, um, that John was a pill-popping womaniser and Jackie could be a little cold at times. Next episode: shock revelation that Kennedys were Catholic.
For months, this show – in which Greg Kinnear does his best to mangle JFK's famous New England accent and someone, somewhere, is laughing that their joke of casting the bloodless Katie Holmes as Jackie Kennedy came to fruition – sounded like the TV version of Spiderman the Musical.
Like that beleaguered project, this multimillion-dollar mini-series has become famous for famously bad word of mouth. After vehement criticism from former Kennedy adviser, the late Theodore C Sorenson, and, it has been claimed, Caroline Kennedy, the History Channel dropped the show, saying it was "not fit for the History brand". But considering that the ironically named History Channel is partial to filling its schedule with shows about aliens and Armageddon, fidelity to historical accuracy has not been this channel's priority for some time.
Easily the most true-to-life aspect about it was that the show itself became the subject of almost as many conspiracy theories as the family it portrayed, and the third man on the grassy knoll in this case has been Joel Surnow, who developed the show, and as well as being behind the series 24 is an outspoken conservative. This, critics claimed, proved The Kennedys was merely a slur on one of the best-loved Democrat presidents. Eventually, the little known Reelz channel picked it up, a channel that – judging by the spelling of its name – is untroubled by accuracy.
It's difficult to see what Sorenson and the others were so upset by, other than the casting. Sure, the show is soapy, ridiculous and riddled with characters prone to conveniently expositional flashbacks at the mere clink of a tumbler glass and fastening of a pearl necklace.
Easily the person who comes out best is the always wonderful Tom Wilkinson, clearly relishing his role as the patriarchal Joe, snapping out lines such as "this mick is going to the White House!" with exclamation-marked pleasure.
But it says absolutely nothing that is not already part of the Kennedy legend: here's Joe pushing his sons into the Oval Office, here's JFK making eyes at Marilyn Monroe. Ultimately, it's hard not to suspect that critics of the series only drew more attention to a show that would have easily slipped into the woodwork. Or is that all part of the conspiracy? Cue Oliver Stone.